About two weeks ago we had a minor episode with electrical boards tripping and the problem was traced to the pond. Our wonderful friend and electrician Gavin was here in minutes and pronounced the wiring to the pond had deteriorated so badly it needed to be rewired. This required draining the pond so I decided it was an opportune time to repaint the interior of the pond which has been annoying me for quite some time as it was looking much worse for wear. (You can see how awful it looked before in this post — click on the panorama links).
In the process, we discovered one of my fish has two different colour eyes. Isn’t he cute? (He, she?)
It’s been a two-week process of draining the pond, creating a temporary home for the fish, getting the electrical works repaired and then painting the interior and refilling and adding the plants. A special non-toxic paint had to be used and then left to dry for four days before the pond could be refilled. This was complicated by rain … it’s all been quite eventful.
Most eventful was my choice of paint. I had a choice of black (which we had before) or blue. Well anyone who knows me well will know I would choose the blue. Its my absolute favourite colour and I felt like a change from the black. But oh my goodness, it really is very very blue. Fortunately, once we put the baths / fountains back into the pond and had filled it with water it wasn’t as “in your face blue” as it was whilst it was drying.
My fish were homed in temporary basins and I’m thrilled that all survived and seem very happy in their freshly cleaned and filled home. Its been two days and all the fish are still doing well and I’m happy to have most things back in place. Now I still need to re-pot and clean up all the plants and we’ve added a filter that still needs to be connected properly and there is lots of cleaning up to do.
Here are some photos of the pond repainting and one of the fish that has two different colour eyes.
[one_half]Waiting for paint to dry …
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[one_half_last]Not sure about my choice. It’s very very blue
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[one_half]temporary home for the plants
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[one_half_last]And a temporary home for the fish
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[one_half]Reintroducing the fish slowly
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[one_half_last]Getting acclimatised to the new water here
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[one_half]A few plants added for the fish
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[one_half_last]Newly settled, lots still to do
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Some holes on the side need filling, plastering and painting and unfortunately I could not find the right size and type of trellises I want to add to the wall behind the pond, so that has not been done yet. I might have to get them specially made as the size needs to be just right. I also want to get a few new plants for the pond – that is on the agenda as soon as we have nice weather again.
14 replies on “Painting the pond”
What a huge job! We have a soft liner pond and once in awhile a bear enters and puts a hole in the liner. What a mess trying to fix that. The fish are alot of fun though, we even talk to them. The little guy with the two odd eyes is amazing! I also think the blue is fine:)
That first photo is darling. Your fish is a cutie.
I love that blue! It really adds another dimension to the pond once you fill it back up. That is a very lovely pond.
Thank you for sharing you process and pictures – it will totally amazing when completed
Our pond was installed 25 years ago Christine and I have been thinking that it is time we had the wiring checked out. Goldfish looks like he has a serious case of conjunctivitis. Satisfying to get the pond all cleaned up and painted, I suppose I am so used to black for a garden pond, don’t see why blue shouldn’t work though and as Diana said it will soon have a more natural appearance.
Gee, quite a mission to get it all done, but once filled and the fishies are back home, it all looks clean and new!! The blue is perfect! I think Diana is spot on when she says let the weathering help to subdue the blue. But I think it is perfect.
What will be growing up the trellis? Alan is confident that we can make it ourselves! Ha! 🙂
I am going to have to re-paint my pond again soon, too. Not looking forward to it. I love the color you chose! And that fish with two different colored eyes – how unusual!
Oh Christine the blue is stunning…it draws your eyes to the pond area…can’t wait to see the trellis you choose!
Nature will gentle the tone down for you, a little algae, a little fading by the sun, and you will love your choice.
I really like the blue even before you put anything in. How do the fish like it?
A lot of hard work! Ponds are always more work than anyone imagines. I have to admit in being a fan of black in ponds and pools, even swimming pools. When they refect the sky they’ll be blue anyway and blue usually looks very false; I really hope you like yours. Christina
Hold on a minute: “get them specially made”? Why not make it yourself? Invite Barbie over and make a day of it. 🙂
How many color choices are there for waterproof paint? I’d think you can get blue, blue, blue, and maybe white. Looks great!
The blue looks great, especially with the white exterior.
Hi Christine, your fish with different coloured eyes is truly something special! The pond looks really good, isn’t it amazing when something pushes us to get a task done, and then we add on a whole heap of other tasks we didn’t really plan to do – I do that all the time. I once made new covers for the cushions on my sofa and ended up redecorating my whole living room… Looking forward to see your pond area completely finished 🙂