based on two years pond experience in Thailand i think 50% is not enough. tried all kinds of floating plants but they die after a relatively short time perhaps because of my well's water quality. now i'm starting again and will report the results in a few months.

You're welcome to some water snails from my pond if you want.

They do a great job of algae control.

Send me a PM within the next 24 hours if you're interested. (travelling after that so no internet connection).

I'll be home most of next week.

thanks JaidDee. but i am quite busy now and will wait till you are back.

QUOTE (Naam @ 2008-08-13 09:04:49) *

based on two years pond experience in Thailand i think 50% is not enough. tried all kinds of floating plants but they die after a relatively short time perhaps because of my well's water quality. now i'm starting again and will report the results in a few months.

finally i see some positive results. my floating plants are multiplying, the water is clearing up slowly and that without running the waterfall and filter pump. have also introduced some algae eating fish.

ponds and bridges

some people are crazy enough to dig ponds next to a lake although their land has ample direct lakefront. here's Naam's pond in Florida with a bridge that turtles and small alligators used for sunbathing. i built the bridge in 1997 including digging, adding steel rebar, as well as mixing and pouring 1.6 tons of concrete for the foundations.

ponds and bridges

some people are crazy enough to dig ponds next to a lake although their land has ample direct lakefront. here's Naam's pond in Florida with a bridge that turtles and small alligators used for sunbathing. i built the bridge in 1997 including digging, adding steel rebar, as well as mixing and pouring 1.6 tons of concrete for the foundations.

That is one beautiful pond, love the bridge is it cast concrete beams with timber top?

Is that a helicopter pad in the top RH corner?

ponds and bridges

some people are crazy enough to dig ponds next to a lake although their land has ample direct lakefront. here's Naam's pond in Florida with a bridge that turtles and small alligators used for sunbathing. i built the bridge in 1997 including digging, adding steel rebar, as well as mixing and pouring 1.6 tons of concrete for the foundations.

You sure have 'something' with Ponds, Naam; I bet you have had many (bad, not wet) dreams about them before they were finished. This one is worth a Monet though.

LaoPo

ponds and bridges

some people are crazy enough to dig ponds next to a lake although their land has ample direct lakefront. here's Naam's pond in Florida with a bridge that turtles and small alligators used for sunbathing. i built the bridge in 1997 including digging, adding steel rebar, as well as mixing and pouring 1.6 tons of concrete for the foundations.

That is one beautiful pond, love the bridge is it cast concrete beams with timber top?

Is that a helicopter pad in the top RH corner?

the bridge is all wood except the foundations on which it is resting. i had a rayling (spelling?) too but removed it when the small alligators and turtles refused to use the bridge for sunbathing.

"helipad" is not far off. it's on my former neighbour's land. we were clearing a part of the lawn and made an access to his driveway. the plan was to use it for take-off and landing of a mutally owned ultralight aircraft. plan never materialised though

You sure have 'something' with Ponds, Naam; I bet you have had many (bad, not wet) dreams about them before they were finished. This one is worth a Monet though.

LaoPo

my wet dream was to emulate my Florida water front in Thailand by building a monstrous pond on a tiny one Rai lot well... sh*t happens

pond from lakeside:

Mrs Naam hand feeding wild cranes. we are missing the wildlife

pond after a hurricane which dropped 60cm of water on us within 36 hours:

looks like a great place...Congratulation !

looks like a great place...Congratulation !

because i sold it and moved to Thailand?

pond after a hurricane which dropped 60cm of water on us within 36 hours:

Did that re stock the turtles and 'gaitors or did they all leave with the water when it went away?

pond after a hurricane which dropped 60cm of water on us within 36 hours:

Did that re stock the turtles and 'gaitors or did they all leave with the water when it went away?

we had small gators and turtles all the time in our backyard. for the turtles i kept a sandy area of ~50m² cleared that they could lay their eggs and the young ones could hatch. big gators were rarely seen on our side of the lake except when the water level was extremely high. they were too shy. but the lake was brimming with gators (as any lake or waterway in Florida).

Naam's pond at (near) final stage. water is clearing up day by day. the floating plants seem to do an excellent job. no filter pump yet running, only waterfall 20min/day. will soon increase pump times and run filter (not a biological but a plain pool sand filter) too.

Really nice Naam, the GF and I want to come and see it in the flesh so's to speak, us being pond freaks as well.

Naam's pond at (near) final stage. water is clearing up day by day. the floating plants seem to do an excellent job. no filter pump yet running, only waterfall 20min/day. will soon increase pump times and run filter (not a biological but a plain pool sand filter) too.

It is probably the photo and having seen your taste it probably is really nice but I think from the other photos I prefer your bridge to the iceberg. I thought the bridge was really tastefully done.

not only pond but outside area finally finished too... i guess

Naam: Beautiful backyard! In the first picture above, there are some tall trees. How are they working out for you? What kind of tree are they? I have a large structure behind our yard that I want to hide and those look thick enough that they might work.

Thanks!

Craig

Naam: Beautiful backyard! In the first picture above, there are some tall trees. How are they working out for you? What kind of tree are they? I have a large structure behind our yard that I want to hide and those look thick enough that they might work.

Thanks!

Craig

they are indian Ashoka trees (here called "Asok"), not native to Thailand but easily available. they (more than a hundred) were planted 3½ years ago, height ~2 meters and most of them are now 5-6m, some even 7-8m. had to clip the upper parts recently to make the trunks stronger. the mistake i made was planting them too close.

by the way, the trees would be much higher but they did not like the clayish fill what my clown of builder used.

three years and my garden is still not finished

Nicely done! A few of us are envious of your splendid home.

Naam, you place is not a house... its an estate (and the pics are great!)

Naam, you place is not a house... its an estate (and the pics are great!)

i beg to differ Honourable Knight. to call it an "estate" the house should be located on a minimum 20 rai with a 250m long gravel driveway lined left and right by century old trees. unfortunately the land is only 1 rai and the driveway is 6m long

we do own an estate matching all the above mentioned criteria in another country (an inheritance of my wife). the drawback is that the house on it was built nearly a century ago and it would take immense technical efforts and of course a princely sum of money to modernise and make it liveable. before we decided to retire in Thailand i spent several months, doing nothing than 12 hours a day drawing detail plans, talking to architects and contractors, estimating the total cost and then gave up as it would have been a multiple of the amount we spent in Thailand.

p.s. there are evenings when i sip a glass of wine, puff a cigar and regret that i was a stingy coward who ran away from a challenging, albeit costly, project now it is too late. i am too old to do again what i did five years ago, id est being for a year or more the first one on the construction site and the last one to go.

Naam, you place is not a house... its an estate (and the pics are great!)

i beg to differ Honourable Knight. to call it an "estate" the house should be located on a minimum 20 rai with a 250m long gravel driveway lined left and right by century old trees. unfortunately the land is only 1 rai and the driveway is 6m long

we do own an estate matching all the above mentioned criteria in another country (an inheritance of my wife). the drawback is that the house on it was built nearly a century ago and it would take immense technical efforts and of course a princely sum of money to modernise and make it liveable. before we decided to retire in Thailand i spent several months, doing nothing than 12 hours a day drawing detail plans, talking to architects and contractors, estimating the total cost and then gave up as it would have been a multiple of the amount we spent in Thailand.

p.s. there are evenings when i sip a glass of wine, puff a cigar and regret that i was a stingy coward who ran away from a challenging, albeit costly, project now it is too late. i am too old to do again what i did five years ago, id est being for a year or more the first one on the construction site and the last one to go.

Dont be to hard on yourself, you never know how it ended. Sometimes you need to take the safe route. Your house looks great anyway, i envy you (although that envy would fade away if you were do all the gardening yourself) I like gardens but i hate working in them.

Dont be to hard on yourself, you never know how it ended. Sometimes you need to take the safe route. Your house looks great anyway, i envy you (although that envy would fade away if you were do all the gardening yourself) I like gardens but i hate working in them.

believe it or not. i spent 4-5 hours daily five years ago in my former garden working hard and i loved it. what i didn't do was lawn mowing and hedge clipping which was done by a service company. nowadays i just "work" an hour or so before the sun is up. i only do the things i like (shaping trees and bushes) and my gardener is doing everything else.

edited because of grammar mistake

^I love gardens and I like working in them too, but this heat really knocks it out of me. At Naams place I would constantly be in his pool and sending him out to fetch me snacks .

Here I garden in the evening (when its cool enough)

Your place looks great Naam, congrads. My only question for you is, why didnt you bust that concrete edge off from the 'failed' or 'abandonded' portion of the pond before filling it in etc?

^I love gardens and I like working in them too, but this heat really knocks it out of me. At Naams place I would constantly be in his pool and sending him out to fetch me snacks .

Here I garden in the evening (when its cool enough)

Your place looks great Naam, congrads. My only question for you is, why didnt you bust that concrete edge off from the 'failed' or 'abandonded' portion of the pond before filling it in etc?

it was not constructed american or thai style using chicken wire but tchermann style with 15mm steel (double row) reinforced concrete. need i say more? besides, i like it as it is and there was a time when i was contemplating to construct more of these "islands". check with me next year, perhaps i might still do it.

I really like that !

Very peaceful/comfortable looking.

Congrats & good job!

^I love gardens and I like working in them too, but this heat really knocks it out of me. At Naams place I would constantly be in his pool and sending him out to fetch me snacks .

Here I garden in the evening (when its cool enough)

Your place looks great Naam, congrads. My only question for you is, why didnt you bust that concrete edge off from the 'failed' or 'abandonded' portion of the pond before filling it in etc?

it was not constructed american or thai style using chicken wire but tchermann style with 15mm steel (double row) reinforced concrete. need i say more? besides, i like it as it is and there was a time when i was contemplating to construct more of these "islands". check with me next year, perhaps i might still do it.

Copy that. Wasn't a critism, just an observation & I thought I would dive into the cranium of Naam and see what was ticking away inside there.