Habitat - Outdoor :: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Ponds and other outdoor enclosures.

Post Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:43 pm   The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

I just got my computer working again, so here are some pics!

When we bought our house back in 2006, we were so excited that we found one with a pool. Newlyweds (sort of), no kids (yet), and we thought we'd be in that pool every day and night and all through the ridiculous Vegas summers.

From 2006 to 2010, we went in it a total of six times, including the spa dips. And we were paying over $100 a month for it, what with the power, the chemicals, and the extra chemicals, and the super duper extra harsh chemicals because it always turned green. Always. So we drained it.

This summer, our AC broke (omg), and my sister loaned us a swamp cooler. As we were installing it in the back door, she looked over at the drained pool with the green puddle in the middle from our latest rainstorm and she said, "Why don't you turn that into a pond for Timmy?"

A lot of research later, here we are.

Here's the reason for this pond:
Image

This is in the beginning, when I had just filled it and found someone selling water hyacinths on Craigslist:
Image
The sticks have thermometers on them so I could test the temp at different depths and different areas to get a good idea of if it was turtle-safe out there. The depth is about 32 inches at the deepest in the center, and on the sides it's a little under 12 inches. So far the highest water temp I've recorded was 87 and that's when it was 110+ outside.

Then I added a shade to it, which dropped the temperature on that side by about five degrees:
Image

I had put some goldfish in earlier to help keep the mosquito population down, and all but one survived. And they got huge. The fish that survived Timmy's dinnertime also were released outside (they survived Turtle Island, they got to move on to the bonus round of Pool Pond Survivor). When we moved Timmy from inside to outside, I tethered his basking dock to one of the poles of the shade:
ImageImage
He loves it. It's where all the turtles bask, really; it's their favorite place. I need to either get another one or two of those or find something similar.

I had been keeping some plants in the spa area so that nobody would eat them (having gotten four more rescue turtles in the meantime), but some were getting so big that I felt it was ok to move them out into the pool. Here is my first modest plant area, with a large water mint and three water mint cuttings that had sprouted, and one of the brick basking areas:
Image

One of the plecos hides in between the bricks there. I can't find the second one but I know he's around somewhere. We named them Butt and Cheek. And then I kind of accidentally bought another one for the spa, so we then had Accidental Pleco.

It seemed the turtles really wanted someplace to hide, so I disassembled the two pet carriers I had in the garage and flipped the bottoms upside-down to make little hiding places. They all cram into the two, so perhaps I should aim to get more:
Image

A guy from the county came out with a bucket of 20-30 mosquito fish at my request, free of charge. Those things breed like nobody's business, so now we have about 400, at a rough count, and new babies are coming out every day. I've even watched them give birth. It's crazy.

The orange ring is the fish feeding ring - I try to keep their food within that hoop so that it trains them somewhat and also keeps it from all floating into the plants.
Image

Image

It was raining today when I took this picture, but you can kind of see the new reeds I found yesterday on clearance at a local home improvement store. I also just sunk my yellow water irises I got from a friend. I have plans for that little step over on the side - I have three banana plants that I'm caring for after the repotting went awry; I'm going to just have them on the side and not in the water, but I'll have a small, weak water pump giving them a slow trickle of nutrient-rich fish water on a timer so they always get fed. Or I'll just bucket them water every morning and evening since I'm out there anyway.
Image

And, finally, bonus pics of my turtles.
Not Original Timmy, and possibly the female that has laid eggs before (she was one of three rescues from the same house so I'm not too clear on who is who). I don't have shots of all of them but I plan to take pictures at their next health check (which is likely next week when my sister can come over and help me).

Image
Here she is again with the male she came with:
Image


One thing I didn't get a shot of yet (because I'm not done with it) is the wading pool I'm putting at the shaded end. I have to rearrange the bricks and re-sink it better. It'll be fish-proof and only for the turtles to get into, because the dang fish eat all the turtle food. Anything I put into the pond is immediately fish food. I know the turtles eat my plants, and I'm sure they've caught a fish or three, and I'm not worried they're starving, but I do want to make sure they get what they need. It'll also keep the bottom of the pool cleaner, which is a bonus.

So there you go. :D
Extra bonus - the goldfish eating out of my hand:
Image

Oh! Double-Extra Bonus:
BABY TIMMY (hatched in January 2012)
Image
Outside Pond Boys: :mrgreen:Timmy & Chewy & Ike
Outside Pond Girls: :msgreen:Betty & Frick & Frack & Tina & Nyrtle-Sweetpea
Inside Tank: :mrgreen:Sheldon :msgreen: Mork :msgreen: Mindy
Nursery: :?: Baby Timmy & Ranger
User avatar
apondfortimmy
 
Posts: 489
Joined: Sep 8, 2012
Location: Las Vegas
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:49 pm   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Beautiful.

Do you have any filtration going?

I almost had a heart attack when I got to the end and saw the picture of baby Timmy and mentally compared it to the first picture. Then, I remembered the naming story.
Tobi a RES born in 2012
1 dog, 1 teenager, 3 aquariums filled with fish, snails, shrimp and a bit of algae
User avatar
ljapa
 
Posts: 925
Joined: Jul 21, 2012
Location: Near Chicago in IN
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:57 pm   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Ha! :D Ok, now that I look at that picture and the first one, that's hilarious.

I'm getting a pump and filter tonight, I think. So no, not right now. One thing I'm terrified of is sucking the baby fish into the pump / filter. How do you avoid something horrible like that and still get the algae / pond gunk to filter?
Outside Pond Boys: :mrgreen:Timmy & Chewy & Ike
Outside Pond Girls: :msgreen:Betty & Frick & Frack & Tina & Nyrtle-Sweetpea
Inside Tank: :mrgreen:Sheldon :msgreen: Mork :msgreen: Mindy
Nursery: :?: Baby Timmy & Ranger
User avatar
apondfortimmy
 
Posts: 489
Joined: Sep 8, 2012
Location: Las Vegas
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:16 pm   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Nice conversion. I'm not sure if the filter will be enough to control the algae, you might be looking at a UV attachment for your filter.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:33 pm   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

great work! nice picture of baby timmy. :)
FAREWELL DUMBORK
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36799

follow my blog: dumbork.wordpress.com
youtube: pawii29

pictures and video
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=32931
User avatar
dumbork14
 
Posts: 761
Joined: Jun 18, 2012
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 12:10 am   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

The pump / filter combo I went to look at tonight was a recently ripped-out spa pump. Canister style, about 10 years old. No thanks.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a submersible that'll keep my multi-000 gallon pond doing ok? I have yet to receive a good total on the true gallonage because the water bill hasn't been coming.

(I'm still browsing the rest of the forum; I'm sure I'll come across something that'll help me but I haven't found it yet.)
Outside Pond Boys: :mrgreen:Timmy & Chewy & Ike
Outside Pond Girls: :msgreen:Betty & Frick & Frack & Tina & Nyrtle-Sweetpea
Inside Tank: :mrgreen:Sheldon :msgreen: Mork :msgreen: Mindy
Nursery: :?: Baby Timmy & Ranger
User avatar
apondfortimmy
 
Posts: 489
Joined: Sep 8, 2012
Location: Las Vegas
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:22 am   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

All you need to keep the baby fish out is a good prefilter on the filter.

Great Pond, I added you to the pond index.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=32548&p=309309#p309309
Last edited by Linus on Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
1 F RES 9" (Kingler)
1 F Belize Slider 7" (Agamemnon)
My Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/condorboy1/videos
User avatar
Linus
 
Posts: 1260
Joined: Jul 31, 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:25 am   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Woohoo! Thanks! :D

I'll look into prefilters once I get the filter sorted. I may have to wait until next payday since the $50 magic pump of doom didn't work out.
Outside Pond Boys: :mrgreen:Timmy & Chewy & Ike
Outside Pond Girls: :msgreen:Betty & Frick & Frack & Tina & Nyrtle-Sweetpea
Inside Tank: :mrgreen:Sheldon :msgreen: Mork :msgreen: Mindy
Nursery: :?: Baby Timmy & Ranger
User avatar
apondfortimmy
 
Posts: 489
Joined: Sep 8, 2012
Location: Las Vegas
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:26 am   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

You could always do a DIY project.

BTW, link added to previous post to the index.
1 F RES 9" (Kingler)
1 F Belize Slider 7" (Agamemnon)
My Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/condorboy1/videos
User avatar
Linus
 
Posts: 1260
Joined: Jul 31, 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:56 am   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Very impressive.
Instagram: Diamondbacks4Life
User avatar
Diamondbacks4Life
Moderator
 
Posts: 2349
Joined: Apr 4, 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:26 pm   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

This pond is my sanity, I swear. It's the only time I get to myself with two kids and a sick husband, so when I'm out there, it's MY TIME. I relax, fiddle with the plants, watch the wildlife, plan things, enjoy the heck out of the quiet moments, and I love it. Even though I rarely see the turtles while I'm outside, I know they are there and I can watch them enjoying it from my bedroom window.

Right now I'm watching as one turtle contemplates a climb onto my reed pots. The reeds are their new favorite things, it seems. They've smashed most of them but that's ok, I put them there to be enjoyed. There are still enough standing for the dragonflies.

And my irises are already growing - they survived the mail and the repotting and have gotten at least an inch taller in places. Wow.

I think I need more reeds.

Yep, more just got smashed.
Outside Pond Boys: :mrgreen:Timmy & Chewy & Ike
Outside Pond Girls: :msgreen:Betty & Frick & Frack & Tina & Nyrtle-Sweetpea
Inside Tank: :mrgreen:Sheldon :msgreen: Mork :msgreen: Mindy
Nursery: :?: Baby Timmy & Ranger
User avatar
apondfortimmy
 
Posts: 489
Joined: Sep 8, 2012
Location: Las Vegas
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:50 am   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Tomorrow morning I plan to make a bricked-off plant area in the main pond so I can move the plants out of the spa, since now I need to turn it into a quarantine area for the two new turtles I ended up with the other day. Hooray for projects!

I'm still working on the filter / pump options, but the pond is looking super green now and has algae all along the bottom (it billows out when I step into the pond), so sooner rather than later would be good.
Outside Pond Boys: :mrgreen:Timmy & Chewy & Ike
Outside Pond Girls: :msgreen:Betty & Frick & Frack & Tina & Nyrtle-Sweetpea
Inside Tank: :mrgreen:Sheldon :msgreen: Mork :msgreen: Mindy
Nursery: :?: Baby Timmy & Ranger
User avatar
apondfortimmy
 
Posts: 489
Joined: Sep 8, 2012
Location: Las Vegas
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:54 pm   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Being a swimming pool tech, I can tell you it is not going to be swimable any time soon! LMAO... J/P

I think this is totally awesome! Most people with pool they no longer want just fill them in and be done with it. You repurposed a swimming pool...! I cant go that far and do this, but I am actually going to be making a corner of my yard a turtle pond on Saturday.
Squirt (RES)
Squishy (Northern Red Bellied)
Vern (RES)
Morpheus (RES Hatchling)
Neo (RES Hatchling)
Oddie (DBT Yearling)
Gouramies that live with them Peacefully.
User avatar
The Troops
 
Posts: 80
Joined: Sep 18, 2012
Location: Fairless Hills, PA
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:05 pm   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

Hope you take pics and post a build thread!
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:44 pm   Re: The Pond for Timmy (all the Timmys) (PICS)

That is a really cool pond. If that is the Dennys I think it is I live right up the street :).
1 YBS ~ Squirtle
4 Mini Doxies ~ Pebbles, Sam, Donut & Rosco
2 Snails ~ Bluey and Jerry
User avatar
sweety10189110
 
Posts: 250
Joined: Jul 2, 2012
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Gender: Female

Next

Return to Habitat - Outdoor

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests

cron