2500+ Gallon outdoor BUILD THREAD at Ellis Aquatics

theMerchant

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Nice to see the other side of the house?. Backyard looks great and a nice retreat.

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JDEllis

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Saw an amazingly bright dragonfly which I believe could be a flame skipper. This thing was bright red/orange and looked to be looking for a spot to drop down to the water and lay eggs I assume. Normally most of our dragonfly visitors are in the pond area for 30-45 seconds to look for a quick meal and move one. This one was out there at least 20 minutes as I was trimming back some elephant ear that has grown massive. I also have recently gotten on a regular weekly fertilizing schedule for all my flowering plants and that has made them explode in growth and blooms. One plumeria has grown about 30-40% this year so far and is covered about 60% in flowers.




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JDEllis

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These turtles have found a way to get out of every inch of the pond so I gave up on keeping them confined and they just sunbathe wherever they wish at this point. Here is two of them enjoying the clovers I decided to let grow to give a natural look by the pond. The clover dangles into the water at several points and the turtles eat it and keep it perfectly trimmed to just above the water line.



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JDEllis

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Added 3 small soft shells to the pond. Finally done QT today and dropped them in after maintenance.



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Buddy at work has turtles. Says they lay eggs everywhere in his backyard. Has a giant snapper that lives under his house. 90lbs. Eats the babies before he finds them and even some of the sub adults are missing limbs. Raccoons don't help either. Your yard is looking good. I've yanked some more grass and expanded my gardens. Been thinking of doing a pond of sorts. Hitting Hawaii every year brings the itch but I'm slow to scratch.
 

JDEllis

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So much been added and removed from the pond but by far the coolest thing is I finally put some effort into breeding the koi and within a week I have baby koi!



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JDEllis

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Also the amount of wildlife that have found the pond is insane compared to year one. Lots of birds I have never seen before, and lizards. All the plants are really coming in strong this spring too.



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JDEllis

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Second batch of koi hatched a day or so ago. Also a shibunkin batch just hatched as well. At least a few hundred if not thousand fry swimming around now. Spent nearly five hours on the pond yesterday cleaning and organizing, fragging plants, and making some plants more natural looking. First time i have ever actually gone into the pond for maintenance. The koi didnt know what to think with me in there, but after about 10 minutes they didnt care and were swimming around normal. Unfortunately i did not put on sunscreen (because i did not want it in the water) and i am burned worse than i have ever been burned in my life (picture available if you guys want to see that too lol)



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Very cool. Not you being sunburned but how the pond is going.
Next time just wear a t-shirt. The reflection off the water was probably cooking you like a rotissorie.
I'm collecting everything for a pond but have yet to start a hole.
Lets see some pictures. Not of you but how the yard is maturing.
 

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