Pond lining + Filtration

[William]

235 UK gallons of water approximately in a quarter of a circle shape. What would be the best lining + filtration. My neighbours also have cats, will this be a problem.

I remember ryan gave me a list back of fish I could keep:

Golden Minnows
Golden Rudd
Golden Tench
Green Tench
Golden Orfe
Blue Orfe
Gudgeon
Sticklebacks
Stone Loaches
Wheather Loaches
Shiners (notropis lutrensis)
Red Bellied Dace
and many more......

Not being an expert on ponds, what sort of density can they go in at, I realise it is quite low. Also what plants would you recommend, other than the standard elodea densa. Thanks

 

[The-Wolf]

From my pond keeping days I remember that rubber buetal (not sure of spelling) linning is best as it lasts about 15yrs compaired to others that last about 10.

the only plants i had were water irisis water lillies and bunches of oxiginaters.

The only thing with your picture is the height raised from ground level, this may cause a problem in the winter with freezing. you dont want the first clod spell freezing the entire pond like an ice lolly. Any plans for a heater?

as for filters I never had one; but my pond was barren of fish for 5 years before we put any in it!

 

[ryan]

Right there are two main choices for lining ponds other than expensive techniques for large Koi ponds; P.V.C or Butyl. Personnally for that size pond I would recommend a Butyl liner, I would smooth other the inside with a layer of concrete to give a small round pond shape with no crack, sharp edges etc, than lay an underlay of old carpet or sand at a depth of 1-2", you may want to add shelves to the pond which can be done using bricks concreted over to give a nice smooth shelve for marginal plants. Then go to your local lfs/garden centre with the pond dimensions and they should be able to cut a liner to the correct size for you, once this done you fit it in to the pond.

Now the fun begins! Fill the pond with water and check for leaks, if none than the preperation for fish can begin. There are several filter systems you could go for, IMO and IME it is best to go and see what is available but I would recommend one of the Bioforces or Ecoclears but there are others like Cyclone, Ecopower and so on...........Now depending on which filter you purchase you may need to buy a pump to run it off, if you purchase a Bioforce for example this likely to be the case.

Now when all the filters are in and operational and the water churning around nicely you should let it settle for at least 10 days at which point I would add some plants, a pygmy Water Lily like:

N.pygmea 'Alba'

N.pygmea 'Helvola'

There are others like N.laydekeri 'Fulgens' which is a nice red/pink and ofcourse there are more.........

Next I would consider some Marginals and Floating plant species, some of my favourites are:

Caltha palustris 'Marsh Marigold'

Or and Iris species like:
Iris pseudacorus

Iris versicolor

Floating plants:
Pistia stratiotes 'Water Lettuce'

Eichhornia crassipes 'Water Hyacinth'

Then the all important oxygenators like;
Lagarosiphon major

Then leave the pond another 10 days with everything working and going smoothly before you begin adding the fish!

For a pond of that size I would recommend:

1xGolden Tench (Tinca tinca)

1xGreen Tench (Tinca tinca)

8xGolden Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus)

6xGolden Minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus)

4x Stone Loach (Nemacheilus barbatus)/Weather Loach (Misgurnus angullicaudatus)/Gudgeon (Gobio gobio).

Stone Loach (Nemacheilus barbatus)

Weather Loach (Misgurnus angullicaudatus)

Gudgeon (Gobio gobio)

You could also add 2-4xCarassius auratus, obviously you would chose the variant, be it Comet or Shubunkin.

 

[William]

Amazing. I remember back when I used to do a bit of angling that tench and of course rudd were species which I caught, but can these be picked up easily in a garden centre/coldwater fish place?

Is there any chance you could show me some pictures of your amazing koi ponds ryan, I would be particularily interested in the plants and the way you have planted them as obviously I would be keen to make sure that my fish don't hide *all* of the time

 

[ryan]

Rudd/Tench and like are becoming more and more common inthe average Garden centre/lfs and will be easy to find.

I am going out now but when I get back this afternoon I will try to get some more pics of the planting etc, have you seen the thread 'My Koi and Koi ponds', there are some good pics of some planted areas in there I think.

 

[jams.alaskan]

With that wonderful stone wall behind you should be able to grow some great trailing plants above the pond that will make it look even more lush!

ALASKA

 

[William]

I am working on some jasmine which will be growing up there. Now I just need to finish the digging and get some cement!! It'll all be worth it... I hope!

 

[ryan]

Heres my best example of a planted pond, my wildlife pond.

This is planted with a species of Iris and several other Marginals and loads of duck weed with a few floating pieces of frogbit.

Heres one shot of the 6,000 on the planted shelve, this is the only Koi pond with a planted area, this shelf is about 15" deep and contains mainly Iris with some other Marginals like Marsh Marigolds, none of my Lilies are out yet so we'll have to wait a month or so before I can photo them.

In this second shot you can see the planted shelve better.

Theres a small amount of planting in the larger pond.

Here you can see the waterfall which is about 4-5' long and about 15" deep and it over flows into the main pool, I use it as a biological filter as much as for decoration.

For your pond I would recommend a central Lily and taller Marginals at the back leading foward to smaller Marginals with some floating plants at the back and front, then you could have a waterfall or overflow from the filter into the pond at the back in a central position. I think a Wisteria may look nice at the back there trailing up the wall but it may grow to big.

 

[bribones]

have you checked to see how far the foundation is below the surface ?you may be able to go slightly deeper,id recommend a pvc liner you can get one with a lifetime garantee ,pea mesh or chicken wire will deter cats fitted to some timber it will just sit over the top and can be removed when your around to kick em yourself

 

[ryan]

I would doubt cats would be a problem, there are several cats near me and they all regularly appear in my garden but Cats stand little chance of catching a healthy fast swimming fish, maybe a Fancy Goldfish but the fish I suggested should be fine with the plant cover.

William, I forgot to mention that it may be worth while purchasing an air pump as Rudd and Minnows prefer cooler European waters and with hot summers now the oxygen content in the water is lower in the summer so I can be wise to have and oxygen pump to keep the fish happy, just as a precaution, some my larger Orfe need one in the summer to stop them having to casp at the surface.

 

[Opcn]

Id like to see an updated pic of your project Will.

Opcn