I need to educate myself on the care of our pond. And i've got the $$ to get one book right now (I'll get more later! I love books!). I've got a strong background in biology and ecology, but my wildlife pond knowledge is lacking. So, do I jump for EARTH PONDS 2nd Edition or BEYOND THE BASICS?
We have a smallish pond that is quite old. We want it to be a beautiful, calming wildlife pond. We already have lots of frogs and birds and don't want to loose those, but we want to be able to see more and diversify the habitat some. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I like Pond Boss magazine. It’s a monthly and covers a lot of topics. Also Lusk has a Facebook Q&A. Can’t remember the night and time. Anybody?
Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine. It covers a lot of topics.
A lot of this stuff can be regional. For example, East Texas is a different world than West Texas due to rainfall amounts. Same true for Amarillo and deep SouthTexas. El Paso is a different world than anything in East Tyler. This stuff is climatic so lots of stuff aren’t all that black and white.
And yet, some things are always the same like the symbiotic predator/prey relationship.
Learning about water quality is key to the whole thing. Generally alkilinity and PH.
I am a Pond Boss subscriber. Into my 2nd year now! I have learned a lot but figured I'd get something even deeper from a book. Am I wrong about that? Do I just need to go back and read my old issues more closely?
I used my aquarium test strips to see general values on the pond. GH was 180, KH was 240. PH 7.5, and both NO2 and NO3 were 0. I've googled, but can't seem to find information outside of "koi ponds" on hardness and such. I've seen fish between 1 and 2 inches in the pond and tadpoles. The frogs are crazy loud at night and so wonderful to listen to. I've seen and heard cardinals and wrens, plus 2 other sounds that might be squirrels, might be something else. We've gotten a great blue heron on the game camera once, and we've seen ducks come through.
I know my first step is to learn all I can about my pond. And I'm trying, I just feel like I might not know all the questions to ask. And as a bibliophile, books are what I turn to since I don't know anyone personally who knows more than me about my pond!
We are in Waco, so central Texas.
Books: raising Trophy Bass. By Bob Lusk. It’s about a lot more than bass
Small Impoundment Management in North America
Wes Neal and Dave Willis; Authors and Editors
Actually a college textbook with chapters from various authors. Can get pretty deep in places but answers questions that you haven’t gotten around to asking.
Just Add Water by Mike Otto
Mike has built ponds for 50 years
About building, repairing, environment, runoff area, leaks, etc.
Now retired
This one
Small Impoundment Management in North America
Wes Neal and Dave Willis; Authors and Editors
Actually a college textbook with chapters from various authors. Can get pretty deep in places but answers questions that you haven’t gotten around to asking.
Also review the Archives here
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=22&page=1
I just requested it via ILL. Thank you!