THE NORTHERN POND CHALLENGE
This site owned and maintained by: Carole McCollum, Vickers Heights, Ontario, Canada. This is not a commercial site, and you will not be subject to any advertisements nor will you receive any cookies (just good advice and lots of links!).
October 5, 2008
Another summer has come and gone, and the fish are huge and hungry. They are begging for food, probably because the mosquitos and blackflies have finally died off (I hope) and so there are few larvae falling into the pond, or ending up on the surface where the fish can get them. The cooler weather has reduced the algae as well, so there isn't much for them, other than what I throw at them. We started out with a very cool and rainy summer, so the pond plants had a lot of growing to do, but they have caught up and look quite spectacular. I tried growing an upright lobelia beside the pond - a brilliant red which was stunning with the grasses, and which attracted so many hummingbirds to the pond. Somedays you were caught in the crossfire while standing on the bridge.
My old UV light finally gave up after ten years (I can't complain), so I spent the first three weeks of the season without it. Fortunately, as mentioned it was cool and not suitable for a huge algae bloom. More than anything else, I credit the UV light with keeping my pond clear and clean. I am still using my old "Green Machine" external filter, and it does a great job. There are now two waterfalls, one large, and one small that feeds a small creek running in front of the garden. This creates a constant circulation in the pond which helps keep the fish healthy. Heavy growth around the pond (in pots) of grasses, rushes and also a large water taro help create the needed shade in the summer, along with the shade from the bridge. I've given up on water lilies, much as I love their beauty. They are a preferred Koi food, and they are too expensive to be fish food.
I'm going to start preparing to bring the fish indoors, probably by mid November here in Northwestern Ontario, depending how cool it gets. I shut off the large waterfall, and run a bubbler on the surface to prevent ice formation, and leave the small waterfall running. That reduces the circulation in the pond, which isn't as necessary with the cooler water which holds more oxygen, and preserves some of the warmth of the lower water. As it gets cooler, the fish tend to huddle on the bottom and not move very much, and below 50, I don't bother to feed them. Indoors, I keep them in a cold room in a large Rubbermaid horse trough, with a lot of filtration and aeration. I gave up on commercial filters, and created my own which have worked just great year after year. Short of buying a sand filter, I couldn't find anything suitable commercially for my type of tank. I hope to get instructions and photos up on a separate page in case you face the same dilemna of filtration.
Happy ponding
Carole
Above are several images from 2007 taken of the pond and the fish
Happy ponding
Carole
This balance of this web page is brief, but provides some excellent links for those interested in learning more about building, maintaining and stocking ponds. Although I cannot endorse these sites ( I did not build them, nor do I control them), I have personally used and visited these sites, and have followed the link with a brief description. Hopefully this list will grow as others find new sites and tell me about them. My purpose in publishing this page is to provide a data source to help all those interested - when I first started with a pond, I found it difficult to get information, and gradually have gleaned my own personal database which I am passing on to all who visit this site - it also saves me from repeating these sites over and over again via E-Mail. If you have an interesting question or problem, send it to me, or if you stumble upon an excellent site, let me know. I can't promise to answer all mail, but I'll try. In the future, I hope to add some of the most frequently asked questions to this site. Let me know if any of these links don't work, or have changed.
What I've learned over the past five or six years since I put my first pond in is that a pond is a wonderful addition to your landscaping - bringing in birds, butterflies and beneficial insects (and some not so beneficial - another reason to have fish), but you have to make the commitment to it, just as you do with a garden. If you're just thinking of putting a pond in, remember that you should always go for the best quality you can afford - it will pay off in the long run. With your own sweat and labour, you can put a pond in for a minimal cost (liner or pre-formed unit, pump and filter) - and of course up here in the North we have a definite advantage - we don't have to buy rocks!
| There is nothing like the sound of running water to soothe the soul |
Contact me: Carole McCollum, Thunder Bay, Ontario cmccollum@tbaytel.net
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Web sites to visit
http://www.icangarden.com/ This is a Canadian site, based in Alberta, and has a lot of good info for northerners. The site keeps growing and is a great source of Canadian supplies, and gardening information. I highly recommend this site to anyone interested not only in ponds, but in gardening and garden decorating as well. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter for updates- you will only receive the newsletter as they do not provide their e-mail list to anyone else.
http://www.onwatergarden.com/ New! Ontario Water Garden Society page, and other Ontario gardening site links.
http://www.aquascapeontario.com/ Canadian site with some great ideas for ponds and lots of information.
http://www.dragonflylanding.ca/ Canadian company - supplies, ideas, photos
http://www.koivet.com/ Run by Doc Johnson with lots of experience with koi and ponds. If you subscribe to any site, this is a good one
http://www.waterscapes.ca/ Reimer Waterscapes - A Canadian company for pond supplies and a great reputation for water lilies of many varieties. Very knowledgeable for pond and aquatic plants, good delivery, quality plants.
http://www.pondsonline.com/ Wholesale pond supply on-line catalogue with shipping from Canada and prices in both U.S. and Canadian dollars. Good fast service and one I would personally recommend.
http://canadiangardening.com/ Not necessarily related to ponds, but certainly a great source for Canadian gardening information - and how many people have a pond without a garden?
http://www.clarkekoi.com/ koi pond construction, koi. food, plants, liners & pumps
http://www.canningperennials.com/ water plants - Canadian source.
No website but great catalogue - Moore Water Gardens moorewg@execulink.com Best water lilies I have ever bought.
http://www.gardenweb.com/ U.S. based gardening information, but very interesting, with some leads to ponds. This site also has a pond user group which posts questions and answers to common and some unusual problems.
http://watergarden.com/ although U.S. based (Tennessee), you'll find some things to give you inspiration
http://www.gardenponds.com/ Another U.S. site (sorry, there's few Canadian), with a selection of large products such as bridges, waterfalls, statuary etc. - useful probably only if you live close to the U.S. border and can arrange pick-up at a U.S. address - just remember that you'll also have to add exchange, duty and taxes.