I came I saw I pond_erd (III) a bit of a cock up quite frankly

[Cobra]

Part Deux here

A bit of a disaster on the pond front
lilies grow wild in ponds right?
They root in the clay at the bottom, right?
"bright idea"
Use the excavated clay soak it for a few days
and use it to plant the assorted plants
WRONG!
the water went cloudy and refused to clear.
It turns out ( thanks Google) that clay has + ions
and the little buggers run around trying to get away from each other
refusing to "clump
the suspended particles are too small and light to settle
to the bottom

Help was at hand there is a product on the market that
"forces" the little buggers to merge and sink
the only problem is that it turns the water brown
but should clear in a few days, this is where I am right now.

And guess who I caught sneaking around today?
Yep you guessed it the berk Clerk of works

And where were you when I needed some real help ?
Oh I see in a meeting

Anyhow a pond filter was designed and built for
around £20
two skinned "overflow affair with a gravel bed underneath for the anaerobic
bacteria
the inner skin will be planted with water cress as a biological filter and strainer

with this in mind the Clerk then came to check the water quality

and to make sure I have used "native plants"

a quick view down the pond

And finally a fishes view

There is still some way to go
the filter and pipe work will be hidden by some strategic planting
of flowers and placement of rocks

 

[jgs001]

Looking good Chris, and wonderful text to go with it

 

[walls]

I don't know much about ponds or photography for that matter but a fair bit about soils. In the old days of field ponds they would use shire horses to pound the clay soil to force the clay particles together forming a skin when it dried out. The diffuse ion layer around the clay particles is usually positively charged and so if the clay has a lot of Na/Mg for example, these diffuse layers are large. Add freshwater and they can expand so the particles have no chance of sticking together. If you add sea water to your pond, or calgon etc you increase the electrolyte concentration of the water and can cause the 'clouds' to compress, the particles to clump (flocculate) and settle - it'll kill your gold fish though. I guess adding a calcium carbonate solution to the water would be preferable as the calcium has a higher charge/size ratio and will create thinner ion clouds and a more stable clay soil, perhaps what is in your conditioner.


Shallow ponds may suffer still when it rains as it will add a load of freshwater to the system and the clay will disperse. This is a big problem for ploughed agricultural land which floods. Salt marshes are able to hold onto the soil as the reeds and grasses stabilise the soil. So you'd better get some plants to bed into the bottom of your pond as the conditioner you use can't be cheap and probably not too good for coy carol.


just made all that up....nice dog by the way.

 

[babytiger]

lovely story as usual....clerk of works is looking good as will your pond when finished

 

[DonnaM]

Great story, been there, done that and will be re-inventing the wheel in this place sometime soon myself.

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

... its always the little things isn't it. .. Looking well pro other wise.

What you having around the sides, a bit of paving?

 

[Cobra]

Looking good Chris, and wonderful text to go with it

Cheers John Glad it amused you

I don't know much about ponds or photography for that matter but a fair bit about soils. In the old days of field ponds they would use shire horses to pound the clay soil to force the clay particles together forming a skin when it dried out. <snip> ....nice dog by the way.

Thanks for the Info the product I used contains Formaldehyde just over 6 squid a bottle and will do the
pond 3 times ( I hope not)

lovely story as usual....clerk of works is looking good as will your pond when finished

Thanks Eileen Its getting there

 

[Cobra]

Great story, been there, done that and will be re-inventing the wheel in this place sometime soon myself.

Thanks Donna Glad you enjoyed it ( so far) and good luck with yours )

... its always the little things isn't it. .. Looking well pro other wise.

What you having around the sides, a bit of paving?

Cheers Adam
A mixture of paving and rocks so that I can plant in between them ( rocks)
to "soften the edge" with a few ground creepers

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

Sounds sweet with the creepers added. ...hey! get some gold fish and you'll have a heron.

 

[Cobra]

Sounds sweet with the creepers added. ...hey! get some gold fish and you'll have a heron.

Yeah and I have a 12 bore too
Actually the pointer is quite good at keeping birds
out of the garden ( the little bugger )

 

[sawman]

Once it all settles down you will get puddocks in that pond.
Clerk of works looked quite relaxed at her meeting!

 

[Cobra]

Once it all settles down you will get puddocks in that pond.

Hope so Charlie
I do get them in the garden from time to time
as there are a couple of other ponds close

Clerk of works looked quite relaxed at her meeting!

Trouble is those meetings can last for hour and hours

 

[ladysue]

I love the "clerk". I have a canine "helper" too

 

[Cobra]

I love the "clerk". I have a canine "helper" too

Oh Bad luck Sue
Thanks for dropping by and commenting

 

[Jordie]

Best not be making anything like this if that clerk comes round my area. Looks like a right grump

 

[Cobra]

Best not be making anything like this if that clerk comes round my area. Looks like a right grump

Most certainly Jordie, that is until she has chased
a few pigeons out of the garden then she's fine