What do you wish you knew when you set up your first Pond?

H

Hooked Newbie

Today will be yesterday tomorrow
May 25, 2007
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Georgia
Real Name
Len
Hey all! I'm going to be setting up two ponds in the next few months and was looking for any tips you may have. Both are dug before I bought the house, but were pretty bad DIY so other than the holes will be completely redone. The volumes are hard to get because of the shapes, but my best estimates are ~500G (front of house with N exposure) and ~2000G in the backyard. Not sure what I'll be stocking yet, but I'm leaning towards a few Koi and comets in the large one and probably just a few comets in the front. I'm also contemplating RES in the large one, but I'm not sure about that. Any tips, thoughts, etc. are appreciated!

Thanks!
 
The Zigman said:
I have heard a lot of horror stories about birds eating the fish in ornamental ponds...
you could put netting over the top though...

How are those tiger shrimp?
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Thanks, I've been doing alot of reading and I think I'm going to go with a motion activated deterrent.

The Tigers should be ready to go in decent numbers by the 26th. I'll be travelling a bunch between now and then. Watch for the thread in the classifieds the week before. ;)
 
My pump ate a lot of fish last year. I didn't know that the bottom drain had an opening 3-4" wide and my goldfish were about 2-3". I found a sponge that fit around the drain and the remaining 4 have grown enough now that there's no need to worry.
 
feemia said:
My pump ate a lot of fish last year. I didn't know that the bottom drain had an opening 3-4" wide and my goldfish were about 2-3". I found a sponge that fit around the drain and the remaining 4 have grown enough now that there's no need to worry.
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Thanks! That's exactly the type of pearl of wisdom I'm looking for!
 
Tips I wish I knew before I built my pond:

1) Spend an extra week and make sure the plant shelves in your dig are absolutely level and wide enough to hold 12" pot plants.

2) Build your own filter. Make it much larger than what you think you need. Whatever the GPH say in regards to filter - get double the size of the pond.

3) Buy a pump that is 50% larger than the numbers you have for desired GPH.

4) Build it with shade - but not near a tree with lots of leaves.
 
You don't need to have a bottom drain for a 2000 gallon pond. A submersible sump pump will work fine when draining is required. Tons of plants is a must for ponds in full sun.
 
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