Well, sadly, due to circumstances beyond my control (kind of), I am leaving my wife's home and had to take down the pond. It was quite a chore to disassemble, and I frankly was in such a hurry I couldnt take any pics. Some interesting notes, however:
1) I had lost only 1 fish to disease in that pond in the two years it ran, UNTIL the last week, when I lost a pike cichlid and a large albino oscar. I also lost the peacock bass the day after it settled into its new tank. The Nitrates in the pond were through the roof. I guess the filters picked that week to crash.
2) I had the pond not nearly as heavily stocked as I could have, so finding homes for everybody was not that bad, I just bought about 150 gallons of used tanks, gave away a few I didnt really care for that much (assorted convicts and the like), and fit in all the rest in my new, smaller place.
3) There was leakage. I hadnt thought so, but the plywood and padding under the liner was moldy and damp, so a steady small drip probably.
4) Humidity was in the long run a much larger problem than I had believed. Most everything metal I took out of the basement was rusted, and papers were damp. Some mold hiding here and there, so if you do something crazy like this, get a good dehumidifier.
5) I am able to enjoy my fish more in their new homes than in the pond, where they pretty much just looked like black outlines. I am amazed at how large, colorful, and elaborately finned some of them became while in residence there.
6) Even though I constantly worried about a disastrous leak or something that never came, my pond was all in all a very enjoyable experience. Cheap to build and maintain, and some of my fishies got really big in there. I'll NEVER do it again, but I am going to miss it.
1) I had lost only 1 fish to disease in that pond in the two years it ran, UNTIL the last week, when I lost a pike cichlid and a large albino oscar. I also lost the peacock bass the day after it settled into its new tank. The Nitrates in the pond were through the roof. I guess the filters picked that week to crash.
2) I had the pond not nearly as heavily stocked as I could have, so finding homes for everybody was not that bad, I just bought about 150 gallons of used tanks, gave away a few I didnt really care for that much (assorted convicts and the like), and fit in all the rest in my new, smaller place.
3) There was leakage. I hadnt thought so, but the plywood and padding under the liner was moldy and damp, so a steady small drip probably.
4) Humidity was in the long run a much larger problem than I had believed. Most everything metal I took out of the basement was rusted, and papers were damp. Some mold hiding here and there, so if you do something crazy like this, get a good dehumidifier.
5) I am able to enjoy my fish more in their new homes than in the pond, where they pretty much just looked like black outlines. I am amazed at how large, colorful, and elaborately finned some of them became while in residence there.
6) Even though I constantly worried about a disastrous leak or something that never came, my pond was all in all a very enjoyable experience. Cheap to build and maintain, and some of my fishies got really big in there. I'll NEVER do it again, but I am going to miss it.
I WOULDA KEPT THE POND AND GOT RID OF THE WIFE LOL OOPS SORRY
