Binklebonk

I couldn't find my sucker anywhere! He's little and in a tank just with an apple snail. I was starting to think the snail had done the unthinkable... until I checked the filter! The intake hose has a cage over it so he must have climbed up the outflow, which is like a wee waterfall on the back wall of the tank! Why do we go to such lengths to give them a good home when they'd rather live in a tiny dark box surrounded by ceramic noodles? :rolfl:

Sp the Irises stay leafy all year and then flower in the summer? That sounds like a goer!

Thanks! That gives me lots to research Lots of weeding and tidying done today! Though not 100% looking good because our lawn mower is being repaired at the moment. Just gotta choose plants for over the back there. Here's a photo update:

Do they all have a human head in the centre? Cos that's awesome Do these need boggy conditions? behind the pond is dry. Of course I can water it lots - but I think there is a possibility there is concrete a foot or so down because this area used to be a tacky pebble garden What I DO have access to is a few large rocks (like 10kg+ rocks) that I can use to make wee rock garden bits near the top of the pond too which could look good.

I have calculated it's about 1668 litres!

OK some work done today I ran the hose in and all around it to loosen up all the goop. I weeded and trimmed all the islands so they were no longer taking over the whole area. I overflowed it for ages and used the leaf rake to get all the solid bits out of it (and chucked any fish I scooped out back in LOL) All the mud, roots, unwanted plant bits that I didn't want I chucked on the garden in and around the pond cos I figured it's probably good for the garden? I'm thinking I need some water lillies for some more interesting leaf shapes and flowers and also something with bigger more luch leaves for the garden in behind. Any suggestions are welcome

YESSS! I have been reading the Savage Garden subreddit - soooo awesome. Thanks for the headsup about them not doing well inside... saved me from learning the hard way Do most cps tolerate the cold? *rubs hands together in delight*

I'm thinking I could chuck some irrigation across the back and some bigger shrubs to provide some shade too - something like large flax, then in front there will be some shade. That middle bit could maybe be dug out, lined with plastic and made into a bog garden.... or planted up with moss?

Oohh I'm completely sold then! LOVE carnivorous plants. Infact I'm currently reading up on how to make some sort of carnivorous terarrium.... well the plants would be carnivorous, not the actual terrarium but you know what I mean I could probably plant one up in one of the islands eh?

To empty it, do I just syphon off all the water? I think we did that in an attempt to clean it a while back and we were still left with a good couple of inches of water/sludge The only reason I was talking of thinning out the plants was because one of the islands has grass in it LOL. I wonder what kinds of plants I can plant around the edge that would trail over? sarracenias - like a pitcher plant thing? (Yup I had to google!) are they OK in Christchurch with our frosts etc?

Oh and some sort of bridge would be handy, because the tap is there and I often jump across the pond to get to it I also need to somehow pump out all the sludge from the bottom - the water is fine (I used my test kit to check) but it has a build up of crap (literally) on the bottom

Yup I can top it up to be level with the lawn at the front. The bit at the back is supposed to be garden - it's about 1-1.5m between the house and pond edge. So I will weed the edges and once my mower is fixed the lawn will be nicer LOL. I'm thinking of some sort of fountain type thing to circulate the water a bit more and I'm stuck for planting ideas over the back there.

We moved into this house ten years ago. There were already some fish in the pond. I bought some plants to give them shade, as it's a very sunny spot. Since then they haven't been fed or anything except the occasional top up from the hose. I have always hated it just because I've done nothing with it... but it's quite amazing. It's concrete, about 30cm deep, the water is always very clear, except for the layer of scum on the bottom. The plants have thrived - to the point where they have made islands that the cats walk over without getting wet paws (that have worms and slugs in them which I was suprised at) and the fish have lots of hidey places and are seldom caught. There is a school of goldfish there - not sure how old any of the individuals are, but they have existed as a group for the past ten years with no help from me. There is an outdoor plug thingie on the side of the house near it and a tap Here's a pic (bucket for scale): I'd like to fully take advantage of what I have - because I think it's pretty awesome. BUT I need ideas! I need to weed around the edge, and weed the islands, or thin them out a bit Can anyone help me with ideas? Also does anyone want chunks of pond plants from my islands? The area surrounding my pond is very dry, because the edge of the pond is concrete there is no marginal area really - so I find planting up hard because plants for hot dry areas don't really match the wet boggy look of the pond.

LOL very true. I might get one or two more and just keep an eye on the water quality. At least it's not cruel to rehome fish like it can be for other animals

Ok so I'm a complete noob but I'm doing my best to make sure I learn as much as I can. I have a 29L tank (51cmX21x30) and it contains one male betta, six black phantom tetras and an oto. When stocking my tank I looked into water quality, nitrogen cycle, appropriate food etc. I knew it was easy to overstock a tank so I was careful to only put a few fish in. I looked on AqAdvisor and I think I'm "over stocked" though I'm not sure how it works. Yes my tank is 29l but the filter turnover is 200l/hr. AqAdvisor says I'm not overstocked in terms of filtration, but it says that my tank size isn't appropriate for a tetras as they grow to 5cms. Surely a 51cm long tank can accomodate a 5cm fish? Also I have only one Oto (reccomended by LFS, but I later discovered they need buddies!). I want him to be happy - do I rehome him or do I risk further overstocking by getting him friends? I'm more than happy to do regular water changes. There is currently no ammonia reading in the tank and nitrates below 20ppm with twice weekly water changes (about 30%ish change) Can anyone give me a quick lesson on stocking? Anyone in Christchurch want a free Oto if I can't safely give him buddies? I do love the wee oto though... I say 'he' but I have no idea and it's actually called Julia ETA: Not sure if it's important but I forgot to mention I have a bubble maker pump thing.