I'm gonna have a pond!!!! Suggestions please!

vanillaXtiffy

vanillaXtiffy

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Nov 28, 2008
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Nilla
Okay so, I have never had my own pond before because we can't have them where we live. *BUT* we are moving to Florida and the Guest house of my NFs parent's house. They have a pond, but they haven't used it in a few years and I asked my boyfriend if he thought they would let me use it and he said they would. So I haven't asked them yet because I'm waiting til we get down there, but most likely they will let me. They're really awesome and laid back and I think they'd probably love to have the pond all set up and not have to worry about it.

This is so exciting! I can't believe I haven't thought of it before today. Right now it's mostly drained and the water is grossss, so I'm gonna need to do a lot of cleaning. They have a shop vac, so it shouldn't be too hard. Can I use bleach to disinfect it? If not, what else should I use?

Now, the big problem is what to keep in it. I took a picture of it last time we went to visit, but my camera didn't save it. I don't know how many gallons it is, and I'll be able to get a better estimate when we move, but from what I saw I think it's anywhere between 100-200 gallons.

So, the obvious answer is goldfish. That is on the maybe list because if there's something cooler I can put in there, I'll go with that. It's definitely way too small for full grown koi, so none of those. What are some cool things I can keep in a pond? It's in a covered/fenced courtyard, so as long as I cover the pond at night there's little to no worry of predators getting in to eat the fish.

Edit: Do you think I could keep axolotls in it?! That would the best thing ever.
 
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100-200 gallons is relatively small. You could probably house 5 or 6 goldfish in it, or you could go with something like minnows and have many more of them instead. Then again, being in Florida, you might be able to house something a little more tropical (guppies perhaps?). Would help if you can find out true gallons though. Also filtration info would help too. :)
 
I know it has a water fall, but I don't know if there's any type of filtration attached to that or if it's just a water fall. I wish I could give you more info, I'll have the BF ask his mom if she knows next time he talks to her. If I did goldies I would probably only keep 3-4 but they are a last resort if I can't find anything better. It might be bigger, but it's shaped weirdly so I can't really give a good estimate based on what it looks like. I think it's about 4-5 ft deep though.
 
If it is that deep you have options - usually small ponds are only 18 inches deep or so - 4 or 5 feet is DEEP! Since you are in Florida you have a lot of options on fish - just depends on how cold the winters get. I put guppies in my pond here in KY - but only when the weather warms. Good luck - if you put any tropicals you will be amazed at how beautiful they become in an outdoor setting.
 
4 or 5 feet deep is MUCH bigger (unless it's a tiny hole 4 or 5 feet deep) than 100-200 gallons. My pond is 1700 gallons and the deepest section is 46". Our intent was 4', but we were just a hair shy of that when we finished the dig. And that's only a small portion of the pond. If you can get dimensions, that would help immensely. :)
 
It's a tiny hole, deeper than it is wide. I can't really explain it but it goes down in tiers with the deepest art in the middle. I'd say it's about maybe 3 feet across? I could be exaggerating the depth. Maybe 3-4 ft is a better estimation.

I will try to get the dimensions.
 
you could try florida natives: sailfin mollies in natural green or a developed color, florida flagfish.

with that deep and dark a hole (my imagination is running away here) black mollies would probably not be as impressive

if it's really that tall and narrow, i'm not sure what you could use to make use of the depth (other than putting a filter there if you need one)
 
Well, depending on what the intake is like for the waterfall, I want to put sand on the bottom. In that case I would probably be able to see anything. But, I'm not really a molly fan. Mollies, guppies, platies, they just don't do it for me. I'll look into the flagfish though.

Ideally, I would like to skip fish and just go with axolotls. Because I love them. But if that's not an option then fish are where it's at. Maybe some kind of goby or darter for the bottom?

Edit: i was also thinking maybe hillstream loaches, since it'll have a fast current?
 
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Hi
I live in s. florida so may be able to help .Keep in mind that florida has 4 major climate zones lol. Have never kept axolotls but feel they would be disappointing in a pond even if you have the climate. Keep in mind that the viewing will be from the top only and almost all aquatic animals are colored to make them less obvious from above. Look down on a few aquariums and you'll get the idea??
Don't put anything on the bottom you'll be amazed at the amount of debris they collect simply because they are outdoors. Regular cleaning will be necessary.
Run the pond for a while before stocking will give you some idea of the problems .
gary
 
not sure you would get much out of axolotls in a 3 foot deep pond beyond the satisfaction of knowing that they're there. (which might eventually have to be taken on faith since they will probably do their best not to be visible.)

in any case, you will have to have at least some fish in there to keep down the mosquitoes.

what are you planning on feeding them?

most darters seem to like a reasonable amount of cross current, which may be hard to achieve at the bottom of a narrow deep pond
 
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