Off Topic: Ponds

[dcombs44]

Any pond keepers out there? Anyone know of a good web source to study up on keeping a back yard pond with fish and plants?

The wife and I are thinking about a small stream/pond in the back yard this spring/summer, but I'm not sure of where to read up before I decide to tackle this. Fosters and Smith has some pretty good info, but I was hoping to find a good forum to read through a bit as well.

Thanks.

[dcombs44]

BuMp....no back yard paradises out there?

[meco65]

Yea me to I have a 130 Gal pre form pond I have to put in. All info would help.

[1DeR9_3Hy]

We have a 400 gallon system (280'sh gallon pond, connected to an upper pond by a stream). I just filled it with water, and followed SOP for adding fish and clean the filter every week. I know i have an algae problem, but as long as the water stays clear i dont mind it.

Really all you need is a pump, filter and water tight container. Add koi, and voila :)

[gowingsgo]

I don't know of any forums for ponds But I put in a 9'W x 18'L x 3.5'D pond with a water fall a few years back and love it. If you PM me with some contact info I would be more then happy to talk to you about planing and install. I made a few mistakes when I put in my water fall but learned a lot in doing so. I will also check on the names of some books that I have that were very good reads.
I posted a few pics as you can see I am still working on the landscaping

[Sk8r]

4000 gallon pond dug with a mantis tiller, and coming out of its first fish-keeping winter, its second winter over all.
A skilled aquarium keeper who understands how to turn a saltbucket into a particulate pot-filter with a little floss, a few rocks, pump, and hose can get along pretty well with an 8 foot pond. But should you want to go larger, Savio makes excellent equipment. Try pondliner.com for a good place: its customers are quite pleased with it, and should you have a major pump go, they will ship to you ASAP. I've found their recommendations to be spot on, including what they advise against doing (like splicing the liner). Overbuy liner: you'll find a thousand uses for it.
My own system is a swimmingpool sized skimmer, with a 4" hose headed to the other end of the 20x15 pond for a 3' tall waterfall weir done up in native stone. We're still landscaping: it's an undertaking. But a lot of fun. I will also advise floating rings (we use irrigation hose connected to a doubleended hose barb) with water hyacinth or the like, which provides shelter, serves as a refugium, moderates summer temperatures, and generally stays out of your skimmer that way. Fish can hide under it if a heron lands on the pond edge or a raccoon shows up.
Chemically, it's easier than keeping a swimming pool: just buffer after it rains and test periodically. And of course clean the filters. Plants help. An auxiliary pot-filter helps out during high summer algae fest. I have a uv light and that also helps greatly: it keeps the water clear so you can appreciate your fish. Fish sleep through the winter and require no care to speak of, except you need to keep special heaters going for them in my area.

How we dug it...we laid out garden hose in the pond shape we wanted, got a garden tiller, and churned up that outline, working toward the center. We shoveled the dirt into a rising berm and then brought in more dirt to raise the whole yard in hummocks with a winding path, gazebo, etc. Two person job, nothing worse than pushing a wheelbarrow.

The waterfall sound mitigates the traffic sounds and our pond yard is demonstrably 10 degrees cooler than the front yard in summer.
We run the water fall day and night. It is the filter: big Brute sized bin with fiber inside. Fish have been disease and parasite free, and we got them as 3.50 items at the local feed store, one 30.00 fish (platinum butterfly fin), and will get a red-and-black this spring. But all in great shape.

[Fishfreak218]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=koi+pond+forums

:)

[hemi-cuda]

Yeah, 3500gal. Pond with some good sized Koi. I've had my Koi for over 14 years....Some of my little ladies I'm sure are 7 to 8 pounds! Anyway, Try:
www.thepondguy.com In Michigan
www.justkoiwatergardens.com In South Carolina
The Guy in South Carolina has a very informative site.

[golby]

I have owned a series of three ponds (connected by waterfalls and a stream) for 16 years. Total gallons = 1200 or so. I have probably read a dozen books on the subject and convinced several neighbors of the merits of water gardening. Only problem I've ever had: a Great Blue Heron knows where I live.

Feel free to PM with specific questions or ask them here...

I've successfully had the following animals mate and had their young mature into adults:
Comets, Koi, shubunkins, fantails (ryukin), bullfrogs, grey tree frogs and a variety of snails (in fact, I have not purchased a snail since 1995 and my pond is full of them).

[robs.mark]

Make it a saltwater pond! :-0

[dcombs44]

Thanks for input guys. I'll be reading up and contacting some of you with questions as they arise.

I've been keeping marine systems for about 6 years with success, so I'm sure I can handle this venture. Just want to do it right. Thanks again.

[dcombs44]

Make it a saltwater pond! :-0

As awesome as that could/would be, it gets way to cold here in southern Illinois. :)

[jarrett shark]

www.KOIPHEN.com

[dcombs44]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=koi+pond+forums

:)

Cute :)

I actually visited that site, but there wasn't too much activity. Thanks for the link though......and the sarcasm:lol:

[1DeR9_3Hy]

The nice thing about a pond....is if you spill some water or make it mess, its ok :)


I love working with my pond, its the most stress free aqua hobby i have.

[dcombs44]

The nice thing about a pond....is if you spill some water or make it mess, its ok :)


I love working with my pond, its the most stress free aqua hobby i have.

I'm pretty excited about starting to work on it this spring. I figure it's something I can plan and work on slowly. We'll probably do a smaller one. Maybe 6' x 8' x 2.5'. Think that comes out to around 1200 gallons. I think I could rig up a skimmer filter pretty easily with a salt bucket, some filter floss and some sort of leaf basket. I've got a Quiet One 6000 pump that I don't use, so that'd be a good return pump. So much to think about.

[dcombs44]

A skilled aquarium keeper who understands how to turn a saltbucket into a particulate pot-filter with a little floss, a few rocks, pump, and hose can get along pretty well with an 8 foot pond.

Sk8r, is this the type of setup you were referring to?

http://www.watergarden.org/Pond-Supplies/Pond-Filters-Skimmers-Waterfall-Tanks/Signal-800-In-Pond-Filter

I could easily do that with a salt bucket. Any recommendations on the type of rock to put in the bucket? Are bio-balls a viable option in this setting?

[jsharp1]

I currently have a 800 gallon pond (started out as a small round 50ish or so gallon), been setup for about 6 years, but I am constanly adding to every year, lol. It seems like this last year I really got my pond setup where it was pretty much maintenance free. We built a bog which I highly recommend as it keeps our pond crystal clear and algae free. I have no shade in that area and before the bog I was constantly battling with algae. Our setup is pretty low cost, simple and works great. not sure what kind of pump we have (i'll check into that later), but we have the pump setup in the deepest part of the pond and the return line is ran through the bottom of the bog container which is layered with lava rock, pea gravel then we have it pretty thickly planted.

[1DeR9_3Hy]

All you people have me thinking of expanding my pond now lol....i wasnt planning on it since we are adding on this spring, but I cant roof in the rain...:D

[gowingsgo]

If you plan to have fish You will need it to be deeper then 3-1/2 feet or the pond will freeze throughout
If you do this you will not need to add a heater in the winter. I have never lost a fish even with a long winter freeze and have never had to a a heater.

[dcombs44]

If you plan to have fish You will need it to be deeper then 3-1/2 feet or the pond will freeze throughout
If you do this you will not need to add a heater in the winter. I have never lost a fish even with a long winter freeze and have never had to a a heater.

I had been reading a bit on how deep I needed to dig to have fish. I'm in Southern Illinois, so weather is similar to Cincy. I was planning 3 feet, but maybe I'll consider a little deeper.

Thanks.

[scmcn]

As awesome as that could/would be, it gets way to cold here in southern Illinois. :)

even colder up here in northern illinois!

[jsharp1]

I had been reading a bit on how deep I needed to dig to have fish. I'm in Southern Illinois, so weather is similar to Cincy. I was planning 3 feet, but maybe I'll consider a little deeper.

Thanks.

I agree, 3 1/2 feet would prob be best, the deepest part in my pond is about 3 1/2 feet and I've never lost a fish over the winter (hour north of cincy). I don't have a pond heater, but I do have a heated pond saucer that keeps the top of the pond from freezing all the way across.

:spin3: Just a tip: When digging, make sure to dig a few wide shelves (for plants). Or you'll prob just end up re-diggin again in a few years like I did!

[Lps157]

We added pond and water feature construction to my companies ability a few years back and have been very happy with doing so. Were located in the SW so we don't see the cold you do but would be glad to help with any construction type questions.

Also lots of great builds in here:
http://www.lawnsite.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22
You'll probably have to search a ways back to find some of the better ones.

[golby]

Sk8r, is this the type of setup you were referring to?

http://www.watergarden.org/Pond-Supplies/Pond-Filters-Skimmers-Waterfall-Tanks/Signal-800-In-Pond-Filter

I could easily do that with a salt bucket. Any recommendations on the type of rock to put in the bucket? Are bio-balls a viable option in this setting?

In my experience that setup will need very frequent cleaning. We run everything through a biological filter only (with a small mechanical filter by the pump, mostly just to keep the pump running smoothly). We have no other filtration. Return pump brings from far side of each pond to one large heavy duty plastic bucket--maybe a 40 gallon bucket. The bucket is simply filled with lava rock and the return tube just goes over the edge and down to the bottom of the bucket. We plant a mint plant in the top and with effective rock work, you can't see the hose or the bucket. The bucket waterfalls into the top pond via pvc covered in rock work. One recommendation, if you have multiple ponds in succession, do a return from each pond not just one in the furthest pond. You will pay a bit more in pumps up front but the water clarity you maintain more than makes up for it.

I can't advise on pond depth, but in MD, my pond is maybe 21-23 inches at the deepest. We run a heater in the winter which just keeps the pond from freezing over completely.

[dcombs44]

Thanks. We're in the planning stages. As soon as the ground softens for good, I think we may break ground.

[BongoSolo3]

I have owned a series of three ponds (connected by waterfalls and a stream) for 16 years. Total gallons = 1200 or so. I have probably read a dozen books on the subject and convinced several neighbors of the merits of water gardening. Only problem I've ever had: a Great Blue Heron knows where I live.

Feel free to PM with specific questions or ask them here...

I've successfully had the following animals mate and had their young mature into adults:
Comets, Koi, shubunkins, fantails (ryukin), bullfrogs, grey tree frogs and a variety of snails (in fact, I have not purchased a snail since 1995 and my pond is full of them).


I have the same problem with a heron - I lose ~ 2-3 shubunkins a year. I used to use that netting over the pond, but it looked so ugly that I took it down. I think I will be using it again....