I'm sitting in my work room looking out over a patch of my garden covered in gravel and about 4*5 metres.
I'm thinking of building an above ground pool from timber and lining and maybe about 2ft below ground level as well so the fish don't freeze in the winter.
i was thinking of 6ft * 6ft and 2.5ft above ground and another 2ft below ground in the centre of the pond. would this be ok for a few large goldfish or is it too small.
it has to be above ground mostly because i cant dig much now so dont fancy moving tons of soil.
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That size will be perfect nyx2k, and having a depth of 4.5' it shouldn't freeze in the winter.
If you can make the edge wise enough to sit on, you'll find it's a pleasure to perch and watch the fish every now and then.
Installing a bit of a waterfall to move the water around and listen to the sounds it makes will improve things and the fish will thrive on it.
Pat
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I'll put in a pump to keep the water moving and maybe some under water lights. i like the ponds that are just fish but may add some plants. it needs to be low maintenance as don't want to have to lumber the family with weekly cleaning chores when i cant do it.
I'll get some timber and keep it simple like a 6ft square and maybe a decking area around it to finish it off.
Nick
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You may need some sort of cover as my dad has terrible trouble with birds eating the fish before he made a cover from chicken wire and bits of 2x1.
We bought a load of fish in 2003 and they did breed so we now have 14 fish from an initial 6, a mix of comet, goldfish and shubunkin plus a tench though the tench is rarely seen except when the fish are removed to repair holes in the lining.
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>it has to be above ground mostly
A neighbor used these folks:
www.woodblockx.co.uk/
Last edited by: Kevin on Tue 29 May 12 at 15:50
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when you install your pump, it needs to pump into a filter-box of at least two chambers, before returning to the pond. In the first chamber you need coarse filter elements, the round nylon pan-scrubs are perfect for this job,. as many as you can squeeze in! - in the next chamber you need a finer medium, loose smallish grain gravel is perfect. These filter chambers can either be hidden under-ground (with cleaning access) or incorporated into a "Waterfall" feature, but the filtered water needs to re-enter the pond at the opposite end to the pump-pick-up, to ensure good circulation and no dead-spots. The worst thing for fish is new clean raw water! - Fish produce waste (as Ammonia) which bacteria convert to Nitrite, (both toxic to fish) then another bacterium converts the nitrite to Nitrate, (which is less toxic) and is absorbed by pond plants as food. Plants oxygenate your water and are the major force in keeping it clear and in "mopping-up " any excess nutrients in the water that cause Algal-blooms (green-water syndrome). Remember you Don't keep fish! - fish keep themselves! - you keep the water! - keep that right and your kippers will thrive!!
good-luck- go for it ! you wont regret it.
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>> i was thinking of 6ft * 6ft and 2.5ft above ground and another 2ft below
>> ground in the centre of the pond. would this be ok for a few large
>> goldfish or is it too small.
>> it has to be above ground mostly because i cant dig much now so dont
>> fancy moving tons of soil.
6ftx6ftx2ft will be at least 2.5 tonnes of soil, that needs to be dug out and transported about,
Hire a man with a mini JCB.
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i didn't realise it was that much soil. cant get a digger into the garden so may need to hire some fit people for digging
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>>cant get a digger into the garden so may need to hire some fit people for digging<<
Ask Katie Price - she looks fit.
:)
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Use the excavated soil to build the banks. Then one spade movement does two jobs at once.
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>> Ask Katie Price - she looks fit.
Should've gone to Specsavers.
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>>Should've gone to Specsavers<<
TBH I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Katie Price and Jordan - with or without glasses.
;)
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She could shovel soil with those artificial lips of hers. She looks like a duck now.
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bought the liner today and pump and filter and filter medium.
Having wood delivered Friday to make the above ground part so just need a few diggers but i might do it my self as i have a trailer so i can fill that up and take to tip or use in the garden somewhere else.
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Have you thought of making a raised rockery out of the soil somewhere else in the garden?
There are some beautiful big rocks about and they are not to expensive.
Try visiting a reclaimed builders/bric a brac yard for ideas.....I could spend a whole years wages in those places in five minutes!
Pat
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there is a reclamation yard near the youngests school. will look in the morning and see what they have.
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Dont forget it will need time to "mature" a bit before you put fish in it! - leave it empty (water/plants only) for about 14 days with the pump running 24/7, throw a bit of food in every other day to start the bacteria off. Then add a few fish at a time, not all at once!
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thanks for the advice. its looking cooler for today without rain so i may start digging later.
thanks all
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Hire a mini digger, they are great fun!
Pat
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Brother has a fish pond.
From brief conversations over the years, I gather keeping the water clear - so you can see the fish - is an involved and continuing process.
Depends on whether you see that as part of the fun and interest of the hobby, or a chore.
Brother has tried a few miracle solutions, none work, so it's a matter of buying a good quality filter and doing the necessary maintenance and cleaning.
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If you are going to maintain an unnatural pond with just fish in it then you will have to work keeping it clear unnaturally.
The secret of a low-maintenance clear pond is to have a natural balance of weed, water snails, scavengers, etc, so that it keeps clear by itself. Just like a real pond.
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I gave up on fish after ducks emptied it one year: now just plants and snails and tadpoles and pond life. Far less hassle and just as nice to look at...
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I agree with Cliff Pope.
You CAN achieve a natural balance with clear water but you will need a lot of plant material in the pond if you intend to keep fish.
However you can achieve clear water with a pond filter but these are not cheap and will initially need cleaning regularly.
For me I moved a pond two years ago and this had no filter.
The first year the pond water turned green and I couldn't see anything in the pond but I put this down to the pond being moved and more in the sun.
This year I bit the bullet and brought a Hozelock 10000+ pond filter.
Not cheap at £100 but it certainly does the job.
It took 2 weeks to completely clear a 460 litre pond and a clean of the filters every two days but it does work.
What my pond has going against it is that I have 19 fish in a 5ft by 3ft pond.
So quite a lot of livestock for the pond.
However since the pond water is now clear the oxygenating weed is growing well.
So over time the pond filter should not have to work as hard to clear the water as the pond plants grow.
Top tip, at spring time most ponds will tend to turn green as the days get longer but the pond plant life takes time to grow.
Or in my case the water was so green the pond life didn't get enough light to grow.
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"Dont forget it will need time to "mature" a bit before you put fish in it!"
I'm into a bit of "mature".
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Good advice. That's exactly what I have done Pat. It also screens the filtration system too.
Of course a rockery of that size also begs to have its own cascading water feature and mini pond!
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I've had a few ponds at various properties over the years, quite a large one at one time with a top-notch filtration system housed in a separate pump house.
More trouble than they're worth IMO (don't mention the Kingfishers!)
I've got one here too - it fills up when it rains and doesn't if it doesn't.
No fish in it - I just leave it as a bird bath :}
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>> it needs to be low maintenance as don't want to have to lumber the family with weekly
>>cleaning chores when i cant do it.
You are kidding, right? Nyx2k's folly it will be called.
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looks like i will be buying more things like UV light etc to help keep it clear
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I have a friend who lives in the Chichester area and he needed some heavy digging done in the garden.
He went to a local labour agency and hired a man for the day for less than £100.
My friend said the output from a young fit person with a good work ethic had to be seen to be believed. I sure he would have your hole dug in a lot less than a day.
I can try and get a contact number if you are interested nyx2k.
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a contact number would be great please. my back is killing me after 10 mins digging so i gave up and went out on the boat instead. have a nice 6lb cod from the harbour entrance aswell.
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Here is the reply from my mate.
Staffwise plc
Unit 2 Clarence Gate, High Street, Bognor Regis, West Sussex PO21 1RE
Telephone: 01243 860707
"Ask for one of the two Daniels as they are great workers."
Hope you are as happy with them as he was.
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thanks so much for that. will call Wednesday and get someone out asap.
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>>have a nice 6lb cod from the harbour
wont be able to put that in!!!!
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>> >>have a nice 6lb cod from the harbour
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>> wont be able to put that in!!!!
>>
I wonder whether anyone does have a sea-water pond at home? Presumably if you added the right amount of salt you could keep marine fish, and have appropriate weed and seaside plants.
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It's not that simple I'm afraid. If it was we'd all be farming cod in our back yard.
Even keeping marine tropicals in a small aquarium is very tricky. Maintaining constant salinity, temperature and avoiding disease is difficult in an enclosed system and impossible in a pond.
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a friend in Australia has a marine garden pond with some huge fish in. i saw a 5ft long thing and i think he called it a grouper. it cost him 200,000 aus dollars and he swims in it with the fish. if i remember its 25*40 feet and 15ft deep. huge pumps and i imagine a huge electricity bill as well.
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Richard Branson has a villa in Mahon with a glass floor in the sea. His pond is the med.
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UV. You really need at least 10W per 1000 Gals. I had one on our old Oase unit which I am replacing. I turned it off for one day and the algae bloomed straightaway. Just goes to show what these units do. After a week the new 50W unit still hasn't cleared it.
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Any one keep pond fish? - Pat
