Goodbye Autumn

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by Minster49 Is there anything we can do for protection against this birds? I am digging a pond that is about 3' deep with a 18" shelf for plants....am I just asking to give one of these heron a good meal?

Think netting...nothing gets in. My pond is 4' deep with an 18" shelf 10" below water level along each side for plants, but I think that doesn't matter in the least. Koi can be curious and oblivious at the same time, swim close to the edge to munch on whatever they find interesting and then BAM! Heron's gottem....or raccoon, or.... You get the picture.

Also, as an aside, koi DO jump, especially if they're new to the pond. Sides should be high enough to prevent jumping out, or the pond covered with netting. Also, if your pond is level with the ground, take into consideration the rainy season in your area. Is there danger of overflow?

Marie

[Sangreaal]

And yeah, what Barb said. *S* Three feet is okay for goldfish, but koi can get huge. My pond is the minimum depth I'd advise for anyone to keep koi in, and it's only 4' because it was dug entirely by hand--both I and my hubby have bad backs and he's still paying for having dug the whole thing himself (wouldn't let me help, the sweetie)...though now he can hang around in the sky chair and watch all the beauties cruising the pond while I serve him tea and crumpets. *L*

Marie

[Minster49]

Thanks for all the info on the heron. I will try to go deeper on my pond. Unfortunately I am digging it by hand and there is an unmarked sewage maintance pipe that I busted going under part of my pond so I can only make one end of it deeper than the 3 ft. Had to learn to splice pvc real quick. Fortunately my friend is a retired USAF telephone man, who'd seen a few pvc cuts in his life time so he had it repaired in no time. Hope it's all sealed.

My pond is at the highest point in the yard and the yard lean downward so it's in the best possible location for not getting the brunt of the drainage. How far should I have the water level from the ground level? I would like to have some rocks in the ledge touching the water so I was thinking of having a 4-6" deep ledge to place rock on and having the the water level touching the edge of the rock. Is that a good idea?

I am sorry to hear about your Sweet Autumn. Sounds like such a nice ochiba. Sorry that I turned it into pond 101 for me. Thanks for all the help!

Minh