My Koi Pond
- Thread starter KathyC
- Start date
- Location
- Massapequa NY
Kathy is there anything you don't have your hands in. You do it all. The pond and garden are like something you see in a magazine of the rich and famous. AMAZING !!! Wow I wish I had half the talent you have.
- Location
- Chelsea, NYC
Gorgeous.
- Location
- Upper East Side
KATHY!!!!! I can't BELIEVE you didn't let us go back and see this when we were out there! Looks amazing! How are you going to have time for a puppy? 
Here's an interesting factoid about water hyacinth (and you should all know how I love my factoids now):
In the mid-1900s, one of the colonists who built a house near Lake Victoria brought water hyacinth as a decorative plant. It got released into the lake and has proliferated to the point where it now drifts around in currents in the lake in mats as large as football fields. It's especially terrible because the local people in these area rely on fishing and they have a lot of trouble taking their boats out when the lake is filled with water hyacinth. I wish I had a picture of when it floated in when I was there - it's pretty amazing. A similar thing has happened off the coast of California with calupera. One more reason never to release anything we keep into the ecosystem at large.
Here's an interesting factoid about water hyacinth (and you should all know how I love my factoids now):
In the mid-1900s, one of the colonists who built a house near Lake Victoria brought water hyacinth as a decorative plant. It got released into the lake and has proliferated to the point where it now drifts around in currents in the lake in mats as large as football fields. It's especially terrible because the local people in these area rely on fishing and they have a lot of trouble taking their boats out when the lake is filled with water hyacinth. I wish I had a picture of when it floated in when I was there - it's pretty amazing. A similar thing has happened off the coast of California with calupera. One more reason never to release anything we keep into the ecosystem at large.
- Location
- brooklyn, ny.
Awesome!
Wow guys & gals..thanks so much!
Dane...When the water temp gets to 45-50 degrees the Koi are no longer fed. Their metabolism slows down tremendously during the cold weather and if you feed them the food can literally rot inside of them & kill them. During the winter months they just kind of hang out on the bottom of the pond in the warmer water. As long as the pond doesn't freeze rock solid - they are fine. Mine has never frozen anywhere near that badly.
Jejton...yes, I do it all myself..I may have a few plants too many out there ..and I will admit the last lawnmower I bought is self-propelled
Russ..Actually there are laws for ponds..in Nassau County the rules are written in reference to the depth of water in either a pool or pond. They must be fenced if the depth is 24" or greater. Which is actually kinda dumb since you can drown in 2" of water. Technically I need about $1500 worth of permits to have that piond out there including statements from Electricians about GFI breakers, disposal of water..and edict from the King...
Lissa - thanks for the factoids As with our reef algae the water hyacinths are (as you said) an enormous problem. The ones you can see in the pics I posted are all from ONE plant..and that was probably after I removed 30 others..they can overgrow the pond in a matter of 2-3 weeks if you let them. I throw mine into a big pail with bleach in it to be sure they are beyond dead before they hit the trash. Too many for a freezer...lol
..and I'm a firm believer in that you make the time to do what you want to do Life is too short not to!!
Jon...awww thxs...
The pics of the build seem to be real actual photographs...forgot those things used to exist..lol A friend is going to scan them for me on Sunday and I'll post them Sunday night
Dane...When the water temp gets to 45-50 degrees the Koi are no longer fed. Their metabolism slows down tremendously during the cold weather and if you feed them the food can literally rot inside of them & kill them. During the winter months they just kind of hang out on the bottom of the pond in the warmer water. As long as the pond doesn't freeze rock solid - they are fine. Mine has never frozen anywhere near that badly.
Jejton...yes, I do it all myself..I may have a few plants too many out there
..and I will admit the last lawnmower I bought is self-propelled Russ..Actually there are laws for ponds..in Nassau County the rules are written in reference to the depth of water in either a pool or pond. They must be fenced if the depth is 24" or greater. Which is actually kinda dumb since you can drown in 2" of water. Technically I need about $1500 worth of permits to have that piond out there including statements from Electricians about GFI breakers, disposal of water..and edict from the King...
Lissa - thanks for the factoids
As with our reef algae the water hyacinths are (as you said) an enormous problem. The ones you can see in the pics I posted are all from ONE plant..and that was probably after I removed 30 others..they can overgrow the pond in a matter of 2-3 weeks if you let them. I throw mine into a big pail with bleach in it to be sure they are beyond dead before they hit the trash. Too many for a freezer...lol..and I'm a firm believer in that you make the time to do what you want to do
Life is too short not to!!Jon...awww thxs...
The pics of the build seem to be real actual photographs...forgot those things used to exist..lol A friend is going to scan them for me on Sunday and I'll post them Sunday night
- Location
- poughquag, ny
looks really nice kathy, after having built 2 or 3 of them for my mom i am glad she is 2000 miles away now so i dont have to dig no more holes
- Location
- Upper East Side
When I have a house someday (probably in the middle of nowhere where there is a university silly enough to give me tenure) I want a pond.
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
Thanks for the kind words
Wingo - sure you can start digging for a pond now, I don't think the ground really ever froze this winter (knock wood). I'd be more than happy to give you some babies for your pond. As far as plants..the water hyacinth dies each each and has to be replaced but I have cattails that I can divide
Jarrett - Sounds nice! Please do send the pics..or better yet post them in the Nudibar!! That's why we need a Fresh water forum:shhh: Many people just don;t know FW is just as fun as SW. :tongueaniI couldn't get more depth since the water table is 33" down in my yard. Most of my babies are 6-8" and you're welcome to all that you want
I wish I had pics of my old mobiles ponds in my old house.
- Location
- 11756
Wait people actually stopped staring at the pics to post responses? After 3 days of non-stop staring at those pictures I decided to refresh
I wish it was mine
I wish it was mine
- Location
- Long Island - Nassau County
Wow Kathy great job! Looks awesome. I have a pond as well but compared to yours its a puddle LOL I heard a rumor that a MR BBQ will be held at your house so we can all stare at the pond????
I heard a rumor that a MR BBQ will be held at your house so we can all stare at the pond???? Thnx Sean...what a nice thing to say!!
Brooklyn...the first part I'm not so sure about..but the insane part..oh yeah ..lol You will be certain of it when you see the next set of pics below...
Chris, Kris, Neil, Lissa, everyone else
))....thank you all, I'm very touched by your kind words!! :grouphug: ...Froggie.. bbq??? lol, we'll see... Well.. I did find the pics and learned how to scan pics tonight
Looking back at these I see I used to have a lot more energy than I do now..I'm exhausted just looking at them but at the time you couldn't stop me. I knew what it was going to look like well before I started......and I found I did this change in the spring of 2003...here we go!
This is what the pool & deck looked like after I dug the hole & sunk the pool and prior to deciding to change it to the pond..
The deck that was around the pool needed to be taken down as I had new plans for that area..all the wood was saved to be used as a patio & for the wooden paths in the yard...
From the other side of the yard..the section torn out was about 20' x 14'...
more wood to redesign things with
...
The deck is finally gone along with the wall of the pool. It was time to begin reshaping the hole with extra top soil. You can also see why I needed to add a retaining wall..that pile of dirt in the back was from when I originally dug the hole for the pool.
The retaining wall is in. There are concrete piers buried in the soil holding up those 4 x 4's. I'd originally planned to use the molded spillway to feed the pond but switched to a rock waterfall (which I have changed 2 more times since the original installation
)
In the pic above you can see the new pond liner & the old pool liner in the middle of the 'pond'. I used the cotton snow underneath and then used the old pool liner over that..and then installed the highest grade pond liner on top. Wish I'd taken more pics of this step..but the water is in and rocks have been placed around the edges..
The first board for the bridge is installed..
btw - I didn't buy any wood to do this project..it was all taken from the prior deck that was only a few years old at the time.
More of the old boards were used to seal off the bottom of the section of decking to the left.
More use of the old wood - a patio where I was to add a mesh gazebo & the bridge is up too.
We have a lot of issues here with gnats when the air is still...
That patio is 10 x 10' (it has since been moved to the other side of the yard..), the path was extended and a couple of comfy chairs are there now to relax in...
Gazebo is ready to go up
And up she goes :spin:
Looking at the pond from where I planned to sit & enjoy the view...
like I ever sit still...
...and that is how my pond came to be
If there is one thing I like more than fish..it must be plants & flowers. 2003 turned out to be an exceptional year with cooperative weather and the plants flourished... the word jungle came up more than a few times...
Most of the plants in my yard are perennials with a few annuals thrown in for added color.:flower:
Just a couple of more..my jungle..
What the pond looked like toward the end of that summer...waaaaay too many plants. Sue me..lol
And my very favorite pic that says SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last one...these are my 4 fish. Pic was taken Jan 07..
Sorry for the awful angle..taken from the uppermost deck (there's 3..)
A sincere thank you to all that have stopped to look and enjoy. Happy that I could share a part of my Heaven with you
- Location
- Brooklyn, 11223
Ive seen Kathys property and the landscaping is beautiful which of course includes the awesome pond..:smile:
lmao, damn that sammy is gonna have a boatload of fun, if u play ur cards right he may dig u another pond, lol....like to see pics after that!....lol
lmao, damn that sammy is gonna have a boatload of fun, if u play ur cards right he may dig u another pond, lol....like to see pics after that!....lol
- Location
- Montclair, NJ
Very nice Kathy! It makes me feel better that there is someone around here who may be on the same level of crazy as me! :Yikes: You definitely spend more time than me caring for all of your pets
Thanks for sharing. Can I come over and go fishing?
Thanks for sharing. Can I come over and go fishing?
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