Habitat - Outdoor :: were moving !!!

Ponds and other outdoor enclosures.

Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:31 pm   were moving !!!

WELLLLLL my boyfriend FINALLY decided to buy a house !!! and low and behold the house has a rather large koi pond in the back yard !!!
Image seen there , it doesnt currently look like that , its a little beat up and still has some goldfish in it , we dont move till the end of april , not sure if anyone will be alive by then but well see xD , it has a skimmer and pump and as you can see waterfall already installed , i just want some tips on cleaning it and keeping it clean !!!! this will be home to 2 turtles in the future , My RES male named Smalls and and unsexed diamondback terrapin (summers only gets reeeaaaaally cold in the winters here) , and in the winter will be housed in a 40 gallon breeder :D :D :D :D I wanna know EVERYTHING from alge to plants to everyyythingggggg !!! lol , theres some lily pads still in there , i saw when i went to look at the house , but everything and anything i need to know i want to know lol xD if that makes sence :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
this is the ponds sad sad sad current condition ....

Image
Last edited by the-turtle-Girl on Sat Mar 10, 2018 7:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
2 RES Males , God and Lucifer
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the-turtle-Girl
 
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:33 pm   Re: were moving !!!

im not sure whats on the bottom currently cause theyres leaves in it , BUT i plan on using sand for the bottom :)
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the-turtle-Girl
 
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:41 am   Re: were moving !!!

That looks awesome!
Just make sure your turtles won't be able to climb and run away, that predators won't get to them, and that they have a place to bask :D
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:54 pm   Re: were moving !!!

Lol yes it needs quite a bit of work before its turtle friendly xD , the rocks in the back will be replaced with sand , the bottom of the pond will be sand , the rocks will be built up on the front side to prevent escaping and ill make sure theres plenty of hiding spots for both my babies :D
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:29 pm   Re: were moving !!!

That's so nice!!
You MUST post photos when it will be done, would love to see what you'll make out of it!
Are you going to add floating plants again? Ponds always look so much nicer with them! I plan on putting water lettuce in mine when I'll build it ^^
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 1:41 pm   Re: were moving !!!

DEFFFF lol , yea im thinking duck weed and theres already lilys in there , floating plants are also easier to keep lol , We don't move till almost the end of april so getting them in this summer will be a stretch , might not be till next year that they end up in the pond .. plus my boyfriend wants to put bluegill sunfish in as well , so water quality making sure everything is in working order is whats important first ! i just wanted some tips from people who actually have a large pond so i know what im getting into xD
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 8:38 pm   Re: were moving !!!

Wow! So lucky :D

Any occupants in the pond currently? You will probably want to drain everything out and then go from there. Lots of potential from the pics :)
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 10:10 pm   Re: were moving !!!

Not as far as i know besides some goldies xD lots of leaf litter in the bottom o.o , i went today and really looked at it and it needs quite a but before its truly turtle friendly xD i looked at the pump and stuff and everything seems to be there , the water lines are all ran and stuff , the waterfall is lacking , but i can see lily pads and stuff still in there so i wanna salvage as much as i can , and theres a creek close by so im just gunna go and steal sand from it and clean it real good to save on money xD but i plan on putting sand on the whole bottom and on the side where the gravel is , Ill see if i can get over there this week and take some pics of the current state , we just got a load of snow dumped on us too xDDD , like i said we get to move in HOPEFULLY by april 20th and as soon as we have everything in the house im going to work on that bad boy xD , and then ill have my 40gall set up for them for winter time , someone gave my mom a 40gallon turtle kit so i have a turtle clean and my magnum on it , i learned with the magnum i can just cram it with bio media and it still works xDD and the turtle clean has charcol and ceramic rings and filter pads , i might put those up and get a sun sun , im not sure , the 40gall will be the winter home for them only tho , hopefully , idk how long its gunna take till i get to let them test the pond , cause like you said it needs drained , i need to get everything off the bottom and stuff and figure out the actual structure of the pond , but im excited to get working on it !!!! any tips or ideas would be lovely !!! :D
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:59 am   Re: were moving !!!

Do you know how deep it is? You will probably need to build up the walls, maybe have a beach area and driftwood. Maybe have a bench in there for you to sit and relax!
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 1:46 pm   Re: were moving !!!

theres not a whole lot of room for a lounge or anything for us xD but theres a hot tub with it but im not sure if bf wants to keep the hot tub xDD i cant 100% say but between a foot and a half to 2 feet , but theres ALOOOOT of plant and leaf litter in it .. lol it needs majorrrrr cleaning but you can see the hot tub in the enclosed pic ..
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 1:56 pm   Re: were moving !!!

I think there will be a lot of runoff water from your porch into the pond. Take out the hot tub and add an outdoor kitchen or grill :)
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 1:58 pm   Re: were moving !!!

I plan on making the walls higher , in the back i have to make some sort of fence , because theres big gaps between the current fence .. ill add sand plants a log for them to climb on for basking :D may make a diy filter on top of the one thats there or cram the current one with bio media . And it its up a little higher than ground level and the liners there :P
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:03 pm   Re: were moving !!!

How much work/renovation are you planning for?
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:39 pm   Re: were moving !!!

ti need to completely drain and clean the pond itself , and straighten the blocks and add to it if needed , the gravel needs taken out and replaced with sand and i need to do some fencing to prevent escapes , plus add sand on the bottom of the pond and straighten up the waterfall , before i can even think about putting my babies in it .. I have a 40 gallon thatll be theyre home till thw pond is ready , Smalls is a male and hes a small male , mostly because he was stunted in the first 6 months of his life , but hes about 4 inches from the top of his shell to right by his tail . and the diamondback terrapin is right behind him , im not sure on sex yet but i know smalls is FORSURE a male ... i seen the pipes xDDD
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 10:11 pm   Re: were moving !!!

Sounds good, you must be itching to get started. Does the pond get a lot of sun?
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