New to outdoor fish....

[SquishyFish]

I have been keeping aquariums for about 12 years, most of that is saltwater experience. I am building a house that will be finished in about 3 months or so. In the back yard we are going to install a waterfall and a a decent pond. Those of you w/ some experience at this, what would you say are the top 10 things I should consider when installing and maintaining the pond?

General dimensions. 12ft irregular shape, 2-4 foot deep, water fall approx 4-5 foot high against the deck.

So..what would you suggest?

 

[AngelFishFan]

What more do you want? This post you made is very vague. Do you want pump recommendations, filter recommendations, fish types, plants, tubing size, waterfall boxes, skimmer boxes? You need to be more specific.

 

[SquishyFish]

Well...if I were going help someone that had the same question about salt water, I would tell them that the top 10 things to address when setting up the tank are

fish only or reef, Adequate lighting, sufficient depth of DSB, adequate infauna, circulation, water parameters, what type of fish (aggressive or passive), what type of corals, and a clean up crew.

Alot of time, newbies dont know the correct questions to ask. Maybe I miss read your responce, but that was a little curt and blunt. You stated it was vague...how much more specific do you want than "What are the top ten most important things to consider when setting and maintaining up a pond?"

 

[Guest]

ok, I'll give it a shot.

#1. how much you wanna spend?

#2. diy, or pay to get one built? diy, you need some strength, skills, and smarts. lots of digging, hauling stone & dirt, and smarts for design/level/pump formulas, etc...

#3 What kind of fish/plants? Koi will severly limit your choice of plants, they get really big and uproot many/most plants.

#4.RESEARCH!!! I can't continue a top 10, sorry.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewreview.php?review=13

A review I wrote, this book helped me immeasurably. read this book, or some others, then come back with more specific questions.

Ponds are not too hard, but you need to do a lot of homework before you ever dig one shovel of dirt. It's hard to fix a badly dug pond, so getting it right the first time is huge.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Don't worry about bluntness, from my experience that is just they way AFF, and a couple of us other pondies are guilty of it too, talks.

I would say in no particular order the 10 important points when consturcting a pond are.

1. Climate-what is your climate like, max/min temp, do you get a lot of rain?

2. Location, you already seem to have this covered. Just a few points, in hotter climates you would probably want to have more shade, I don't think you will have a problem with that. Make sure you arn't on a flood plain. Be sure that rainwater from your roof does not flow into the pond along with water from your lawn.

3. Size, you already seem to have this covered too.

4. Depth, you say 2-4 foot, I like that would suggest perhaps a plant shelf at 1' and stagger your way down. Deeper is definately better.

5. Livestock, what do you want in there? I am perfectly happy stocking my pond with a couple doz feeders. They grow quickly and are inexpensive. Others prefer koi.

6. Plants. What kinds of plants do you want, what kinds of plants are legal in your state?

7. Waterfeatures. Do you want spitters, fountains waterfalls?

8. Pumps, make sure you have something large enough to power all of your waterfeatuers and have enough water turnover.

9. Filtration. How are you going to filter? I have had success with putting the filter in a box full of bioballs and covered with foam. I have also had success with filling an upper pond, at the top of my waterfall, with anacharis to work as a natural filter.

10. Time. Are you going to want to expand, remember to go as big as you can the first time to prevent yourself from being unhappy later. Do you have any natural predators to watch out for? Will you have to winterize
your pond?

 

[SquishyFish]

Thanks guys...both of you pointed out a few things that I had not thought of. I'll take the 2nd list just because it seems to cover the first one, plus a few. Please tell me what you think.

1. Climate-what is your climate like, max/min temp, do you get a lot of rain?

Im in texas...very few days under 32, august can be very hot (over 100), and we dont get alot of rain.

2. Location, you already seem to have this covered. Just a few points, in hotter climates you would probably want to have more shade, I don't think you will have a problem with that. Make sure you arn't on a flood plain. Be sure that rainwater from your roof does not flow into the pond along with water from your lawn.

Shade? Wont I get alot of leaves and such in the pond? Texas is definately hot. A few summers ago, we spent over 45 days with temps over 100. We are building the house and they are checking on drainage and flood zone. As far as water draining off the roof into the pone, there will be a deck between the house and the pond.

3. Size, you already seem to have this covered too.

Just a basic idea. We will narrow it down once the house is up.

4. Depth, you say 2-4 foot, I like that would suggest perhaps a plant shelf at 1' and stagger your way down. Deeper is definately better.

That is exactly what I was thinking. I have done some research and watched several ponds installed (step by step) on tv. On of the things they suggested was putting a ledge around the pond about one foot deep and one foot wide...then step down into the main pond. How deep is too deep?

5. Livestock, what do you want in there? I am perfectly happy stocking my pond with a couple doz feeders. They grow quickly and are inexpensive. Others prefer koi.

When it comes to Live stock I am only aware of feeders and Koi being options. Can you put fancy goldfish and such in the ponds?

6. Plants. What kinds of plants do you want, what kinds of plants are legal in your state?

This is an aspect that I have yet to look into. I definately want a planted pond, but I really have no idea what to look for.

7. Waterfeatures. Do you want spitters, fountains waterfalls?

The only water feature is going to be the large water fall. I want it set up so that you can stand on the deck and look down over the water fall into the pond. The height will be in the range of 4-5 foot high and several feet wide.

8. Pumps, make sure you have something large enough to power all of your waterfeatuers and have enough water turnover.

I have a pump on my 120 that is designed for a pond...I think Im going to get another one of those. I'll have to get the specs on it later.

9. Filtration. How are you going to filter? I have had success with putting the filter in a box full of bioballs and covered with foam. I have also had success with filling an upper pond, at the top of my waterfall, with anacharis to work as a natural filter.

This is the one area that I am going to go "store bought." I want this to be as maintinance free as possible. I hae seen one for 1100.00 that comes w/ the pump and everthing that I am considering.

10. Time. Are you going to want to expand, remember to go as big as you can the first time to prevent yourself from being unhappy later. Do you have any natural predators to watch out for? Will you have to winterize
your pond?

I definately only want to do this once...so as big as reasonably possible the first time.

Preditors..No idea. I would think that hawks and owls might be a problem, but how do you protect against them.

We only have maybe 15days during the winter under 32....will I need to winterize?

 

[Guest]

Shade? Wont I get alot of leaves and such in the pond? Texas is definately hot.

Yes, but your fish will live. In those temps, you will need shade for them. You don't havbe to have trees, though, shade can be accomplished with floating plants and water lillies. Some place for the fish to hide from the sun in the heat of the day. You'll most likely want a lilly or two anyway, the flowers are stunning.

How deep is too deep?

No such thing, IMO, unless you get too deep to work in it comfortably. My ponds are 2 feet, more or less. Deep spots also provide cooler areas for your fish to hang out in.

When it comes to Live stock I am only aware of feeders and Koi being options. Can you put fancy goldfish and such in the ponds?

Koi are beautiful, but expensive, get large, and uproot plants. Goldfish, I have feeders and Comets (longtail variety). You can put fancy goldfish in the pond, but the more unnatural the shape, the harder they are to keep. Orandas, redcaps and such ar really bred for aquariums, not ponds.

Preditors..No idea. I would think that hawks and owls might be a problem, but how do you protect against them.

You can put a net over the pond, but IMO, it looks terrible, ruins the whole thing. So in essence, I buy cheap fish and let the predators eat some. (In my area it's water birds and Raccons). They never really clean my pond out, and I just go scare them off when I'm home, minimal losses. I also have some driftwood and the plants are in pots, both of which give the fish hiding places.

We only have maybe 15days during the winter under 32....will I need to winterize?

Probably not, but you would want to find a good pond supply place in your area and ask them. Better yet would be a pond club, since they wouldn't be trying to sell you anything, and they would know the things specific to your climate.

The rest of your questions, especially construction, drainage, pumps and filters, I still Seriously reccomend "The Complete Pond Builder" by Helen Nash. It was by far the best ref. book I used, and kept me from making several crucial errors. Having the pictures, charts, and formulas handy at all times made it essential to getting my ponds done right.

You see the TV programs and they say ponds are low maintenence. IME, they couldn't be more wrong. From spring through fall, I'm out doing stuff to my pond a lot. Topping off water, removing dead leaves, removing algae, cleaning the pump, clean the filter, etc. I enjoy it (mostly) so it's not a problem, but don't get into this thinking a pond is low maintenence. HTH

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Just for pump reference, I have a 3-4' waterfall that is approx 4' and it takes a 1400gph pump to make it look good, and even that is a little low for my taste. Check my gallery for a pic of what my upper pond/waterfall look like.

 

[SquishyFish]

Actually this is quite helpful. I will definitely order the book.

I enjoy the maintenance on the saltwater tanks, so I dont think the pond will be any different. Now..you have triggered a few more questions. Driftwood and well water.

1. for shade and such, can I simply have a deeper end that has some asthetically placed drift wood? I know in F/W tanks, driftwood is often discouraged because it can discolor the water and there is the issue of decay.

2. How well does well water work for ponds

3. maintenance crew. Can I add snails for maintenance?

4. I am planning on putting underwater lights...(something I saw on one of the home improvement shows that I really liked) ...Has anyone else done this.



Thanks again for all the help, I have already learned alot just from this thread.

Squishy


Edit:
Roger,

Excellent..that gives me a starting point. I think the pump I am hoping to use is in that neighborhood. Should I shoot for something more around the 1600-1800gph?

 

[SquishyFish]

I checked out the gallery...Very cool looking pond. I think I would like more of a natural look and am going to want at least twice the water movement.


But still....very cool looking pond.

 

[Guest]

1. for shade and such, can I simply have a deeper end that has some asthetically placed drift wood?

Certainly you can. Also, as I mentioned before, Water lillies with their lilly-pad leaves will provide shade, and almost everyone with a pond has a lilly or two.

2. How well does well water work for ponds

On city water here, but I think we'd need parameters anyway. In any case, If you can drink it, your pond will be ok, basically.

3. maintenance crew. Can I add snails for maintenance?

You will have snails once you buy a plant or two, lots of common pond snails and ramshorns. I think you can purchase other, larger snails but I don't really know if it makes much difference.

4. I am planning on putting underwater lights...(something I saw on one of the home improvement shows that I really liked) ...Has anyone else done this

Yeah I have them, LOVE 'em! very cool to watch the fish swim around at night, and I have mine set up in such a way ast tp roject light on my fence (stockade fence). It creates a very ripply, watery, projection effect, ultra cool! I just have white light, but there are many color options out there these days.

Slightly OT, my old pump (2200 gph) died, so I upgraded to a 3,000 gph model. Can't wait for that to arrive and try it out. I may end up with Niagra falls!

 

[SquishyFish]

I definately want the lillies. We are going to be doing tropical landscaping in the back yard, so I would like to have some bamboo in one section..lillies in another...maybe some reeds or grass around some of the edges. I want to work plants and maybe elephant ears around the water fall to make it as natural looking as possible. Even thought about trying to build areas into it that would hold soil for planting. How cool would it be to have jasmin falling down one of the rock faces of the fall.

I'm going for the "niagra" look too! I want some major movement. It will mean more evaporation, but I eventually want to have a well plumed into it.

Its going to be hard to wait the next 3 months before I get in the house...not to mention I have to build the deck! I can already feel the blisters!

 

[SquishyFish]

I have been doing alot of research since my last post. I am getting more and more excited about the pond. My wife and I decided to go w/ a patio instead of the deck. That will make it much easier.

Anyone concerned about having a groud level pond? I want mine to be built into the deck basically ground level, but I dont want my niece and nephew falling in. How do you safe gaurd against this?

 

[Guest]

How do you safe gaurd against this?

1st, (and I should have said this earlier) find out local laws, you may have to fence in your yard. My back yard is fenced in, but I watch neices and nephews like a hawk. I have nothing to keep them from falling in, so I yell at them a lot! Between me and their parents, no one has fallen in yet.

 

[SquishyFish]

The fence comes w/ the house...the contractor puts it in. But I am still nerveous about them falling it. I guess I just watch them like you mentioned.

Excellent. Thanks guys.