pond project

[demon_surfer]

Greetings all,

Ive just lucked out, me and my girlfriend are moving into a new place in a week or soo. A really nice duplex and stuff, the landlords live in the other half and are awesome. Anyway, I asked if they would mind if i built a pond in the backyard and the woman took me out back and pointed to a flower bed. "I hate that flower bed, do whatever you want" and im look COOL!. hehe :D

and now i need help and i so i come to you guys =). We are living in South West Florida so pretty high temperatures all year round...had a strangly cold winter this year....almost down to warm weather *shock*. i dont have exact measurements on the area she gave me to dig in yet, ill get them. But do you think you can give me some basic info on making ponds?

Im going to dig it myself and all and was thinking about 5ft deep and was going to build up a waterfall at one corner. i know i would need to put a pump in there to get the waterfall to work but what kinds, where should i work, are there any brands i should avoid? what sort of fish would be appropriate for this climate? i was thinking either koi or South American cicilids at the moment but i dont want to put something in there that is going to be unhappy. Also would i need to put a filter in? or would that be part of the waterfall pump system?

i want to plant it as well with lily pads and the like, can anyone recommend any nice to look at plants/flowers i can put in?

What would i need to do to line it, could i leave it as bare soil pit with a pod liner? do i need to put in some cement? as yo can see im a total newbie at ponds so any and all information you can think to provide would be very helpful. pertaining to pond size, stocking, filtering..everything =)


thank you in advance for taking the time to help me =)

[rjl420]

taking care of a pond is almost the same as a tank, the same rules apply just on a larger scale.

you will need some sort of pump and filter. there are 2 types of pumps. inline and submersible. i recomend inline pumps because they are easier to maintain (just a tad harder to setup initially). get the most powerful pump with the lowest amps you can find. I've found sequence (http://www.mdminc.com/Sequence_Pumps.htm) pumps to be great for cost effectivness. Submersable pumps are significantly cheaper, and easier to setup, but they aren't as powerful and need maintained more often.

as for filtration, you can make your own. especially since you mention you want to build a waterfall. setup a couple "bins" or "chambers" to be your filter.. simply fill them with lava rock/bio balls. there are also pre-ready filters made by tetra pond (http://www.tetra-fish.com/pond/index.html) and Aqua Ultraviolet (http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/filters.html) of course it will matter in the type of pump you get (gravity fed or inline)

There are also UVS (ultraviolet steralizers) that are often used in ponds to help with disease and algae.

Lining the pond is neccessary too, either cement (sealed) or a pvc/epdm liner. I like liners because it gives you the flexibility to change your mind down the line, also don't have to mess with cement but there are pros and cons either way. if you use a liner you need to pre line the hole with padding (I used old rugs from garage sales) to prevent puntures down the line from roots/etc.

[demon_surfer]

thanks for your information...can you tell me, what sort of size chambers should i use for the filters...if it is a small pond can i just use one filled with lavarock? are the UV sterilizers very useful? what sort of benefits do they provide?

[rjl420]

size will depend on the bioload of the pond, I would recomend using using something for mechanical (an actual filter) and use the chamber (maybe 10-20% of the total volume) as bio-filtration. just fill it with lava rock (REAL lava rock ;) )

UV steralizers are useful in prohibiting disease and can also slow algae growth (at least the green water, since it's free floating algae that gets klled when going past the UV light). I guess you can say the take care of just about anything that's "free swimming" except your fish

[JeffP]

I certainly don't want to sound negative, but my personal attitude is that digging a 5' deep fish pond (by hand!) on somewhat else's property is well.....a waste of energy and money. It's a significant investment of both and IMHO you'd be better off building one on your own property...when you eventually buy a house.

In any event, you are a ways from breaking ground. You have a lot of research and decisions to make first. Fortunately, there are a number of people on this forum that currently have ponds and can give you some first hand advice. Like you, I am only in the design phase. I already know that my pond won't happen this year.

One of your first decisions has to be what fish? There will be a significant difference between the needs of 3' Koi and most SA cichlids. Koi are rough on plants, so you will have to consider that when laying out your pond.

Filtration is a key area. I gave this a lot of consideration. I have decided to incorporate a bead filtration system. It's relatively compact in design, and since it's a closed system I can put the filter almost anywhere. Easy maintenance is supposed to be another plus. Check out the link below.

Bead Filter Info (http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/articles_details.php?article_id=89&category=15&name=Filtration)

Good luck with your pond project. I would consult frequently with your landlords since they will own it.

[demon_surfer]

yeh i know it will be a pain to make...but im not worried about the labour if i want it done ill do and it and i dont care how hard it will be =)


im not sure for fish at all....i am considering just using it as a breeding pond....for maybe guppies and the like...throing in a dozen and leave em for a couple of months =)


might not put in any formal inhabitants at all =/

still not sure. I was thinking maybe if i put in a pump and build a few chambers for filtration..having one that is Lavarock or bio-balls hmmm..i really need to look into this a whole bunch more )