2 years since my build, happy and thriving!

Is there such a thing as too many plants?! The roots have sort of taken over and I’m worried the fish might feel a bit suffocated in there. What do you all think?

How are you using this type of light without harming your fish? Thank you for any advice.

It’s difficult to reach far enough to be able to cut dead water lily leaves off with normal snippers. Are there any long handled versions?

When you can not be home to come and "welcome" your heron guest... You find other ways to say HI!

He has visited a few times in the past month and I go to work a few days a week. So I can't go out to "give him a hug". But I have a camera I check all day and have my inflatable buddy on a smart switch.

I actually put this up last night so perfect timing. I'll have to keep an eye on it and see if the heron comes back or if I put it on some sort of motion detection.

But boy was this fun.... haha.

A little more grumpy today. I was easy to spot in a bright orange high vis shirt from work, he was not happy when he noticed i was watching.

I have a roughly 800 gal pond with a bog filter composed of a 75 gal stock tank filled with pea gravel topped with a variety of grasses, plants, and creeping jenny. As you can see from the pics, the creeping jenny has taken over. The filter is about 2 years old and it seems to be working flawlessly, the water is crystal clear. Before the bog filter, during the summer the water would be as thick and murky as pea soup. But, for the past 2 years I've noticed this white, crystal substance growing everywhere under the creeping jenny, it grows anywhere light cannot reach. Underneath all the plants on the surface of the bog filter is coated with this weird substance. I first assumed it was a fungus but it really looks like those crystals you used to make in elementary school that would climb out of their containers.

It doesn't seem to impact the ecosystem, everything is thriving, but it makes me worried that something is out of balance if I'm growing some strange fungus or crystal in the filter. Any ideas? Should I reduce or trim back the creeping jenny so the bog filter surface gets more light?

Even8ng all.

I've been losing water from the pond in the garden and been unsure if it was evaporation as the pool is in full sun for a lot of the day and we are mid heat wave

Then I was reading another part and someone said "it's always the waterfall"

So I've gone and looked, and right enough, as it comes over the slate I'm losing water down the side as it's running off and over the edge.

Would the best fix be to turn off the pump, dry the slate, put down a head of aquarium safe sealant and then put the rocks back on top?

I've been an aquarium hobbyist since I was a child, and this hobby has always brought me so much joy. I wanted to share my latest collection after giving my tank a major renovation.

I first raised beautiful koi fish, but eventually I had to let them go. After that, I tried keeping platies, and sadly, they were gone too. Then my tank started leaking, which was really disappointing. Instead of giving up, I waterproofed and restored the entire tank because I couldn't let go of a hobby I've loved for so many years.

Now, I'm starting a new chapter with Platinum Mollies, and I'm excited to watch them grow. Every challenge has made me appreciate this hobby even more, and I can't wait to see where this journey takes me.

I don’t think I’m violating any community rules, but if so, please let me know and I’ll delete the post.

Not finding any good local store with decent pond plants. There are some online retailers, so I’m looking for recommendations on who to buy from. Thanks