Okay, I made up my mind. I made the pond too big for the pump. Too big-come on, is that really possible??? Well, after pricing pumps for a couple of weeks, I had decided on the Beckett at Home Depot for $150-turns 3900gph. On a whim, I called Lowe's today to see what they had. Turns out they had a 4300gph Little Giant for three bucks less. Before I left I got the model number off my old Beckett pump and did some searching on the web. I about died. 71gph?!?! How the heck did anything live? The pond did keep a greenish cast, but no big problems, no string algae. The plants thrived,the fish thrived, over wintered and bred! I surely must have SOME kind of luck. LOL Well, I just put in my new pump, threaded it through my veggie filter and was good to go. I went ahead and cut the hose on the little pump down to about eight inches long and dropped it into the shallow end. Poof, a bubbler and it saved me $30!! Consequently, I did have to spend $30 on bigger tubing. I plugged it in and wooo hooo! On the inside I was grunting like Tim Allen thinking "MORE POWER". ROTFLOL The fish did not fly out of the pond and I did not get electrocuted so it was a bit better than "Tool Time". :) I am rolling, but YOU are not allowed to laugh! Don't even smile. he he he
I feel like Tim Allen. Don't laugh!
I was thinking the fish were going to fly out!!!!!!!!! lol!!!!
Hey, you laughed out loud! Oh, I am so thrilled! Can you believe my old pump was 71 gallons and my pond still sustained life??? I don't know what it was before but it is somewhere around 3000 gallons now! I only added 2 feet on three sides and about a foot of depth. My lily leaves are huge, one lotus leaf is huge! Man, if things lived with that old pump, what's it gonna due with the right size???? I am jazzed!
AARRRRUG! POWER! Now is the pump big enough to handle your bigger pond (when you go bigger next year) ? LOL
**thinking to myself** she said don't laugh...don't laugh...
I'm trying so hard here.....ACK!!!! I can't help it.
LOL LOL LOL LOL **giggle**
Whew...boy, that feels better.
Can you just imagine the conversations that your fish are having? "Blanch, what the heck is going on? EARTHQUAKE!!!"
:)
Or is it more like ....Blanch, does all this new current in the pond make you wanna fight your way up stream to spawn? Aww come on honey, we will feel like kids again!
ROTFLMBO!!! I can only imagine! Now I have to race off to the mail call forum and post some thank yous!! Some plant trades came in. Some were for water plants, but others had surprise water plants!!! Some days are just GOOD! Geeze, I'd like to call in sick tonight and play in the pond!
Exactly!! :)
I am not going to laugh, I am NOT going to laugh, I am NOT GOING to laugh, I AM NOT GOING TO LAUGH. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Hiding my head in shame, I laughed and I couldn't help it. LOL
I really think the reason your pond did well is so far you don't have too many fish for the size of the pond but when the goldfish babies get to growing up and more appear then you might have problems even with the larger pump. It is the filtration and the plants that will make the difference when you have lots of fish.
I first read this at work and was laughing so hard(opps did I say I was laughing) had to go take a smoke break.Then got to thinking about it on the way home from work and just had to call.Oh my Chele, I thought your pond looked great. I can only imagine what it will look like now. Tim Allen has nothing over on you. Chele the Tool girl. And your project worked. I have to admit I could see fish and plants being blasted through the air. OK I am not laughing, I am not laughing..........OK I am rolling sorry!
You just couldn't wait to hang up and post could you?? LOL I can't believe you all thought I would blast my little fishy friends through the air! :) I do have to laugh about the 'swimming up stream' comment. Several of the fish are right at the bottom of the waterfall swimming against the current! LOL Hopefully I can go 'borrow' some more rocks tomorrow.
well, you have to admit, you didn't know you wouldn't send them flying!! now did you??? lol
Honestly, when I fired that sucker up, it was like a fire hydrant! LOL Much calmer in the veggie filter. LOL
EARTHQUAKE!!!
I feel the earth, move, under my feet...
**singing along**
Them poor fish are loving all the oxygen intake. Heck they will be high on oxygen and be jumping out of the pond doing tricks for ya!
*singing along* they fly through the air with the greatest of ease. The dareing young fish on the flying trapeze.
Chele, you better hang a net over that pond so that those poor little baby fish don't go flying so far that their parents never get to see their boys and girls grow up. And be sure to put in a trapese so they can leap out of the water and hang on with their little fins and spin for an hour or so from all the force that they will be leaving the water.
Im jealous I still have the same pump that was in my 5x8 pond.
Ah Michele I finally found the thread you mentioned.
I can tell you all first hand the fish did not go flying!
(They did though look a little dizzy from all the eddies and whirlpools.)
The same can not be said for her kids and the dog.
They were slipping and flipping all over the yard.
A little gravel near the backflow would have helped
AND
it seems you must turn the hose off after you finish the refill. LOL
The mud pizzas though were excellent!
I did get a shot or two.
W/ Michele's permission I will post them.
Ric (old friend of Michele, new to DG)
Hi Ric, welcome to DG.
So you are saying that the kids were the ones that were flying? That means Chele needs a bigger trapese over that pond. :)
oh excellent!!! someone who can tell stories on Chele, I love it!!! and we want pictures even if she doesn't say ok:) welcome to DG!!!
I can see that this could be really bad for me! LOL At least he didn't tell you how filthy my house was. I went out to work in the yard at 8:30am and was still there when they arrived about 3:30.
OH, and Ric, you didn't have mud pizza! It was a casserole! You stand corrected by the eldest two. :)
M,
Tell the girls I'm sorry I thought it was deep dish pizza!! LOL
I thought, considering the circumstances, the place looked fine. Remember we have 7 cats and two dogs so I am not a great critic.
The pond looked absolutely GREAT!
A little shallow ; ) , but everything looked real happy.
You did invite me, so it's on you. LOL
I don't though repeat gossip, so remember group, listen carefully as I'll only tell it once.
'Course I can be silenced. A list of my demands WILL be emailed.
Ric
ROTF! This sounds like some sort of plant bribe!
The kids are rolling. They were flabbergasted that you incorrectly remembered the delicacy you were served! Do you think they make those special mud entrees for just anyone??
Shallow huh? Giggle Where the heck were you when I was in there up to my buns, and that was the shallow end?!? Oh, yeah, I changed TWICE before you got here. Bad visions of creepy crawlies. ICK