A potential fully above-ground pond

[GNarnian]

Hey guys, So my family and I have been thinking about this for a while, and we have decided that we want to put a pond in our yard. The only problem is, we live in Southern California, and Our backyard is seriously dried riverbed/bedrock. So my parents decided they wanted to do a completely above-ground pond.

It's going to be where we have had these ugly as sin bushes for as long as I've been alive, right next to our house. I'm worried that this will be a problem, so I'm looking for some ideas and feedback!

So there's the specs:

3 feet deep
3 feet wide
and somewhere between 10 and 16 feet long

It's going to be rectangular, so it's pretty much a giant above ground-mini pool haha

I've already seen some potential problems, so I want to hear from everybody! This isn't getting started tomorrow, so we have time to figure this out...

First off, I'm worried about height. That's really tall, and I don't know what we can build around it to support all that weight.

2. What kind of pumps and filtration will I need for this? I know it needs to have a drain, but how would this work out?

3. I already have the pond liner in mind. i would be using PP™ 45 Custom Size Liners By BTL.

What am I missing here? please help.

Thanks so much in advance guys!

 

[Alspond]

I built an almost above ground 8x8 pond. 18" high.
In the middle inside I dug it 6" deeper about 6x6 leaving a shelf around the outside.

In any event 2 feet deep works great for lilies and I use this mostly for starting plants .
Also have big population of flagfish and Sailfin mollies.

The construction is 3x4x8.5 landscape timbers stacked up and nailed together with spikes.
Inside was lined with 1/2 exterior plywood 18" by 8'
Then I nailed two strips of plywood on the top except for a two foot space for e planned overflow.
Liner is positioned and stretched as it is filled with water. I tacked the liner to the top and trimmed it.
Then I put 6" wide decking on top to cover the liner. Overflow runs under the decking.
Also put a black silicon calk under the decking

You could easily face the outside with stone, brick, paneling, vinyl fence....

I have no filter on mine but we get a lot of rain and I don't mind the water being cloudy some days.

A 2 foot depth works in central Florida. We get a couple nights each winter where it freezes for 6 hours.
High temps might go above 94 a few days each year but never above 98.
If you have lots of freezes and 100+ you might want the 3 foot depth.

I have another pond with a savio skimmer, filter, pump, and a uv clarifier.
Also had a serious string algae problem but added a couple pairs of flag fish which soon became hundreds.
I like plants so I avoid koi in the ponds. We have shubunkins, comets, and sawassa goldfish.
Frogs and crayfish have migrated in.

Have fun,

 

[GNarnian]

We almost never get freezing, but during the summer it will regularly get above 100 degrees. Oy. The water evaporation will be tremendous, that's why I was looking for some feedback. if you could post some pictures, that would be great!

I know this won't look natural at all, but I want it as naturalistic as possible considering how it's going to be built.

Digging down may not be possible considering the location we have planned. Its dark now but I'll try to post a picture of the location tomorrow. Since it's by the house, water pipes, sprinkler systems, and electrical could be in the way in some areas. Also we would need a permit to dig. We are trying to avoid that headache with our HOA.

We were thinking of framing with wood. And either using brick or stone for the decorative framing. Thanks for the input!

 

[Sharpchick]

I'm using a 5' diameter round galvanized steel stock tank. (Photos in this thread.) But mine is only two feet high. It holds about 275 gallons. I built a 60 gallon bog filter for it. The pump is in the tank, on the opposite side of the filter.

Reaching down to the bottom of the pond to get the pump out to clean the pre-filter isn't a problem for me. If it were 3 feet high instead, I think that might be a challenge. One of the things I'm sure you've considered is being able to get to anything inside the pond that would need your attention.

Ponds come in all shapes and sizes. Good luck with your build, and please post photos.

 

[GNarnian]

This is where we were talking about putting it.



The Hawthorn will be removed, and the pond put there. The fencing is being replaced this summer, so it will be on the opposite side of the pond. You can see that the area isn't very wide. It's wider than 3 feet, but we want it displaced from the house. I'm assuming my mom wants plants or something behind it.

We're going to check if there are any obstructions under there, and if there isn't we'll probably dig down at least a foot, meaning the pond would only be 2 feet above the ground.

What do you guys think?

 

[khoifish89]

here is my above ground pond. i too live in so cal, to be specific orange county.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f135/diy-above-ground-koi-pond-235516.html

 

[GNarnian]

here is my above ground pond. i too live in so cal, to be specific orange county.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f135/diy-above-ground-koi-pond-235516.html

That is pretty much what I'm looking to do, except longer! do you happen to have the build specs for yours? Though I read some of the posts, and you said that you didn't put in a drain. how do you go about cleaning the crud out of that? That is a major concern I have with something as large as this.

I'm wondering where (or if) I need a drain and a settling area before going to filtration. That would probably add a lot to the price, and lets face it, the liner is already looking to be 300 bucks. pumps will be another few hundred or more. I don't want to go cheap and cut corners, but we don't really have thousands of dollars to pour into this either.

 

[khoifish89]

That is pretty much what I'm looking to do, except longer! do you happen to have the build specs for yours? Though I read some of the posts, and you said that you didn't put in a drain. how do you go about cleaning the crud out of that? That is a major concern I have with something as large as this.

I'm wondering where (or if) I need a drain and a settling area before going to filtration. That would probably add a lot to the price, and lets face it, the liner is already looking to be 300 bucks. pumps will be another few hundred or more. I don't want to go cheap and cut corners, but we don't really have thousands of dollars to pour into this either.

i cant remember. i have a pretty strong pump for that volume. the pump rated is 1500 gph which in to about 1500 gallon max, but the pond is only about 450 gallon. so i simply take the pump which have intake value to where the debris and poop and let it suck it up. i also hear that have bulkhead leaks. i bought my pump and filter on ebay. it only cost me a total $150 with free shipping.

 

[Sharpchick]

For a pond, look at a pump a little more than twice the pond volume. I say a little more than twice because once you attach your hose, you automatically decrease pumping capacity.

As for a filter, I'd seriously consider a planted bog filter. For those, you should estimate 10-20% of total pond volume.

 

[Alspond]

I'm wondering where (or if) I need a drain and a settling area before going to filtration. That would probably add a lot to the price, and lets face it, the liner is already looking to be 300 bucks. pumps will be another few hundred or more. I don't want to go cheap and cut corners, but we don't really have thousands of dollars to pour into this either.

Drains are generally not needed in a pond.
For your pond a fine net may be the be the best solution for cleaning out leaves and stuff.
A pond vac is another solution but a good one would cost a few hundred.

In my water lily pond I have eelgrass planted in shallow tubs. In front of the waterfall. It is mostly a river plant. It decided to expand its territory an now grows over most of the bottom.
It traps the leaves and stuff and its green and pretty. Gives the fish places to hide. Last July I got ambitious and took most of it out except for what was in the pots and vacuumed the bottom.
It has grown back better than ever except I kept one path clear to walk in to fertilized the lily pots.

What are you planning to put in your pond?
I like plants so I have stuck with goldfish, Sailfin mollies, and flag fish.
Koi tend to destroy plants
If you don't have koi you could just let eelgrass or valisnaria( it's smaller cousin tends to grow more in lakes) grow on the bottom and take it out every 3-4 years along with the sediment.

My water lily pond has been full for 7 years. It holds about 4500 gallons I take out a 2-300 gallons of water when I clean the filter twice a year.
We get some over flow when it rains a lot. In the winter and spring I add water every week unless it rains.

If you need to empty it you can use your pump or siphon with a garden hose.

Al

 

[GNarnian]

Right now i'm planning on comets, but might get some Koi. Im just concerned that with no way to flush the pond that the water will have to be changed much more frequently than if there was a drain. California has some pretty strong water restrictions, especially in San Diego in the summer.

 

[Sharpchick]

Right now i'm planning on comets, but might get some Koi. Im just concerned that with no way to flush the pond that the water will have to be changed much more frequently than if there was a drain. California has some pretty strong water restrictions, especially in San Diego in the summer.

Using the dimensions you gave in your first post, your pond is just shy of 900 gallons.

If you have an adequate filter (and that's one reason I suggested building a bog filter for it), use oxygenating plants weighted down to the bottom of the pond, floaters on top, and some submerged plants, and do not overstock or introduce too many fish too soon, you should have no need to do a "water change" per se, on the pond. For oxygenating stems plants on the bottom, the recommendation is 2-3 bunches of plants per square foot of surface area. For you, that would be a minimum of 96 bunches of plants.

Yes there is going to be fish poop. The more and the larger the fish you have, the more poop there will be. That's a good thing for plants. You also don't remove algae from a pond - fish eat it, and it becomes part of the self-sustaining ecosystem.

Although your pond volume would be able to handle perhaps 5 koi, the dimensions of it are not large enough to permit an adult koi to swim freely and turn around. Google adult length of the breed of koi you want to keep to see what I mean.

Even comets can get to an adult size of 12 to 14 inches with no problems.

"Flushing" a pond as you suggest is going to disturb whatever balance you have in the pond at the time you do it. Flushing a pump is another matter. You also don't "flush" a filter - not with a garden hose and chlorinated water in any event.

A pond is not just a big fish tank. As long as the pond was set up properly, they cycle much more quickly than aquaria, and with little to no noticeable effect on the fish or the pond keeper as long as the pond keeper doesn't keep fiddling with the pond. You may want to get on some pond forums and do a lot a reading before you begin construction.

ETA - more information on cycling.

 

[Alspond]

Using the dimensions you gave in your first post, your pond is just shy of 900 gallons.

If you have an adequate filter (and that's one reason I suggested building a bog filter for it), use oxygenating plants weighted down to the bottom of the pond, floaters on top, and some submerged plants, and do not overstock or introduce too many fish too soon, you should have no need to do a "water change" per se, on the pond. For oxygenating stems plants on the bottom, the recommendation is 2-3 bunches of plants per square foot of surface area. For you, that would be a minimum of 96 bunches of plants..

A pond is not just a big fish tank. As long as the pond was set up properly, they cycle much more quickly than aquaria, and with little to no noticeable effect on the fish or the pond keeper as long as the pond keeper doesn't keep fiddling with the pond. You may want to get on some pond forums and do a lot a reading before you begin construction.

ETA - more information on cycling.

This is excellent advice.
As I mentioned earlier I have never take water out of my pond other than what runs out during maintenance and overflow from a rain.

Plants, goldfish, flagfish if you can get them.
I also don't feed my goldfish very often or regularly they find plenty too eat.

Once a pond is in balance you don't even need to run the filter much.
When we go n vacation I turn off the filter for two weeks everything is fine when I get back the pond might be a tiny bit cloudy and the filter has some foul smelling water when I turn on the pump. In a day the water is clear.