A lot has happened since I wrote about our early fish rescue efforts. See the story “Fish Pond” in “Old Articles”.

Carrie determined that the pond wasn’t getting enough light so we moved it. That required we first dig a new hole on the west side of the Office, temporarily relocate the fish, drain the water while relocating the pond plants, and pull the pond out of the ground. We took the opportunity to clean the pond liner and scrape off as much of the green gunk as possible.

We put the pond into its new hole and carefully backfilled the dirt. Fresh water and a new pump and filter, and we were almost ready to reload the plants and fish.

Not wanting the orange extension cord to become a permanent feature of the yard, we installed a new outdoor electrical outlet on the Office wall nearest the pond.

With everything plugged in and humming and burbling we moved the fish back into their home. They thrived in the newly cleaned and aerated sunny environment.

New Fish
On a shopping trip to pick up fish food and supplies we came home with a Koi. It was a two inch long strange mottling of white, black, and gold. The legacy pond comets and fancy goldfish welcomed the Koi to their finned family.
Unexpectedly we found we had another pet that we were unaware of. A tadpole and some snails had apparently traveled with one of the plants we bought and had made themselves at home. Some research determined the tadpole was a bullfrog-to-be which had about a two year egg-to-adult growth cycle.

Throughout the year we watched as the Koi more than quadrupled in size and the bullfrog-to-be sprouted legs. The fish were tame enough that they would eat out of our hands. One morning we were surprised to find that someone had babies! There were about ten tiny fish swimming about. Their parentage was never settled; we never knew who was male and who was female, but based on their markings we assume Lefty the fancy goldfish contributed some DNA. Our aquatic life was good.

But then disaster struck.
Using the submerged water lily pot as its mid-pond perch, a raccoon raided the pond one night and ate every fish it could reach and the newly mature bullfrog. Carrie had the unpleasant experience of discovering entrails and scales in the grass around the pond. The only survivors were three of the baby fish, perhaps because they were too small to be noticed.

Nothing much changed for a few months. The baby fish grew. We didn’t add new fish and pretty much accepted the status quo. But then we started to replace the roof of the office.

What does a roof have to do with a fish pond? We found that the fish pond was in jeopardy of bombardment from our construction debris. Carrie and I had discussed building a new pond and abandoning this one for some time, but this was the motivation needed to get us going.

Nothing is ever easy. Taking a break from roof repair we picked the ideal spot for the new pond. Unfortunately there were two huge bushes in that spot. Not wanting to kill them, we took the trouble to dig them up and move them next to the garden. It appears our effort may not pay off as both bushes have lost their leaves and may not recover from the shock of moving. But Carrie has a reputation for resurrecting plants that appear to be dead, so there is still hope.

Next I got to dig the hole for the pond. For some reason that may require some regression therapy to expose, I enjoy digging. Dig Dig Dig. Give me a couple of shovels and a pick ax and I am a happy guy. Knowing this, Carrie didn’t feel the least hesitation in asking that the pond be 4 feet by 6 feet by 4 feet deep. It took me two weekends to finish, but it was a good looking hole. I got a little overzealous and had to add a foot of dirt back in, but that was okay as that still qualifies as digging. Dig Dig Dig.

Okay, I screwed up this next step. We had designed a wooden surround to border the hole. This would give us an attachment point for the pond liner and a lip to keep debris and raccoons from getting into the pond. Carrie was thinking of the raccoon when she specified the depth as it is hoped raccoons cannot hold their breath too long. A 4’ by 6’ hole requires a wooden surround that is at least 4 ½’ by 6 ½’. Pretty basic, right? Well I missed that detail and cut all of the 4” by 6” timbers the wrong length. If I had cut them too long I could have recovered. Cutting them too short meant that we had to go buy new timbers and start over. Carrie came up with a creative solution to use up the too-short lumber; another pond! Dig Dig Dig. Next month.

So, with the pond surround stained/sealed, leveled, and screwed together we were ready to install the liner. Imagine wrapping a present. But here we were wrapping the inside of the box. The box is big enough for us to stand in and the wrapping paper- pond liner is stiff heavy plastic that doesn’t want to cooperate.

After a couple of trial and error stabs at pre-folding the liner in various orientations we (Carrie) managed to get the liner into the hole. We added water and let the liner settle overnight, looking forward to doing the finish work and moving the fish. It wasn’t to be. The high tech industrial grade pond liner with laser welded seams we bought leaked! Luckily, the company we bought it from gave us a replacement liner of heavier plastic and fewer seams. Unfortunately it meant we had to pump out the water, pull out the liner, and photograph the holes to convince the manufacturer of their defects.

We were not required to return the defective liner, thanks to Carrie’s photos, and used it as underlayment to add some additional padding between the new liner and the dirt, rocks, and roots in the hole. Carrie stood in the hole placing the old liner pieces while I sat on shore handing her lengths of Duct Tape. The second liner went in easier than the first, probably due to the practice we gained from the first attempt.

Carrie had found furring strips that made great battens to trim out the top edge of the liner where she had stapled it in place and trimmed off the excess. We predrilled screw holes and sealed battens to match the rest of the wood. With the battens in place we added water and got ready to transplant the fish. Some of the old pond plants were salvaged and moved to the new pond. A pump and filter were added to aerate the water. Finishing caps were added to the four corners of the pond. See photos.

When Carrie determined the water was safe, we netted the three fish, one at a time, rinsed off the muck that was netted with them, and transferred them to their new 720 gallon home.
A bit traumatized at first, two of the fish hid in the pond liner folds. The third fish with the distinctive “Lefty” markings was braver and swam about exploring. He coaxed his siblings out of hiding and led them on numerous circuits. All three were soon eating and venturing closer to the surface.

I’ll give you an update when we add more fish, or dig a new pond, or…