Pond Update

These are pics I took of my pond today. It's really coming along nicely, although it's been a pain in my ass the past few days. The problems all started on Saturday. The water was so dirty and I realized that I needed more of a filter system to get it clean. I went to Lowe's and bought a filter box that attaches to the pump. I figured that this was the answer to my prayers. I got home and began to install the filter, only to realize that it requires some 1/2" tubing to make the connection from the filter box to the pump-- for some reason, they decided not to mention this on the outside of the box.

I made a quick trip to the East Point Tru Value hardware store and purchased the required tubing. I got back home and started to assemble the filter. I soon realized that I needed a tubing adaptor in order to hook the tubing to my existing filter-- so back to Lowe's I went. I purchased an adaptor and came back home, only to realize that my pump wasn't compatable with the tubing that connects it to the filter box. I put everything back into my trunk and decided to call it a day. On Sunday, I went back to Lowe's and asked to speak to their pond authority, or anyone that had the vaguest idea of how to assemble a pump/filter. I was connected to a really nice guy that spent a lot of time with me and deterimined that I needed a filter diversion attachment and my problems would be solved. I found the item he suggested and went to check out. I was in line behind a nice guy named Mike and we began talking about ponds. It turns out that he has been working with ponds for years and asked if I found what I needed. I proceeded to unpack everything that I had brought with me and showed him how the diversion attachment would fit onto my pump. he told me that that was totally wrong and that it wouldn't work. I took everything back to the pond aisle and started again from square one. I finally saw a box that was labled "complete pond fountain/filter/pump combo". I purchased this box and took everything else that I'd purchased over the past 2 days back to customer service where I received a refund. Long story short (I know, too late for that!), the filter system is installed and the water is clear at last! I can even see the fish, although I don't see any tadpoles-- hopefully a few of them survived and will show themselves later. The pond population now consists of 5 feeder goldfish and 3 kois (and possible a teensy weensy little tadpole or two!).

I ran into Mike at the gym today and thanked him for all of his help. He told me that he lives in College Park, gave me his business card and told me to call him if I had any more problems or questions. Thank God, there are still nice people out there! I'm sure that I'll be calling Mike soon to give me advice on how to set up the "spitting frog" water spout that I purchased yesterday. The 1/2 inch tubing that fits the filter is too big for the frog-- I have to figure out some sort of adaptor that will transition a 1/2" tube to a 3/8" tube. Too much to think about for now, so I put the frog, the tubing and everything associated with the pond back into my trunk and will worry about this another day.