Nano Ponds

mellowvision

mellowvision

Seafood Lover
May 17, 2007
5,099
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Brooklyn NY
www.mellowvision.com
Real Name
Bill Brissette
I'm looking for info about really small ponds. I live in NYC and rent my apartment, but have a small area in the yard that would be ok for me to do something small in. I want to be able to easily take this out when I move. (or have it be so cheap, that I don't care about leaving it behind.)

I would like to have a pond that is maybe around 30-60 gallons, and has a solar powered pump to a small waterfall/spillway. I'd like to incorporate a simple filter box into the waterfall, probably using poret or similar foam pads that are easy to clean.

I've been considering using a rubbermaid container as the basin. I'm open to rigid, preformed liners, but haven't seen anything cheap. I'm also considering wiskey barrel liners and other polypropylene containers. Something 3 feet around and 2 feet deep would probably be perfect.

I know a small pond like this won't survive the winter without a heater. Ideally, I'd like to be able to empty the pond for the winter, or let it ice over and not worry about it cracking... but I'm not concerned about keeping livestock over the winter, they would come in or be relocated. Chances are, I'm only going to stock with a few minnows or local crayfish.

I've found solar pumps that are affordable. The real question is, what is the best liner/tank for the job. I'm also interested in cheap filterbox options.

Ideally, I'd like to keep the budget under $150. I think it's doable. What would you do?
 
Question: Are you allowed to dig in this area? Like a foot, foot and a half deep? That shouldn't be enough to get into any utility/water/sewer lines I would think....but if you can put any part of this underground it would change the design needs considerably. Use the excavated dirt around the outside of the container as a wall. It will help to prevent both freezing in winter and overheating in summer.

you asked "what would we do", well that's my dream pond. Based on one I used to walk past on the way home from kindergarten circa 50 years ago in a small town in Iowa.

The outside was built up with rounded rocks cemented in concrete. What the inside was constructed of I have no idea. But it had mysterious things swimming in it, and had plants all around and in it, and it was a Thing of Great Wonder to me.

Of course I was five or six at the time. It could have been an old cesspool or well the homeowner just threw a couple of goldfish into. But I will never forget Spruce Street in Knoxville Iowa just for that weird little pond. I hope yours has the same effect on some child somehow. :)
 
well you could just go to lowes or homedepo ,they have a large array of plant pots that are pretty sturdy.sometimes they even have some pre-sealed minipond containers. o and if you arent stocking it you probabley dont need a filter, add a layer of rocks on the bottom and any sludge or decaying matter will get stuck and help give nutrients to plants in the water.
 
I think you should go with something raised, like a half whisky barrel with a reed and a miniature water lily. Also you don't want to trap rotting organic matter on the bottom of the pond, and its much easier to syphon the crud out of a raised pond than it is to scoop it out of an in-ground one.
 
Check Craigslist for pre-formed ponds. That would be the easiest to set up and then take down for the winter.
 
live stock water containers make nice ponds rubbermade make some nice ones if you have any farm supply stores in your area.
 
Not so much livestock or livestock suppliers in brooklyn... but a lot of kitchen supply places. I like the idea of having it above the ground, but this isn't so much about ease, as it is about creating a certain landscape in a small bit of garden... I'm more inclined to bury whatever it is, and surround it with stones to mask the plastic.

I have a 20g clear rubbermaid container, but it's really flimsy. I have about 15g of water in it now, and I'm expecting it to collapse any day now, it's bowed about 5" on one side.:) I'm sure the ground would give it some support, but I also imagine it would crack in short time. It's not UV protected, heavy duty, or anything.

I would love something not round or rectangular too, but it would have to be cheap. I'm really hoping to keep the budget under $150.
 
we did somethign like this:
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It has an 80g stock tub inside it (I got two of them for $75). We then put planters and stuff around it during the summer. It was very cheap and came out ok for 20 minutes of work.

When summer was over we lifted off the wood "shell" and I took the tub to the basement for continued breeding.
 
Do you have a Home Depot nearby that sells pond supplies??

They have a round preform that sells for about $35 and has 3 little shelves for pots. I'm not sure how many gallons they are, definitely under 100 gallons. I have two of them. They make a great little pond. It can be inground or above ground.
 
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