Build a pond

[igongora]

Can some body give me hand and tell me how can I build a pond, what would I need? what type of fish can I fit in? How much space would I need?

Thanks.

[WaterPond]

a pond can (safely) be anywhere from 28-30 000 gal. It depends on what you want to keep and your space limitations. Fancy goldfish are my favorite. If you dont have alot of space you could always make a half-barrel pond. You need a pump a filter and something that will put oxygen into the water. You can buy complete kits for those at most garden centres or pet stores. Pre-formed pond are good for beginners aswell. Judging by your location it would probably be ok to keep some native fish in a pond seeing as how you get hot weather year-round (I envy you). The possibilities are ENDLESS!

[igongora]

thanks for the comment about my water temperature.. do you think I can have comet goldfish and fancy goldfish (twin tails) in a pond which is 2 meter long and 2 mter wide??
how many gl woudl that be? how deep should I make it?

[MoSinister]

For what it's worth (I'm not an expert by any means), don't forget that pond fish are at risk from predators. I've read somewhere that slower-swimming fancy goldfish may not fair as well in a pond environment. Just something to remember. You may have to restock from time to time.

Some people cover their ponds (if small enough) with special netting to keep wildlife out or use motion sensing water sprayers (I use the latter) that scare creatures away. Still, I get the occasional egret that manages to get to the pond. Enjoy it! I know I've enjoyed mine.

[RogerMcAllen]

I think something like 2' would be a good minimum, other than that I would say the deeper the better.

The shallow parts of my pond are 18" or so, with a deeper part that goes down to ~4'. It makes a nice refuge for the hot days, or when the fish are spooked. I think going deeper also helps with temperature stability.

[WaterPond]

Your pond would be about 60 gallons or so if it is 2'length 2'wide 2'deep, if you make any changes, figure it out at http://www.pool1.com/pool_gallon_calculator.htm ... I know this is for poold, but it doesnt make a difference, i hope this helps.

[Reefmonkey]

Hey, I just set up a pond about a month ago, and am loving it. I went with the preformed liner. I see you are in Nicaragua, so you could defnintely have a setup like mine - central and south american cichlids - a native pond for you.

In reality, you could put about anything you want in it, even african cichlids, or make it a brackish indopacific pond (a dream of mine)

Whatever you do, post pictures!