I am building a pond!!

C

COpathfindin

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Jun 3, 2011
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Continental Devide, CO
Real Name
Sam
I have a spot in my backyard I would like to have a pond. It is in a partially shady area below an apple tree on the edge of my property where I like to entertain. I live at over 9,000 feet elevation in a national forest, I deal with raccons and foxes, as well as bears and mountain lions. with that said I am going to build the pond 4.5 feet deep in its deepest, I will also build in a bunch of fish tunnels, so the fish I keep can easily escape any would be predators.
I will be building the pond in a oval/kidney/omeba shape (hard to describe the area I am working with..) I live in zone 4, so I will keep my plants in pots so that I can move everything indoors come the winter freeze. I have a kiddie wading pool I intend to use for that purpose come next winter.
I really love the look of koi, and other fish swimming about in ponds. I am currently breeding brbs, so I will probably put a shoal or two in the pond as well. I know some turtles will eat and nip at smaller fish, any one have experience with turtles that are less likely to eat my koi? or am I stuck doing 2 separate ponds(which was my 1st thought)
I have also been looking into using the pond to grow some aquaponic strawberries, maybe even lettuce or something like that. I will get some pictures taken on I get the ground broken.
 
Fish tunnel will not help protect from wild animals. Wild animals are smart and tricky. You are better off building a chicken wire 3 feet fence around your pond. Koi fishes are slow and have bright colors. They will be the first fishes to go. Don't go with koi fishes. They grow too big to be moving indoor. Try goldfish first.


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Turtles of the genus Clemmys are relatively easy on fish. That would include Spotteds and Bog Turtles, but Bogs are federally endangered so not very easy to obtain legally. Spotteds are protected at the state level in I believe every state they're native to, but CO isn't one of them. They're readily available through vendors. In order to protect your livestock you should invest in a state of the art area denial system, aka a real dog.
 
I suppose you raise a valid point. I do not like the look of chicken wire, its absent even on my chicken coop. I think subrosa's idea of a dog if a better idea. I am also engaging in a deterent objective this summer, I have a small paintball gun and a airsoft gun. when I catch a coon in the garden or by the pond I will mark it with a paint ball. hopefully the lesson will be learned.. if not come the air soft.
I have a "predator light" set up in the backyard already, but it only seems to keep away the bears.. the coons dont mind the light flashing.
 
Bears are stupid. All stomach, teeth and claws with no brain. Coons are varmints, and you know that a varmint will never quit! Your paintball gun might work, and if not it will certainly make id'ing repeat offenders easy. Definitely look into a large flock guardian breed. I have an Anatolian and I don't even have squirrels in my yard anymore. Breeds like Great Pyrenees, Kuvasz, Komondors,etc all are bred to do the job you require without being trained. You'll need to teach them basic obedience (which can be challenging with dogs bred to work alone, believe me!), housebreaking, etc, but they need no instructions on how to deal with trespassers regardless of how many feet they have.
 
Thanks for the advice subrosa. I had a pretty good garden, and some chickens last year. Though I am sure I lost some chickens due to foxes, it was the darned raccoon's that ate my vegetable and killed off most of my chickens. This year I am prepared, I know for a fact the paintball gun hurts, hopefully enough to keep any coons away.. if they come back I will know they were here before.
I have started the excavation of the pond area. I was planning on doing 1 bigger pond, But I have decided that with the space allowed for the project I would rather have 2 smaller ponds. 1 cascading into the other. I will take my camera out and get some pictures taken.
I am digging the entire pond out to the first step. about 1 foot down. Then I will go back through and dig the deeper sections in as I progress.
 
Good luck with this. I'd make the pond deeper and larger and put some PVC tubes in there as hides. The get some native catfish and sunfish and maybe later some bass. Just easier to keep than koi. Also just having an aerator in the pond will normally keep part of the surface unfrozen, allowing for gas exchange. As for keeping pests out... bears would trash it, mountain lions would probably have no luck or get scared by the dog or paintball gun (or whatever it is you have), the coons would be living hell. You have to keep teaching them the same lesson for every new one that enters the yard :/


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Hi
Sounds like an interesting project would suspect there are a LOT of rocks around?? Makes digging very tough.
At that altitude you'll be dealing with a lot of snow ,ice and cold for long periods??I'd certainly dig it deep enough to overwinter your stock Check on the local frost line depth and then go about a foot below that. You'll probably still have to keep a hole in the ice but at least makes it possible. Check with other ponders in your area or find a club will be invaluable in first hand experience.
I live in s. florida so entirely different set of problems
My runaway biggest problem over the years was pedators mostly water birds but an occasional raccoon ,possum ,turtle, crayfish and small boys The latter was solved by relocating them to another state
Good luck with your dig my back is hurting already !!! gary
 
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