CanadaquaBetween Pond and Tanks

Marking the territory

We knew we wanted flowing water and a pond deep enough to overwinter fish, but didn’t have the space for a riverbed, so a tiered pond with a small waterfall was our choice. Since our backyard is completely flat, we had to create a berm the waterfall could ‘spring’ from. This was also the easiest solution to get rid of the soil we dug out.

As for position, we wanted part shade, part sun. A compromise between having flowering plants and keeping algae in check. We also didn’t want to have to fish out too many leaves in the fall, so opted for a position at the edge of an overhanging lilac bush, took out the day-glo spray can and marked our territory:

In the end, we decided to go a little bigger than originally planned, but not too much.

We’re going to build a pond

The tiger had been making noises about a pond in the backyard for some time, so I gave him a kit for his birthday a couple of months ago.

The had already decided about size, style and place. What would still ‘look right’ and in scale? How much maintenance could we/did we want to put up with?

We have a stamp size backyard, part of which is taken up by our deck, so it was pretty clear from the beginning that it would be a small pond, roughly the size of a large bath tub.

Nestled in the lily arch is where it’ll be:

I’m thinking Fish

I revived my old off and on interest in a small aquarium and have been doing some reading and measuring and collecting infos (I think I’m talking enough about it to drive the tiger slightly bonkers). Oceanic’s 29g Biocube looks like a good start. I’m considering getting one as soon as my office is finished.