pondmuck

Hello, i recently joined this forum and hope someone here can answer my question.
I recently set up a pond in my backyard in S. Florida. I have good sunlight and warmth and the pond while varying in dept goes down to 3ft 6" in places. I am currently setting up plants and got some floating plants. The instruction says no planting necessary as they float. I notice that they sink and go to the bottom of the pond and in the deep end get into the algae and muck that is there as a result of treatment since setting up the pond. My concern is will these plants grow and refloat eventually if left there or do i need to anchor them to the shallower areas or even go against advise by the grower and plant them. They are parrot feathers, hornwort and floating hearts.

Also i find even after fresh heavy rain the water level goes down 2 inches in a day. Should i be concerned i have a lining leak ? I used 45 mil rubber lining covering an unequal dept area going over huge rocks i encountered while digging out area. Or is this just evaporation because i have sun exposure across the 8 ft by 8 ft area mostly all day.

gremlin

Some of it may be evaporation. To check that, get a 5 gallon bucket, fill it with water and set it near your pond. If it goes down about the same as the pond, then you know it is evaporation, if the pond goes down faster, you may have a leak somewhere. Parrot feather will grow on top of the water, but it needs to be anchored near the water surface somewhere as it will not support itself on top of the water. horwort, I think, is a plant that grows submerged. I'm not familiar with floating hearts. Water lillies are a good plant for ponds that are in the sun. They will help shade your fish and cut down on the evaporation as they cover part of the surface of the water. They should have no problem with the deeper water as long as you start them near the top and move them down as the leaves grow. I'm not sure if these plants are outlawed where you are (they are here in arizona) but you could also try water lettuce and water hibiscus. Both of these plants will float on top of the water and do not need planting or anchoring at all, just toss and go.

pondmuck

Thanks for the advice. Will see how it goes with the test.