Arrested Development - Ex-Pats Mexico

I have a pump now, but it's old and I expect to have to replace it soon .. so could you explain this a bit more? My take from reading that website, is that a bilge pump is just a 'tougher' pump than those sold as 'pond pumps' ... is that correct??

Also .. I don't know 12 volts/DC power supply from Adam ... what ARE you talking about? (Electrical 101 please)



Any chance of a picture or two of your pond? Please???

Rolly: nice pond! It looks like your set-up was 3 seperate pools? did you have the upper pool set up as a filtering pool, from where the water (filtered) then cascaded down toward the main pool?


jonna and Rolly and anyone else with experience ........

OK on to the 'filtering pool' .... I made/tested a small prototype and it's been working well, so now I am ready to install the final version.

I settled on a large (very large) galvanized tub, it will hold approx 5%-10% of the volume in the pond. Have the lava rock, (about 8 inches deep) the water input from the pond will be at the bottom ... got some (many) polyester floor scrubbers ... (might try a couple of polyester fibrefill pillows later on) ... the tub will be set higher, outside the pond. Planning on getting some watercress, lirio from the lake and some other taller plants.

NOW: this tub will be HEAVY when full of rocks/water/plants .... since it's just going to be sitting on dirt ( I removed sod yesterday, maybe I shouldn't have?? ) I am concerned that it won't be stable on the soil though ..

QUESTION: So now, I am thinking that I need to dig down even deeper, and put a layer of lava rock, with some cement blocks on top. Will that be strong enough to keep the filtering pool stable/not sink into the dirt?? I really DO NOT WANT to have to build a concrete pad for it.

AM I MISSING ANYTHING???

About the galvanized, is there any chance it could rust? If so, I'd line it with heavy plastic pool liner or roof liner. I have seen the pool liner here in Mérida at Home Depot but not sure up there.

I put the skippy (I used a Rubbermaid horse trough) on a concrete base because of the weight. It depends on how stable you think your soil is, I was building in the desert on sand. If you have solid clay and use the lava rock or gravel and blocks and are very, very sure it is really level when you install it, then you can put a level across it or watch the water and tell if it is sinking anywhere. Rolly would know more about this as he is a contractor.

It sounds like you have the concepts down and are building a good filter. I'm trying to do the same with the system that was put in here, not what I wanted but... I may have to tear some of the pvc out and redo it. I've been waist deep in a green, mucky pond for the last 2 days, it's odd but I'm loving it.

Well, fingers crossed ....it's been about 3 weeks, no major water problems AND there are baby fish bravely swimming out of the plants!

Cool!! Good work!


oh, and post pictures!!

here is a first pic .... still need to do the 'surround-scaping' with stones etc ... just a few plants around the edge for now, to tidy it up quickly because I had company coming/family emergency and couldn't get the thing finished ... but the pond is nice, there are TONS of baby fish in there now; what to DO with them all ????

OK ... looks like the pic upload didn't work ... too big maybe .... will try to figure it out later.

If you don't feed the fish, they will supposedly take care of the over population for you. I've never been very good at that, feeding them is one of the things I enjoy about a fish pond. Still, they are cannibals and will eat their own kids if they can catch them. I try and adopt out as many as I can but that was easier in the US where I had Wakin, a desirable Japanese goldfish, than it is here where I have a gazillion Mollies that everyone else has as well.

The 'big fish eat the little fish' strategy worked fine in my first pond/fountain, since I had no plants in the tank. The babies didn't have anywhere to hide.

In this new pond, I do have lots of plants (grassy things) in the bottom so the babies are well protected ... every day it seems that more and more are venturing out of there, and the first batch are now big enough to come to the surface and nibble on the fish food. It's cute, and I do like feeding the fish, and watching the babies grow.

You're right, feeding them is one of the fun things about a pond; even though they eat a lot of plant stuff (and insect stuff, I hope) I like to throw in a small handful of fish food and watch them; even the old Leopard fish that I transferred from the first tank come to the surface in this pond to eat... I hardly ever saw them in the other tank.