How to build a giant pond?

thank you for your help!

I REALLY HAVE TO THINK MORE INTO THIS!

I never thought even making a 60-80gallon pond would be so much.

On second thought is there some sort of plastic container for above ground i could use?

This is starting to sound like more money than i spent on my two 30 gallons which i spend $600 on.

I was hoping i could do more gallons for cheaper making a pond since i don't have to worry about glass panes or silicone, most of all lights.
 
I'm still building mine and have not finished but I have built a site that details the various stages of building a 600G pond along with equipment and prices:
http://www.interall.co.il/pond.html
When it is done I will start a new thread for it but I figured since you are at the planning stages this page would help you with various costs and ideas.
 
Well if you're only looking for a 60-80gal deal, I would recommend buying either one of the preformed ponds, or a rubbermaid stock tank. Dig a hole and throw it in. Total materal cost is about 100 bucks plus whatever you spend on the filter. Of course, your stocking levels are much more limited, maybe 2-3 goldfish or a big group of mosquitofish or something, and a bunch of plants.

When looking at cost per gallon, if is cheaper than buying a glass or acrylic tank. I don't know how much a 1200gal tank would cost but I'm sure if would be a lot more than $1000. Probably four times that or more. But, if you were planning on putting together something for a total cost of 50-60 bucks, well, that probably won't happen unless you dig a hole and line it with a trash bag or something (don't actually do that).
 
Will see!

I haven't decided it yet i still have to go down to home depot to find out what their prices for pond liner are and the price of cement / epoxy.

Do you really have to fill up the whole pond and let it sit and then re-empty it again?

Would'nt the epoxy be fish safe in the first place?

If not is there a brand i can get that would be fish safe without a residue to wash off?

Also when using the cement do you use strait portland cement, or do you use it with sand?

I don't care either way as long as it comes out looking like the side walk semi-smooth.

Why does the cement have to be sealed?

Does the water reallly leak through even with no cracks?

Also if the water does soak in to the cement if i have any left overs can i use the little dried bits and pieces for bio media since it is very course?

Or is the reason you have seal the cement because there is something in it that would not be fish safe?

What was the brand of cement that you told me to get, quick crete right?

cichlidcichlid
 
Well, what you do is really going to depend on the route you take. If you use quik-crete, you will have to seal the cement. If its sealed with an inert epoxy of some sort, you won't have to fill it several times. If you use some sort of underwater hydraulic cement, you wouldn't have to seal it, but you would have to fill it and let it sit for a few weeks, maybe running a big can of carbon in the filter or something to let the cement stabilize and fully cure, and leach everything out that its going to.

There are a lot of websites out there that detail building fish ponds, I would suggest you look at a few and get a better idea of what is involved with each method. I've only built one using a pond liner, so I can theorize how it would go using cement but can't give you any personal experience.
 
Wel i finally went to homedepot and they had those preformed ones and just fr a 20 gallon it was 40, for a 40gallon it was 60, etc.

They are not cheap!

Now i don't know wat to do.

Could i use one of those 10 dollar waiting pools for a pond?

I mean the kind that are made of plastic not the blow up kind!

I think that would be 50gallons at least, right?

Or do you think if i went to craigs list i would find a formed one for cheap?
 
The kiddie pools that are about 5' across hold about 65-70 gallons. I kept a turtle in one for a while. The problem is that they're only about 8-10" deep, so even with it buried, I think you're going to have a lot of issues controlling the temp. Plus, if you're someplace where it gets cold in the winter, there's a possibility it will freeze solid if its not below the frost line.
 
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