Pond life

pond pics

2022-02-17T06:53:00.004-08:00

My pond filter system I made out of pallets, to enclose filters & pipe work away from snow & ice so as I could keep filter running 24/7 all through winter, as shown in the pics with pond covered in snow & ice.

Hello 2021

2021-02-22T04:38:00.003-08:00

Welcome to "Pond life", if you have any queries or comments I will endeavour to get back to you asap, I know I am without a pond now but the info here is still relevant, & would be happy to help.

2013-07-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

It's now half way through July in the middle of a heatwave, & we have not seen one single hedgehog this year, we normally see them in our grounds around 10pm every night, & as i'm the gardener here, i often see their droppings around, but nothing at all this year. It's probably due to the long cold spring, & them not having consumed enough food to last them for such a long hibernation.
If anyone reading this has seen any i would love to hear from you.

Pond filtration & maintainance

2012-11-01T12:28:00.001-07:00

For filtration info please click older post link below

Bats

2012-07-19T13:46:00.001-07:00

About 10.00pm we have bats aplenty in our garden, not every night, but most nights and i don't know what kind they are, but we think they live under the barge boards round our building. I am endevouring to get a video of them & then maybee a clear still of one, watch this space.

Blackbirds nest

2012-06-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

A pair of Blackbirds nested in our garden, we saw four eggs in it, then the Magpies raided it & the lot was gone. Then they, or another pair, someone said they only breed once a year, anyhow another pair have been working so hard in another corner of our garden, in the ivy which covers the fence. They have been feeding the nest for a good two weeks & today we have seen two beautiful baby blackbirds, fat & dumpy with no tail, which are still being fed by the parents. We had three successful births last year so we are keeping our fingers crossed for these. There is actually a blackbird on the lawn in the photo opposite.

wildflower meadow

2012-03-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

Why are wild flower seeds so expensive. I know you can purchase mixed varieties of so called wild flower seeds, but they tend to have one plant which tends to take over after a year or two.

pondlife to nature blog

2012-02-18T07:07:00.000-08:00

It's now half way thru February & we've had virtually no proper winter here in the north east as yet, apart from a few days of frost & some hail this morning.i know this is called pondlife & as i no longer have a pond there is some info here which may be helpful to someone, & if anyone has a question concerning ponds, either building one, maintaining one, filtation or whatever, just email me , or post below & i'll get back to you with pleasure. I shall therefore post about nature & the wildlife we have round where i live on this blog

Video of 5 foxes enjoying evening sun

2011-10-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

The video of the foxes can be found on my youtube channel. Click on youtube logo on the pond video below, then click "5 videos" next to Rico1052, you will see the foxes video.

2011-09-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

The family of five foxes haven't been seen for a while, but we've heard one an odd time over the last few months, and one has been seen on our patio in the last few weeks, so they are still around. I set a camera up, but it only turrns up when the camera isn't on, watch this space , i'll get it yet.

After the pond

2011-05-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the photo, all has changed, the pond has been filled in, and a nice turfed lawn is now settling well in.
The process of draining & filling the pond in was hard work, but slowly bit by bit i got there. Being 66 years of age and having a dodgy back, one has to be aware of ones limits, but doing a few hours at a time & planning it out works wonders.
I did think i would have required loads of top soil, but as it happened i only needed 8 bags. I ordered the turf on the net & have been very pleased with it, the quality & delivery was excellent, but as the weather has been particularly dry recently, you must keep it watered well.
As you can see in the photo above it's looking good.
A few days after draining the pond i was still finding frogs in the greenery, but as we have a nature reserve with a pond on our doorstep, i was able to rehome them.
If anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to contact me, i would love to help.

pond equipment for sale

2011-03-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well the pond has finally been filled in, hence i have 2 biological filters, one uv filter, 2 pond pumps, & the small custom biult shed that housed them all. It was a lovely setup, which kept my pond in absolute tip top condition.
If anyone is interested please email me on daveclarke25@hotmail.com all pipe work is included as well, & i only want £50.00 for the lot. The small eco filter cost that alone.

Filtration setup

2011-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

I built the little shed for the filters out of pallets, in fact the base was a pallet. The basic design consists of 2 pumps in mid pond. One feeds the larger tank which is a black systern cold water tank, so i could cut my own inlets & otlets exactly where i wanted them. That filter consists of 3 layers of foam.(course to fine grade), with plastic modules in the lower half, then straight out to pond. This filter is kept on all winter, but in the summer i had this on a timer so it was off at night, making less noise.
The other pump feeds a uv filter in the side of the "shed", & then up into a top sprinkler fed smaller filter with foam & plastc modules ,& then 2 paralel outlets back to the pond.
Originally i had the small filter with the uv but the water went green. What was happening was that the uv was doing it's job of clogging the stuff together but the pump couldn't cope with dragging it up to the filter, but as soon as i added the other pump & filter it was clear as a bell in days.
So if you have a small filter & a uv & your pond is not clear,---
1---fill a plastic clear pop bottle with your pond water, 2 ---if the muck settles to the bottom of the bottle, your uv is working ok, you just need something else to drag it out as i did.
Any queries on anyting please don't hesitate to email me.

Spring pond activity

2011-01-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

4 large golden orfeFREE to good home

2011-01-26T03:54:00.000-08:00

I have 3 golden & one blue orfe, which is actually white now FREE to good home, must be large pond, would be cruel to put in smaller pond.
I still don't want rid of pond, but, with kids it's a little too risky, & i'm now 65, & if the pump decides to stop i cannot be leaning over with my back as it is messing in cold water. So i am designing a waterfall feature, without the pond, at the back of the patio. It will have a well with a metal grid on so will be child-proof & safe. But i will surely miss the pond, the seasonal activities of the frogs etc. Also i have always had a net over the pond all the 20 years of running one, but as i was getting rid of it i took the net off. Sods law, with the net on the herron was a regular visitor to my roof, & seagulls, since i removed the net & the concrete model heron, not one has been near.

pond update

2011-01-24T14:44:00.000-08:00

It's nearly Feb & none of the white stuff for a while, quite mild really!. The fish came through the cold spell ok, didn't see them for weeks, the pond was frozen & then snow on top, but the waterfall still trickled, in although i couldn't see it running. i hope the frogs don't think Spring has arrived 'cause there is plenty of time for more snow.

Pond has to go

2010-09-12T02:24:00.000-07:00

As we have a grandson who has just made up 1year & a baby grandaughter on the way, i have had to make a sacrifice. My back isn't too good these days & to fence the pond off would simply spoil the design, so i have 7 golden & blue orfe to get rid of to a good home, if anyone is interested just email me at daveclarke25@hotmail.com
They are about 16"" in length & 18 years old, so reqire a large pond. There are also 3 fan tailed gold fish, plus the frogs will find their own way i guess!!

Dragon fly

2010-09-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

This beautiful dragon fly was flying around my pond the other day from about 3pm onwards, tried to video it but the sun was exceptionally bright & i just couldn't keep track of it so i took a still when it landed. I hope i see another one so as i can do it justice with a better shot!

foxes playing in the evening sun

2010-07-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

I know the blog is about pond life, but being a fan of all nature and that this was in our grounds, i had to put it in.

foxes playing in the evening sun

2010-07-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

clear water

2010-06-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

after the hot spell we had a fortnight ago the weather has turnrd hot and humid once again, but the pond is still clear. one pump which runs 24/7 goes into a small eco filter via a uv, whist another pumps water up to a larger filter, ( a cold water tank), so as i could cut my own inlet & outlet, which only runs from 8am to 8pm & drops into the pond thus providing a bit of oxygen.

Quacking frog

2010-05-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

We've had the frogspawn, and the frogs still appear ocasionally on a damp night looking for slugs etc, but they are normal croaking frogs if you know what i mean.
The thing is we have a strange frog which has been resident in our pond for a few years now which does not croak, it "quacks like a duck".
I have walked quietly towards the pond on an afternoon and i hear it in the reeds at one end quacking but i never see it, the illusive quacking frog or whatever it is.
So if anyone reading this blog has any ideas on what species of frog it is, please put us out of our misery, because people must think i'm going quackers(crackers)!
I've seen the site with frog sounds but there's not one like ours. It just does it twice, then goes quiet then two more quacks.

Spring pond activity video

2010-04-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

notes on "Spring pond activity" video

2010-04-05T03:39:00.000-07:00

Some of my golden orfe, i think one is a blue orfe, & one which looks to have an extra pair of fins looks like a shibumpkin. There are also three gold fish which i cannot believe have lasted this long and also survived the cold spell we have recently come through. Some friends who have ponds have lost most of their fish from the sudden rise in temperature one weekend & then going back down again.
My pond had a thick layer of ice for i don't know how many weeks, plus 4"" of snow most of the time. but i always leave the waterfall running all year round. The pond is 13.6 feet by 6feet wide by about 3foot in depth, so whether the size has saved them, by keeping the temp more constant, i cannot say. I also have not fed them since the end of last september, as they have their own eco system to live in, & i don't ever feed them until the frosts have all but gone.

new pond video

2010-04-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Have just posted new video of all the happenings in my pond the other day.