PlanetCatfish.com

200 gallons (736 Liters) Syno pond. Holds S. afrofischeri, some barbs and Ctenopoma.

Measures 93.5"LX37"WX13"deep. No electricity driven filtration. Just lots of plants. The roots of the floating plants trail to the bottom of the pond.
-Shane

cool. very nice.

Indeed very nice.

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Mats

nice work!

can we see a shot at the top to see the fish at the bottom?

Are you permanently living in Uganda?

that reminds me of those eco-homes that use reeds to filter the toilet waste... Not that I'm suggesting you do that Shane!!! I mean, the poor fish.....

wrasse wrote:that reminds me of those eco-homes that use reeds to filter the toilet waste... Not that I'm suggesting you do that Shane!!! I mean, the poor fish.....

Especially with all the Guinness...

Jools

Yeh, just imagine the local headlines... "entire eco-system, wiped-out! Thousand of fish dead. A strange white froth observed on lake victoria. Suspected eco-vandals. Hunt is on for the assailant"

Sorry Shane, it is a very nice pond. Is evaporation a problem?

Jools

Still the original two syno's http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... cle_id=417 or have you added to your collection?

Birger

Bamboosticks, Yes I live in Uganda.

Jools, The only issue to date has been too much water. We are in the heavy wet season now (hence the lack of collecting articles on my part). For the last four days the rains have just filled up the pond and I let it overflow. I took out about 6 buckets (30 gallons) the other day to lower the water level. It took all of about 20 minutes of rain to fill the pond to overflowing again, so that is a lost cause. Now I am accepting it as the lazy man's water changing system.

Birger, Same pair I collected several months ago in Lake Nabugabo. As soon as the rains let up a bit I'll be headed back down there for more.

that reminds me of those eco-homes that use reeds to filter the toilet waste... Not that I'm suggesting you do that Shane!!! I mean, the poor fish.....

We have that system! When my wife catches me using the lawn as a urinal I tell her it is part of the design built in to our Eco-Home.
-Shane

Shane wrote: We have that system! When my wife catches me using the lawn as a urinal I tell her it is part of the design built in to our Eco-Home.
-Shane

In my very best Boston: The beeeeaah has to go somewheeeeah. Wicked awesome!
Amanda

In my very best Boston: The beeeeaah has to go somewheeeeah.

ROFL

Remind me to tell you a story about former President Nixon I heard from a retired Secret Service guy once. Apparently he was famous for his Eco-Plumbed yard. Maybe he was just way ahead on the environmental protection issue.
-Shane

how hot does it get there? are you ever worried of the temp in the water?

how cool would it be to have syno ponds all over!

how hot does it get there? are you ever worried of the temp in the water?

No, no temp worries. The pond is shaded by a large ficus tree. I am about 36 miles north of the equator here so we do not have seasons (other than wet and dry). Nights are typically in the low 70sF and days in the high 70sF.

Here is a really nifty chart.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city ... t=TT000750

-Shane

low 70s at night and high 70s during day. people pay top dollar to live in a climate like that. Sounds like San Diego or Sydney.

Thank you for the chart. I am checking out all sorts of weather now.

Got a nice surprise while doing some pond maintenance today. While scooping up baby guppies (do not ask me why I put them in they have taken over the pond) I noticed one fry that looked different. Closer study showed that it was a fry of the Barbus apleurogramma I had added. Well at least the barbs are spawning in there.
-Shane

You'll have a zillion upon returning from holiday!

Jools

Just finished playing with the pond after returning from holiday. The coolest thing noticed were cichlid fry. Not because I spawned a cichlid (heck, just wrap a boy and girl cichlid in a wet paper towel overnight and you get fry), but because they are one inch SL! I moved a group of Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae to the pond a day or two before I left. That means that the fry can not be older than about 18-20 days max and they are already an inch long. Pond life is good for fry I guess. Now to pull out all the cichlids so that any Syno eggs or fry get a chance.
-Shane

I'm not familiar with ponds without filters. What kind of maintenance does one need to do on it?

Really very little. I keep the plants in check when they start to overgrow the surface by tossing a few out. Other than that I top it off with the hose if we go several days without rain and pull out any leaves that fall in it every 2-3 days.
Realize that rainfall here varies from 20cm to 66cm monthly while San Diego gets 30cm per year. So there are months when I get twice the rain San Diego sees in a year. The pond just overflows during heavy rains and so gets a small to large water change several times a week depending on the rain.
-Shane