pond depth

[emorrison33]

I have recently purchased a home in NJ, and I am starting my first pond. I have had experience with aquarium fish, but this is my first foray into pond fish. I have picked out an area for my pond in the backyard...about a 10' x 6' area, but I was wondering how deep should I make my pond for wintering in the winter. I have heard 14" is the minimum depth.

Thanks for your help,
Eric

[AngelFishFan]

Minimum Depth, If you want fish in zones 4-7, is at least 18-24 inches. Any less and you take a chance of loosing both your fish, and your plants.....

Just a thought....

[stoneydee]

I'd take a pretty good chunk of the surface area, and make it at least 24" deep. My pond (small - 160 gallons) is 24" at its greatest depth and I'm in zone 7b. We had no more than a dozen days below freezing last winter and my pond is behind a 6' privacy fence, with a southeastern exposure, which I think all combined to keep it from freezing.

Deeper ponds also help with summer heat, which in turn helps keep the pond oxygenated. The warmer the water, the less oxygen there is.

[SquishyFish]

Why not make it as deep as possible instead of as shallow as possible? I want mine between 3-4 feet deep.

Why not make it as deep as possible instead of as shallow as possible? I want mine between 3-4 feet deep.

cleaning the bottom. It's not fun cleaning the bottom, and I wouldn't want to clean one 4 feet deep or more.

[AlfaRomeo24]

Hey Eric you know cold it gets up here in the north. if you make your pond just 2 ft deep when you wake up on a clod winter morning you'll notice your fish wont be moving. Its better to be safe than sorry bro. You should make your pond at least 3 to 4 feet deep just to be more on the safe side because it gets very cold up here. Unless you are going to heat the pond in the winter so it wont freeze if you want to keep it that shallow but that will cost you a fortune every month. plus your fish will grow more and will be more happy and it can shelter them from you know racoons or loose dogs or cats moles rats ect. just remember its better to be safe than sorry.

[pondmom]

Eric,

I'm in zone 4 and my pond is 4' in center(still not deep enough)
The first year with the pond I didn't lose a fish. 2nd year I lost 7
This past winter they all(45 of them) came inside and all survived.
It's a pain draining and catching the fish but worth it all in the longrun.
I was able to view and feed my fish all winter long
See my webshots page for pictures

[duaumun]

3ft at least. My pond is 1300 gallons, 3 ft deep. I gave up a bunch of surface area to increase the depth.

[tmcpeek]

Also keep in mind that the deeper it is in spots gives the fish a place to hide. Raccoons love Sushi. I say this from experience. I lost all my Koi the first time around. Now I have it about 2.5 feet deep in spots so the fish can hide