Soon after we first had the pond dug out, I purchased a tiny, floating solar panel and pump that were all in one unit, and did an interesting job of spritzing water into the air while the sun shone.
I can’t fault this little gadget, we have left it in the pond every winter where it has frozen solid for a few months, and each spring, it has come back to perform its duties. I have lifted it out from time to time to clean the filter, but by and large, it has been a reliable friend.
Unfortunately, the tiny spritzing that it does has failed to do much in the way of aerating the pond. I was hoping that with a little circulation, the pond could become a bit clearer and less of a haven for mosquitoes.
In that light, I recently ordered a larger pump with separate solar panel. It arrived about a week or so ago, and on the first sunny day, Kenny and I installed it.
I placed the pump underneath the dock Grandpa had made, so that it was well submerged, but not resting on the murky bottom.
Then I installed the solar panel at the base of one of our spruce trees overlooking the pond. Finally I went in search of some sort of pipe to let the water run out of and fall into the pond. I felt that falling water would do a better job of aeration.
Instead, I found a rusty piece of angle iron and had a “lightbulb” moment. It looked much more in tune with nature than any sort of plastic or even metal pipe could have done. I carried it down to the pond and pushed it into the softish soil around the tree roots. Then I piled rocks around the base of it, using them to hold the outlet pipe in position above the groove of the angle iron.
Stepping out from the sun, I could see the water working its way up through the nylon hose until it reached the iron trough and ran into the pond.
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| Looks perfect! |
It was music to my ears! So much so that since then I have added a few goldfish, with plans to add a few more for visual interest as well as auditory.
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| My official Goldfish assistant |
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| After letting them acclimatize, time to set them free. |
Definitely enjoying the whole thing now!