Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸3d ago

I measured the chemical levels of the two ponds this morning.

These tests are really meant for chlorinated pools of course but it still gives good info on the balance in the water.

I don't measure the front yard #pandemicpond anymore now that it is established. The plants or algae growth tell me what is happening.

But since the #poolpond is so new with few plants and only just filled a week ago I wanted to see if the chlorine in the city water had fully dissipated yet and how the alkalinity/ph balance is to get an idea how much clay and stuff was washed in and if the plants will have trouble establishing.

The results seem fine, nothing looks extreme, which is good.

First image is the reference, second is the poolpond, third is the pandemicpond, fourth shows the reference for total hardness of the water but that is mostly irrelevant as our water is naturally soft and doesn't change.

Compared to the pandemicpond, the poolpond is still showing a little bit of chlorine (white pad is a little off white - 0 to 0.5);

Alkalinity looks a little higher (darker yellow/green 40-80)

pH looks higher in the poolpond around 7.8

hardiness looks identical.
#pondlife #gardening #pond #backyardProject #home

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸5d ago

The water was perfectly clear… until I planted the first plants into the bog pond and intake bay! First plantings are always a little iffy because the nutrients in the pond won’t stabilize for a few months. Who knows how much nitrogen made it in with the gravel and little bit of clay or maybe it’ll be too much and the algae will come before the filter gets its compliment of “good bacteria” to start actually filtering and purifying.

I made a plant roster on our back door wall so I could keep track. 😂 🌱 🌱 🌱

A few I have never tried before. This is just the start. We will need more but hoping we can split/propagate a few from the front yard #pandemicpond to save time and money. They are all about $15-$20 a pop.

Here’s the run down:

In the Intake Bay (far corner nearest the shed where water and debris is pulled in and recirculated):

1) A big Red Abyssinian Banana. We’ll see how hardy it is, and if it likes being in the pond. It was marked as a pond plant, but says “moist soil full sun” so I made a little spot inside the liner but built up so its base is dry. It’s a very impressive plant already.

2) Standard pond lily - peach flower. They like deeper water so the bay is the place, the little bit of circulation shouldn’t bother it and it’ll have maximum sun. In time it will provide nice shade for underwater beneficial critters, and a landing pad for airborne critters too.

In the bog filter:

3) nearest in the photo is a marsh marigold, these guys are fantastic, very hardy, and very pretty when they bloom. Would like them to colonize most of the edge of the bog filter to provide a nice soft vibrant edge.

4) flat leafed tall plant is a purple iris.

5) broad leafed low plant is a water Cala lily. They should broaden out and provide nice area coverage.

6) the little guy near the edge is a pitcher plant. It eats bugs! So I put it near the edge. Muaahahaha.

7) tall plant in the back is a type of variegated ginger? It’s called Vanilla Ice…. ice. Ice. Baby.

#poolpond #portalberni #diy #gardening #bloomscrolling #home #water #pond #pondlife

Chris Alemany6d ago

a little cheese and peanut butter for lunch and then i think it might be time to jump in for the first time this year!

Happy almost Summer Solstice!

#home #portalberni #backyardProject #poolpond

Show threadChris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸Jun 15

Here is a before and after from the webcam.

August 31, 2024 seems like a long time ago! Labour Day weekend of that summer I rented the excavator that dug the holes!

Summer heat permitting I'm hoping by this coming Labour Day weekend we'll have grass and paths so the backyard is a little more livable around the water!

#poolpond #backyardProject #pandemicPond2 #pandemicPond #DIY #PortAlberni #gardening #relax #swim

Show threadChris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸Jun 15

Here is a walk around the whole perimeter as it is for now. (sorry for the Youtube link it's too long for my instance.)

https://youtu.be/iBqwYcJMHTg?si=EOakDXfTeQ7yK9OP

This is nearly maximum water, but there are a couple of low points you can see in the pictures attached so once I shore those up, the shallow parts will be a little deeper and the edge will come all the way to the very top of the berms.

more descriptions in the alt text.

#poolpond #backyardProject #pandemicPond2 #pandemicPond #DIY #PortAlberni #gardening #relax #swim

Show threadChris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸Jun 15

practical thought.... we have never had a good place to store our canoe 🛶 .....

until now. 😂
#poolpond #backyardProject #pandemicPond2 #pandemicPond #DIY #PortAlberni #gardening #relax #swim

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸Jun 15

Good morning! Anyone wanna have a swim!?

#poolpond #backyardProject #pandemicPond2 #pandemicPond #DIY #PortAlberni #gardening #relax #swim

Show threadChris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸Jun 15

finally! the pond is *just* overtop the intake bay inlet and flow has reversed to its proper skimming mode. have pump 1 on low and slow. There is just enough water coming in now for the level ti only drop very slowly.

am I sitting on the edge of the pond at dark at midnight watching the water rise ever so slowly so that I can go ?

yes 😂

edit: it's 1AM. Just turned off the water. Both pumps are at 90% power and the water level appears stable. I'm going to go out on a limb and call it a night and hope there is water in the right places in the morning.

who am I kidding. of course there will be. It's even awesome at night.

This was a good day!! 😁 👍

#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #plumbing

Show threadChris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸Jun 15

another inch uo... two to go...

look at the little sprayer I "made". It is angle 45° at the far end of the pond to push floating stuff around the corner toward the other side and the intake. Part of the "self skimming" system.

The water is just coming underneath it now. When it is full the little water jets should be just below or just above the surface of the water, I think just below.

#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #plumbing

Show threadChris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸Jun 15

The last "major" infrastructure kind of things I need to do are:

1) add to more sprayers along the long edge spraying toward the inside edge. Easy peasy. I have the T connectors, I just need to drill two holes in two caps and point them into the pond.

2) I'll be removing some of the gravel from the bog filter. I filled it more full than needed. We’ll start planting stuff in it now, so we'll have a few areas with different water depths suited to different plants from barely on the surface to maybe as deep as 2-6 inches.

3) the foaming and slight adjustments to the stream

4) lots and lots of edge and landscaping and planting work all around the pond. Main goal in the coming days and weeks will be to finish off dealing with the pile of dirt in the back and get everything to a nice level ready for figuring out paths and then top soil and seeding. Really wish I had been able to do it early in the spring but... this is the way it is.

5) oh, and there is an electrical trench to dig! Because who doesn't want to dig a trench in 35ºC weather!

the pond is barely 4 inches below the level of the intake bay! Can't go to bed yet. I'll wait for it to be full enough to turn off the tap water and just leave the pumps on low.

I believe I started filling the bog filter around 9:30. And I've basically had it going full ever since, so we're looking at a solid 16 hours to fill the whole system. Thankfully this will hopefully never have to happen again, at least from dead empty. It's bad for the bog filter once it starts to grow things for it to be dry for more than a few hours so aside from a flush once or twice a year, that hole will always have water to the top.

I will probably only empty the main pond maybe once a year... if I'm lucky, not even that often.

The intake bay i'll empty a little more often, maybe once every spring, summer and fall as that's where all the debris will gather.

No matter what. It's good. Very good. :)

Time to go check if it's made it to the top yet!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #plumbing