Thinking About A Pond

[BINKSY]

Hi

I have a section of my garden that needs finishing off. I thinks its just asking for a pond to be built.

The dimensions are about 2m long x 1m wide and can maybe get a depth of around 0.7m to 0.8m.

So what kind of fish could be kept in a pond of this size?

I would like a few plants in there too, so should i incorporate some planting shelves into the build?

Also thinking about some kind of DIY Filtration, mainly to keep cost down a bit. Im also guessing the pump needs to be a submersiable type?

Sorry about all the questions, just trying to gather as much info as possiable.

Cheers Gordon.

 

[Jpmc™]

I would recommend Common pond goldfish and Shubunkins,
About plants, I have no idea, if they were real, it's most likely your fish will eat them
The pump, I'm pretty sure can be either, but submsersible, IMO is the best.
Also, you don't get snow or cold temperatures, or else you would have to do alot more than that.

 

[BINKSY]

Thanks for your input. Well we maybe get a little snow here in UK, and some cold temps but nothing to drastic compared to other countries.

Cheers Gordon.

 

[Jpmc™]

Thanks for your input. Well we maybe get a little snow here in UK, and some cold temps but nothing to drastic compared to other countries.

Cheers Gordon.

As long as you don't get temperatures that make your pond freeze over, you should be good.

 

[saltynay]

Ponds freeze over frequently in the UK . With the dimensions you have given you are looking at around 350 gallon pond which is a good size you could keep koi although I would advise just goldies. Go down to your LFS and look at them and note down what you like. I have a mixture of commons, sarasa comets and shubukins I would buy them small as they are cheap and easy to fatten up and they will breed easily so your pond will be easily stocked up within 6 months.

 

[BINKSY]

Ponds freeze over frequently in the UK . With the dimensions you have given you are looking at around 350 gallon pond which is a good size you could keep koi although I would advise just goldies.

Hi, was just thinking about goldfish or similar anyway, so thats great to hear

Is the fact that a pond freezes a major problem?

How big a pump for a pond of the size im looking at would i require? and what kind of filtraton would be the easiest. (to install and maintain)

Cheers Gordon.

 

[3ndl3r]

0.7-0.8M deep?

A bit on the shallow side, but you should be able to get away with goldfish in there, wouldn't recommend Koi as they prefer depths of 5 foot +

James

 

[saltynay]

Pond freezing over doesn't really matter much just put a tennis or a football in it to be able to push and make a hole in the ice for oxygen exchange. Most ponds stay around 4C at the bottom during the winter and this is where the fish will be, they go into a hibernation like state where their metabolism goes really slowly, you shouldn't feed them again until its back above14C with normal goldfish flakes as their digestion will be so slow the food can rot in their stomachs.

 

[chr15_8]

Please dont put koi in there.

they need a minimum of 250 gallons per koi so you would be able to have 1 max plus the extra filtration that would be needed over goldfish.

Your pond wont freeze if you leave your filter running in the winter.

i would say you want a pump that's rated at about 450 gallons per hour. After the head loss etc it should probably give you 350 gph. You will also want a filter that it capable of around 500 gallons as they are normally overrated.

Thed above is assuming it turns out to be a 350 gallon pond

chris

 

[BINKSY]

Hi Chris

I won't be putting koi in.

Thanks for the guide on pumps and filtration, i need to look at the site where the pond will be to confirm the size.

Just had a thought, what happens if you hit the water table when digging down? will this cause any problems?

Cheers Gordon.

 

[chr15_8]

am i right in guessing you will be using liner and it will be all inground?

im sure as soon as ytou get the liner in it will hold down etc. you might need to dig a sump hole close to the pond while digging so that the water will drain to and the pump in the sump will drain it away.

i was lucky my pond was dug 4ft into the ground (including 9 inch base) and we didnt hit any way.

 

[Davo86]

I would get a few railway sleepers to raise the pond another foot or so above the ground, then you can have a shelf at ground level for the plants and then a deeper area in the centre that is around 1.2m deep

 

[BINKSY]

Hi Davo,

Was maybe thinking about the idea of using some railway sleepers to raise it above ground a bit. Have found some at £12.50 each. Then dig down to the depth as in my first post. Great idea about leaving some shelves at ground level too, how wide should these be? about a foot, maybe a little less?

Also will be using a liner with underlay.

Still looking for ideas on DIY filtration or a good cheap filter.

Thanks or all the help so far.

Cheers Gordon.

 

[Davo86]

The shelves only need to be around 8-10" at most IMO, and the shelves don't even need to be on all 4 sides, you could have just 2 on each of the shorter sides or one long shelf along the back. The plants can then be planted in baskets or you can build yourself a little bog garden by building up a wall of rocks around certain shelves with a hessian inner wall and then fill the space with aquatic compost. with a layer of dorset gravel on top.

Is there any areas of the garden nearby that are at a higher level to the pond? DIY Gravitation filters aren't hard to make but require that the filter outlet is much higher than the pond, so that gravity does the work in taking the water back to the pond

 

[BINKSY]

There is an area higher than the area the pond will be in, but only a foot also higher, so was maybe thinking a small waterfall here to return the water back to the pond after the filter. I see you can get pressurised filters, which can be buried too the top of the filter. Just been looking at the Hozelock Bioforce 3000. Something like this maybe may suit my needs better if they are any good?

Cheers Gordon.