Water Mint

I just got the first non-craigslist thing for the pond (besides the fish, I mean). I bought some Water Mint from eBay. Two large plants, coming my way next week, that I plan to immediately stick in some nice water and then take cuttings from when they're acclimated. Then I'm going to need to get a plastic kid pool to hold the pots in.

Hooray Fish!

I have seen two fish today! Visual confirmation of two surviving fish!

Water Temperature Comparison

I'm filling the pool to how high I want the final pond level to be because I built a temperature reader (pvc pipe with aqua thermometers duct taped to various depths) and I want to get an accurate reading of just what my range is. Right now, in a depth of about one-and-a-half feet, I have a temperature (at three inches and on the bottom) of about 83 degrees with a half a degree variance. That's a bit hot for a 'slider, so I'm going to have to make sure my shade plants cover at least half the pool and I'm going to have to make sure it's ok at different depths.

I just checked on average water and air temperatures for Lake Mead and then my part of the city, and the air temp status were only different by a maximum of six degrees (but most of the numbers were only three or four degrees difference). The water temperature at three feet of depth out at Lake Mead (with no shade plants and no wall of shade in the morning) might just be an accurate reading of how I could expect my pool/pond to be. Mine should even be a little cooler because I'll be constantly adding water and I have shade plants.

The lowest the water temperature on the list would be 55 degrees, and that's in January and February. I could get a heater and put it at the bottom of the deepest part and I'll bet I could keep my water temperature at closer to 60, which means my 'slider won't hibernate. He may be a little cold, but he won't hibernate. And it will be ok for my goldfish too, provided the turtle doesn't eat them all. Because he might. Greedyguts.

Day 5 Update

The water is green but we have 50 water hyacinth plants floating in it doing some cleaning. I haven't filled it up all the way to where I want it because I'm trying to get the water clear first so it doesn't look like a giant gross mess. I may be optimistic but in the day and a half that the plants have been in, I seem to be able to see the bottom more clearly. It's green, but not cloudy green.
There is also good news and bad news: We have no more mosquito larvae swimming around / floating but I haven't seen the fish in two days. Except one. One died.

The Muck

I've filled the pool up to about a foot and a half deep in the middle to try and get the muck dispersed evenly. Took the brush to the green mess and noticed it hasn't actually stained the bottom, which is good news. The bad news is that I noticed mosquito larvae (at the stage right before they become mosquitoes) diving and flitting about along the water.

I think I need some fish.

My Craigslist Pond Plan

My Craigslist Pond Plan:
I want a pond. We have an unused pool. You can see where this is going.

The plan is to only get things off Craigslist or use what we have lying around. I realize this is going to take months, both to assemble the parts and to get the water running smoothly and grossness-free, but I apparently need a hobby (something I am in complete control of), so this should be it. I've really taken a liking to our turtle and think that he'd truly enjoy the snot out of a 6000 gallon pond.

After extensive research and writing things and diagramming like someone on caffeine with a pencil, I have come to the conclusion that I need these things:

First:
2 100 gallon containers (round trash cans or similar)
2 1500+ GPH pumps
PVC (which I have a lot of, actually; I just have to find it)
PVC sealant / glue (have this too but might not have enough)
Filter material (which may be the only thing I buy new)

Second:
Floating plants (jumbo hyacinth and frogbit are my top choices)
Planted plants (water lily and some ferny things)
Shade plants (big leaves, can be in-water or side-planted)

I've measured our pool and I'm only going to fill it three feet up. This would reach the second stair (barely) and it would allow for two basking areas for the turtle since we also have a side stair / ledge about that high. And only having three feet of water would allow a great slow rise for shallow plants, plantable plants, and submerged plants to branch out in stages without cramming everything into one area.

Once I get the pumps running, the filters built, and the water smooth and clean for a while, I'll add in the plants. Then I'll ensure the pH and temperature are acceptable for a time, and ... maybe next year Mr Timmy Bonk will get a new home. ... I'll probably stock it with Koi first, though, so they'll get too big for him to eat.