All the Creatures

Providing enough water to livestock and large animals is a necessary daily chore. Stock tanks are the most common container used for containing drinking water for them. Stock tanks can be made from steel, UV protected plastic and even aluminum.  Plastic has its advantages in that it does not get rusty. Rust can cause problems for animals if ingested in water. Rust is in fact iron and iron if ingested in higher than recommended quantities is not healthy.

Other containers I have seen used for water tanks are stainless steel drums, cut in half and the edges protected so they will not cut the animal and old claw foot bath tubs. The bath tubs are often enameled and if cared for properly will not chip and expose the underlying steel, which will rust.

The photo at the top of this post shows what you can do with a stock tank……….make it into a water garden. It makes a great place to keep Koi or goldfish. You will need to provide some sort of filtration system if you have more than just a few fish. Koi and goldfish poop a lot and that needs to be removed from the tank to prevent a build up of gases in the water.

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Having a pond full of beautiful Koi fish is a source of joy and an achievement to be admired. You see, Koi need some very special needs in order to remain healthy and grow. Besides food, Koi require highly oxygenated water. It is simply not a case of digging a hole, lining it and putting in the fish. Koi need lots of oxygen. Because they use the oxygen in the water rather rapidly it needs to be replenished all the time.

There are several ways to oxygenate the water in a Koi pond. One way is to have enough surface area of the pond to allow a natural exchange of oxygen happen between the air and the water. Most pond systems have a pump and filter. The larger the pond or number of fish in the pond is what dictates the size of the pump. Most Japanese gardens with large Koi ponds use industrial pumps and have a pump house. Smaller backyard ponds use surface area and pump that operates a fountain or waterfall. The motion of the water speeds up the exchange of the oxygen from the air into the water. The faster the motion, the more the exchange.

Another thing that all Koi ponds must have is an area deeper than 3 feet deep. This area is what the fish will need to escape from predatory birds that like the taste of fresh fish.

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I came upon these beautiful coins with wildlife on them:

The leopard is just gorgeous. I know almost nothing about these coins. The leopard one did have the year 2009 associated with it. If you buy gold coins then you might have some information on them. Leave a comment if you have some info on them. These coins are obviously minted strictly for collectors and investors.

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