Ponds

[Fishies4Ever]

Does anyone on this forum have a pond? I am making a big koi pond at the moment and was seeing if anyone could put up some pictures so I could have some ideas.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. You might consider a pond above ground. They're much less work, because there's no digging and you don't accidentally damage any underground utility lines. Here's a picture to give you an idea of what you can have. This is my backyard above ground pond. I keep Goldfish in it and too much Water Lettuce.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Wow your pond looks amazing! I am for sure doing a in ground pond as it can be very large and you don’t need as many materials. I am planning on renting a mini excavator eventually to dig it. It would be about 1000 gallons I am pretty sure. We have a sceptic system and a well so running into utility lines will thankfully not be a problem. I am not sure about a filter yet but I have a few ideas on how to incorporate it into the build.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Something as large as you're planning will definitely need constant incoming and outgoing water. If you can accomplish this, you shouldn't need any more filtration. As long as the incoming and outgoing water is steady, then you'll have natural filtration.

10 Tank (Now 11)

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Hello. Something as large as you're planning will definitely need constant incoming and outgoing water. If you can accomplish this, you shouldn't need any more filtration. As long as the incoming and outgoing water is steady, then you'll have natural filtration.

10 Tank (Now 11)

Ok thank you for the tip. Do you have any recommendations for any other fish I could put in there with the koi? I live in New York so it can get pretty cold here but I am planning on putting in a pond heater during the winter. I am not sure how warm we will be able to heat it though because of the large size of the pond. Would it be possible for the water to be clear or will it just get swampy no matter what?

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello Fish. I heat my tank in the winter. It gets cold here too, so I understand. Carp type fish are pretty tolerant of cooler water as long as the temperatures stay constant. I'd recommend Fathead Minnows in addition to your Koi. They're fast swimmers and get fairly large, so they'll be able to keep out of the way of your Koi. Keep in mind that any smaller fish can potentially be lunch for the larger ones. Rocks and old driftwood can be good additions to the bottom of the pond and provide hiding places for the smaller fish. Of course you'll want to place all of that prior to filling. A friend of mine has Koi in his pond. I'll have to send you a couple of photos of his fish.

Have fun and keep us informed of your progress!

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Hello Fish. I heat my tank in the winter. It gets cold here too, so I understand. Carp type fish are pretty tolerant of cooler water as long as the temperatures stay constant. I'd recommend Fathead Minnows in addition to your Koi. They're fast swimmers and get fairly large, so they'll be able to keep out of the way of your Koi. Keep in mind that any smaller fish can potentially be lunch for the larger ones. Rocks and old driftwood can be good additions to the bottom of the pond and provide hiding places for the smaller fish. Of course you'll want to place all of that prior to filling. A friend of mine has Koi in his pond. I'll have to send you a couple of photos of his fish.

Have fun and keep us informed of your progress!

10 Tanks (Now 11)

Thank you for the suggestions just hoping that they will survive the winter here. I’ll probably just stick with the regular koi and not the carp kind just because I know they can get HUGE! The fathead minnows I think would be great I also have heard that white cloud minnows would work. I’ll keep everyone updated maybe I’ll start a journal once we get more progress.

 

[10 Tanks]

Fish. The White Clouds sold in fish stores are used to tropical water conditions. They won't tolerate the outside temperatures in your area. The Fatheads would do well in cooler water. There's a drawback with them though. They don't live very long. A year or a bit more is about the best you can do. But, they're fast breeders, grow up quickly to about 4 inches and are inexpensive. They can easily be replaced, so you can keep a good number of them in your pond.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello again. Had to show you the Koi in a friend's backyard pond. It's several thousand gallons. Don't know how many fish he has, but they're big. These photos were taken at feeding time.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Wow thank you for the pictures. The one in the middle of the second picture is really pretty looking. He has a lot of fish in there!

 

[10 Tanks]

Wow thank you for the pictures. The one in the middle of the second picture is really pretty looking. He has a lot of fish in there!

Hello. You can do the same. Just do a lot of research before you start. It won't happen overnight, but keep plugging away and take your time. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Endlersendlers]

Does anyone on this forum have a pond? I am making a big koi pond at the moment and was seeing if anyone could put up some pictures so I could have some ideas.

I have a pond that’s about 400 gallons, above and below ground from cinder blocks. The filtration is all external, not built in like usually seen for koi.

 

[Endlersendlers]

Please excuse the random stuff.

 

[Endlersendlers]

It’s a double layer of cinder block, liner of course, 3 blocks high above ground (I read that’s the limit for not cementing it in). I don’t notice any bowing of walls at nearly one year. There is a pond filter that is supposed to be self cleaning by a reverse flow to another outlet. That’s been a disappointment as water comes out both hoses all the time so I have to keep the second in the pond. It’s a DIY waterfall with the usual media after the pond filter. There is also the pond pump in the water, a little off the bottom so it can never dry dock the fish, that sends water to the filter. The lattice and coyote rollers around the top keep critters out. Had a visit from a raccoon once and got those repaired and back up, he hasn’t been back. There was pond netting over it so he didn’t get anything and got annoyed tangling his feet in it. I read they like to do their business in the water, which would worry me for parasites. I have the whole build in pictures on one of the forums here.

 

[Endlersendlers]

The build is in this forum, the thread is called tilapia pond.