[missbirdphotos] Re: My new bird studio

I got the stone at Morgan Stone on Highway 471 which is very close to me.  
http://morgansstone.com/index.htm

I don't have a truck, so I made several trips in my big Bronco.  I would say 
the stone costs less than $500.

We bought the liner from Home Depot and got the thickest one we could find.  
The width of the liner determined the maximum width of the pond, so I wouldn't 
have to deal with seams.  Now you can order liner online and have more of a 
choice of widths.

I fought with Lowe's pumps for years.  They just would not last.  My husband 
bought me a great pump online (I can find out where if you are interested), and 
it has run without incident for several years now.  It is a big pump, but I 
have the outflow teed off so it runs both waterfalls.

I will have to measure the deep end when I get home, but I bet it has a 
diameter of 6 feet or so.  It is a weird shape because I was insistent upon the 
bird creek which really made installation difficult.  I'm not sure I would do 
that again.

Nothing is cemented; the rock is all dry stacked because to me it will always 
be a work in progress.  I'm constantly rearranging things.

I'll try to find the instructions on making the mini-me bio-filter.  It starts 
with a plastic barrel insert with a lip on it.  You use PVC pipe and fittings 
to force the water to the bottom in a swirling motion, and it comes up through 
pads that are used to wax floors cut into pieces.  I usually have some type of 
water plant on top to make it more attractive. In the picture of the 
prothonotary warbler you can see the parrot feather over his head.

Frank, I'm counting down, too.  This is the last week of class, and next week 
are final exams!!!!

It's about time for Calculus, so I better be off!

gayla

-----Original Message-----
From: missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of J. K. Cliburn
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 8:23 AM
To: missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [missbirdphotos] Re: My new bird studio

Where did you get the rock?  Approximate quantity:  pickup truck load;
larger; smaller?  Cost of rock (ballpark):  $100, $500, $1000?  What's
the approximate diameter of the deep part of the pond?  Where did you
get the liner?  Did you have seams you had to tape?

(Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really interested in building
one of these.)

Jay

On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 7:31 AM, Dance, Gayla <dancegf@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Frank,
>
> I did build the water garden by myself, literally, but I had a ball doing it. 
>  It is about 3 ft deep, has ledges built in around the rim to hold pots of 
> water plants, and has a set of earthen steps to help climbing in and out of 
> the pond for clean up.  It is small - about 500 gallons, but I love it.  
> There is a large (relatively speaking) waterfall for aeration.  It spills out 
> of a "mini-me" biofilter.   http://www.skippysstuff.com/minime.htm
> I added a shallow bird creek which was the original purpose of the pond.  It 
> is oddly situated right off the patio, but it is in full view of the floor to 
> ceiling windows of the den.  I planted a hummingbird/butterfly garden around 
> the edges of the pond.  I could talk about this for hours.  It was a real 
> labor of love.  I'll try to post more pictures later.
>
> gayla

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