New Pond Being Built For Spring/summer

[loubega]

hi there,

been a tropical fish keeper for a while now but am looking to take the plunge into coldwater fish.

My mum has given me the go-ahead to build a pond in the garden for the summer, so aiming to start work in march. This is going to be quite a big project and am going to take my time over it.

We have quite a big garden so size is not really a constraint. However, im very new to pond/coldwater designing and the theory behind it all.

I have done a bit of research on the internet so have some understanding of what needs to be done.

However im looking for some advice from peaople that have been there, done that...

Does sunlight become a big problem in pond location? does it need to be half in half out of direct sunlight?
Can it be placed below trees?
How deep does the pond have to be if you want to keep fish, prob not koi.
Does the pond have to be ridged so plants can be placed on the ridges..?
Can you have it raised slightly so its almost half in/half out of the ground?
What plants are best to keep the pond oxygenated?
What filter system is needed? how big etc...?
Can you create a boggy area near the pond to act as a little ecosystem on its own?

Im sure i will have loads more question but am hoping to start designing the pond in the coming weeks and months...

any advice to get me started and thinking is very welcome!

cheers

 

[chr15_8]

hi

firstly we need to know the size of pond you want (its ok saying you have a big garden but depends how much you want to spend as doing it properly costs more)

2) how much you want to spend as there are different systems you can go for eg gravity feed or pump feed.

3) what fish you are looking to keep eg orfe normally goldfis etc

hi there,


Does sunlight become a big problem in pond location? does it need to be half in half out of direct sunlight?
nope not at all my goldfish pond is in almost full sunlight and the koi pond recieves sunlight from 8 till around 2-3pm in the summer monthsCan it be placed below trees?
yes but when autum comes it will be a pain cleaning all the leaves from the pond

How deep does the pond have to be if you want to keep fish, prob not koi.
depends which fish.
koi need a min. of 4ft ideally 5-6ft deep. orfe should be 3-4 i would of thought (dont really know much about them)Does the pond have to be ridged so plants can be placed on the ridges..?
personally i wouldnt put ridges in the pond as this is an ideal step for the heron when looking at which fish he/she wantsto eat.

Can you have it raised slightly so its almost half in/half out of the ground?
yes you can. mainly built from bricks/blocks but have seen it done with railway sleepers before

What plants are best to keep the pond oxygenated?
dont have plants in the koi pond for obvious reasons of them becoming food, in the gold fish pond it only has decrotive plants.
the way i keep the kpi pond oxygen rich is though 2 x 60 litres per min air pumps, one in the bottam drain of the pond and one in the filter.
goldfish pond is a tetra tec 400 (small but its only for the goldfish pond)



What filter system is needed? how big etc...?
depends on the size of the pond and your budget.

Can you create a boggy area near the pond to act as a little ecosystem on its own?
personally i wouldnt but depends what you want to achieve.

cheers

i would go as deep as possable and put in a bottam drain and make the filter system gravity feed. this means they is no sludge on the bottam of the pond and you wont need to vacum it out.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Does sunlight become a big problem in pond location? does it need to be half in half out of direct sunlight?
Can it be placed below trees?
How deep does the pond have to be if you want to keep fish, prob not koi.
Does the pond have to be ridged so plants can be placed on the ridges..?
Can you have it raised slightly so its almost half in/half out of the ground?
What plants are best to keep the pond oxygenated?
What filter system is needed? how big etc...?
Can you create a boggy area near the pond to act as a little ecosystem on its own?

Im sure i will have loads more question but am hoping to start designing the pond in the coming weeks and months...

any advice to get me started and thinking is very welcome!

cheers

1. Sunlight can be a problem when it comes to algae. Ideally you want the pond in an area of the garden that doesn't get too much strong sunlight throughout the day, but you also don't want the pond under any tree's (particularly pine or evergreen tree's- pine needles can make the water toxic) as you don't want loads of leaves falling in the pond every autumn. Tree roots may also interfere with the digging of the pond.

2. Ideally at least 3ft deep for goldfish, 4ft deep for koi, and 6ft or more deep for sturgeon or other massive growing fish. For goldfish, the pond should be at least 6ft long by 4ft wide, while for koi the pond should be at least 12ft long and 6ft wide.

3. Yes. You can even have the pond completely raised above the ground by building a wall pond.

4. Pond plants don't do a great deal for water oxygenation, but pretty much any type of full submerged growing pond plant will add a little oxygen to the pond (like Californian Oxygenating Weed). Features like waterfalls, fountains and general filtration will do a great deal more for adding oxygen to the water. Filtration will also significantly increase the amount of fish you can keep in the pond (unfiltered goldfish pond should have no more than one goldfish per 250gallons, but a decently filtered pond can have one goldfish per 100gallons)- koi ponds should always be filtered.

5. Depends on the size of the pond and the type of filter- in my pond which is 3200gals i have a 6x2x2ft gravity fed filtration system.

6. Yes, but you don't want to add soil to it as this can cause algae blooms. Also shallow area's, while good for creatures like frogs, newts and beetles etc, are not that great for fish as it makes it a great deal easier for predators like herons and cats to catch fish if there are very shallow sloping area's in the pond. If you want to have a successful wildlife pond, it is best to have it separate from the fish pond, as fish eat tadpoles, small frogs, beetles and any other invertebrates they can catch etc.

Before you dig the pond you should check to see whether any drains or cables run under the area where you plan to have your pond (particularly drains, as if they get blocked and are under the pond you may have to tear the pond up to fix them etc). If the area is drain/cable-free, then mark out the area where you want the pond. Keep in mind how you want the pond to look if you have plants in, as different pond plants do best submerged at different depths and you will probably have to make shelves in the walls of the pond to put plants on.

When digging the pond, you should remove any stones you come across, no matter how small. Once you have the main shape of the pond dug, plaster the insides of it in wet sand- this helps protect the underlay and pond liner from stones (worms can move stones deep in the ground close to the liner over time). Then measure out how much underlay you need (underlay is a thick felt-like fabric that insulates and protects the pond) and put that in. Then simply put the pond liner in after that and weight down the edges and fill up the pond. It is wise to order much more underlay (and particularly liner) than you need.