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DIY Indoor Pond
by Mike McEwan

Recently my 135 gallon tank cracked and now only holds half its water. Years ago I made some DIY plans for an indoor pond that worked out better than I could have imagined. The pond had dimentions of 8 feet long by 6 feet wide by 28" tall. That includes the walls, which were 6" thick, making the actual "water" area 7' by 5' by 28" equaling 650 gallons. I bought a pond liner that's 12' by 10' which cost $120 at a large local garden shop. Below are the plans, written years ago, which should still provide a good idea for anyone thinking of constructing their own indoor pond. Mine held up right until the day I moved.

Top view drawing, showing the frame of the pond

A photo showing right down the corner of the frame.

On the inside, covering the 2x4's, there is thick plywood. In each corner there's a vertical piece of 4x4 that you can see in the pic. There's also thick plywood on the 4 walls on the outside that strengthen it really good and there's some 2x4 inside the walls to add strength cause they'd flex. The pond liner excess would hang over the edge but you can tuck it into the tops of the walls, then the ledges go over it to hide it. There's insulation in the walls which are 6" thick, to keep the heat in the pond but heaters will probably be necessary. Obviously, this much water would have to be on the very bottom floor of you house. One good thing is that it's not permanently built there. You could take it apart fairly easily if you want to and you can even build it in your house and don't have to move one big heavy thing at a time. Keep heaters away from the rubber liner. On top of the 6" walls, there's a nice finished ledge that's 10" wide and hangs 2" over the pond, and over the side. I've got photos of the pond while in construction that are undeveloped, but will be here in the future! As well as photos of the beautiful pond after it's done with the plants along the back ledges that hang into the water etc. My fish love it! It's good to have a "real" view of the fish, not looking through glass where it's almost like you're watching the fish on the Tv. I can even have little fish with big fish cause the little fish are fast so a school of tetras would look nice. Oscars and other cichlids are nice cause they come up and "greet" you and it's really a joy to see your fish so happy.

Step-by-step instructions on building the pond.