Habitat - Outdoor :: pond - all natural

[Karen]

Probably going to get kicked for this, but how do you all feel about a pond just being left alone, with the occasional algae/debris clearing and adding water?

Mine's about 120 gallons and the original plan to turn the half barrel next to it into a waterfall of sorts resulted in a lot of lost pond water. Haven't had the funds to do what I need to ensure the water stays where it belongs, so the pond has been left au' naturel...

There's a bit of mud and muck in the bottom for the plants and the turtles seem to enjoy burying themselves in it at times.

The smaller feeder fish disappeared quickly, but the others have decided to imitate koi. Everyone seems to like the floating turtle sticks - including the cats (?!?).

Besides the obvious lack of containment system issue I have recently experienced, are there any real concerns with this set-up? It gets sun maybe 6 hours a day - and most of that is cloudy. I have noticed that the growth has pretty much come to a stand-still since Tiki & Tabby have been out there. I'm afraid it may be too cold? This is a *really* natural environment...

??

Thanks - Karen in the Monterey Bay area

[steve]

just adding water does not remove certain chemicals that build up and cannot not be filtered with bio-media. alot of aquatic plants might help, however 120 gallons is not big enough for a self-sustaining habitat. turts may survive but fish probably wont last long. regular water changes are needed.

[RES Tampa]

Could you hook up some kind of filter for the pond temporarily? Maybe get some water lettuce as well. One plant is all you need to get started. It will multiply quickly.

Homemade filters are not very complicated or expensive to make and we got our pump for our 125 gal outside pond for about $70.

[steve]

It would help, but not to the extent where water changes would be obsolete.

The pond should have some shaded areas as well.

Not sure what you mean by the "cats" - they should be kept away. If the water temps are 75-78 F, you're good. You will need a heater if the water gets too cold.

[marisa]

I've been sustaining the outdoor set-ups I have this summer with mostly partial water changes and an occasional complete water change and cleaning. None are big (the biggest is 100 gallons).
Since I do take the turts in at night, I net out any debris and cover the set-ups for the night (keeps the water much cleaner and keeps out the mosquitoes) and do a partial water change the next day. Having water hyancith has worked well for providing extra shade in addition to shading a portion of the tanks.

RES Tampa, are your homemade filters trickle filters?

[Karen]

Please help me understand...

These are turtles. Both non-tropical species that normally live in conditions harsher than my backyard. Am I mistaken in this? Seriously - not trying to be sarcastic. I mean, the temperatures here range from 50+ at night to *maybe* 80 during the day for about few hours on a good day. It's generally in the low 70's most of the day. Water temperature is lower than that almost all the time. What is the purpose for keeping the water that warm 24 hours a day?

The pond water is warmer at the top (obviously); and they spend most of the water time at the bottom. They have a rock formation in the shallow end of the pond and a couple of stepping stones on the edge they frequently bask on. They also have water hyacinth and fernish-stuff to be stealthy in. Not to mention plenty of muck with which to bury themselves, again, quite cool.

The turtles have been in the pond for 2 to 3 months now and seem to be really quite content. Even before the sun has come up all the way, they are grabbing bugs off the pond edges - and it's too cold for *me*!

They've got a pretty varied diet - seeing as how they only seem to catch fish that are new or are asleep. The pond gets floating food sticks, I simply assume the turtles are actually eating some of them.

I will start putting veggie bits out on the stepping stones - my Painted was my first turtle and he only eats underwater so it never occured to me to offer anything else.

Really interested in opinions on all this...

[marisa]

Perhaps I misunderstood--several members including myself keep turts that are in outdoor enclosures during the day but brought in at night. Cool temps are not an issue for me, in fact, it's been really hot here this summer and if anything I have to try to lower the temp, not raise it. When the weather gets cooler (which it will fairly shortly), the turts will be brought in for the winter.

Have you had your turtles for a while or have you recently gotten them (I know you've just acquired Otter, but I've forgotten if you previously told how long you've had the others). Are they used to the type of environment they're in (i.e. in a pond)? The temp fluctuation is a large one, and sounds cooler overall than what would be the norm in a RES's natural habitat. The painted is smaller and would be more sensitive to warmth than a larger turtle.

Warmer temps stimulate the metabolism and if a turtle, particularly a hatchling/smaller turt is constantly kept in temps that are too cool, it will become inactive and not want to eat. It will also be more susceptible to respiratory infections. In the wild, turtles are obviously at the mercy of the environment/weather and can survive under less than ideal conditions, but are these turtles to be treated as if they're wild? (I'm not making any judgement here, just wondering how you view them.)

Are these pets? How cool does it get in the fall/winter months where you are? Will you be keeping them inside if it gets cool/cold or are you thinking of letting them hibernate in the pond?

[RES Tampa]

Marisa - We have a purchased filter that has bio-media and a foam filter layer. It is really a simple design and could have been easily made at home with a rubbermaid container and some foam layers. Karen was talking about not having funds to do much so I suggested a homemade filter.

We seem to have a leak in our pond somewhere cause we lose more water than I think is reasonable to evaporation. Spent most of the day today pulling part of it apart and didnot find any leaks. Im afraid we might have a leak in the liner. Not looking forward to replacing that!

[Oldturtle72]

Hi, Karen,
Your pond, as it is now, will eventually kill your turtles. Without underwater plants and a pretty good circulation of water, via an angled pump or a filtration system , there is no way to disperse or eliminate the nitrate build-up in the water that is generated by the muck and mire on the pond bottom or the excrement and urine and food that is rotting there. You cannot equate your dinky pond with a back-bay or slough off some river or creek that has an adequate water area and/or movement and most likely numerous vegetation both underwater and marginal. Therefore, is is not advisable to let the water stay in that habitat for any length of time without some underwater plants such as anachris or lillies and some floaters such as you can get that are not banned in your state. These plants will reduce the nitrate build-up and also put much needed oxygen into the water and the plants will absorb alot of the nutrients that the fish and turts are adding to your pond. Also a pump, say 200 GPH placed on its' side will give you needed circulation til you get you waterfall going. You will also need to drain out 25 gallons or so and replace it with non-chlorinated water at least once a week. If all these suggestions are followed, I see no reason for your turts and fish not to be 'HAPPY CAMPERS'. George

[marisa]

George, if I ever get a pond, I'll be in need of your expertise.

RES Tampa--what filter and pump did you get, and how many GPH is the pump?

[RES Tampa]

With advice from OT I got a pondmaster PM-5 pump - 500GPH and I added a Cyprio Ecocell 1000 filter - also rated at 500GPH. In hindsight I wish I had bought a presurized unit as the gravity flow model is harder to hide but I think it is doing a good job. I also would have gotten the next larger pump as it has a larger outlet pipe so more water flow. Such are the drawbacks of budget shopping! Got both from azponds.com - good website for pond supplies.

[marisa]

The pressurized model means it can be used out of the tank?

[RES Tampa]

The pressurized units can be buried more than the gravity fed units. The outlet of my filter has to be equal to the top of the waterfall. If I had no waterfall I could bury most of the filter. My filter is also an out of pond filter. I wanted that for ease of cleaning.

[marisa]

I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a pond filter to replace the XP3. How did you calculate the GPH you needed for the pump? I've read if it's too strong it will work against beneficial bacteria from forming.

[RES Tampa]

I actually started with the filter, which is rated for a max pond size with a max flow rate and then I picked the pump with a similar flow rate.

Are you wanting to get an outside filter for a large inside tank?