Water Trough-Pond

[That Fish kid]

So I really want to start a pond but it has to be above ground(dog). Would one of those big metal animal watering troughs work? I really want this to look amazing so lots of plant suggestions please. Also do goldfish eat plants(not comets)? I know this is probably too small for koi.

 

[Sharpchick]

I sure hope they work, because I'm turning mine - which I've just been running as a water feature for the last 3 years - into a pond this spring. (Mine's circular, 5' diameter and 2' deep, about 275 gallons.) I'm going to make a 60 gallon DIY bog filter for it.

Yes, goldfish eat plants. But you can have plants anyway, and if you get the fish young enough, you might be able to even sneak a couple of lilies by them - while they are too young to see them as a tasty snack.

Ideally, you want some bunched plants to sink and floaters to cover at least 30% of the surface of the pond. Since I'm doing a bog filter, I'll also get to plant a bunch of hardy bog plants, too.

Comets, shubunkins and commons are what you want to put in there. Rescue some feeder fish from one of the big boxes.

Since my local sources for pond plants are very, very limited, I believe I'm going to order from these folks.

I've already got the container for the bog filter, some of the pricier supplies and my pump. All together - plants included - I think I'll be able to do the bog filter for just under $300.

And then, it's off to rescue 6 or 8 fish...

 

[jlk]

You may want to consider a plastic rather than metal if you want to keep fish in it long term. I can tell you from experience that even the galvanized metal ones will eventually deteriorate.

 

[That Fish kid]

Wow thanks for all the info. So I think I will do plants maybe a month before fish so they can grow. Any plant recommendations?

What kind of plastic container? I want It to look nice so I prefer the metal. If I used a liner inside, could that work?

 

[Teakwood]

I would think a liner would work but know nothing about ponds I was just going to suggest using (which I would think you would have already thought of now that I'm typing this) some landscaping bricks and rock to disguise the metal/plastic outside...

 

[jlk]

They make troughs exactly like this metal one in plastic. Using a liner for a metal one is a good idea too!

 

[That Fish kid]

I definitely want to use brick around it and maybe i will go with plastic if its better off. I was thinking I could make a raised portion on one side for a bog with bog plants and the water would fall from there into the pond. Then I would have water lilies(if possible) and other plants. For fish I'm not sure, obviously no koi.

 

[jetajockey]

Just use pond liner and landscaping timbers, it's easy to get a nice looking raised pond.

 

[Sharpchick]

Wow thanks for all the info. So I think I will do plants maybe a month before fish so they can grow. Any plant recommendations?

What kind of plastic container? I want It to look nice so I prefer the metal. If I used a liner inside, could that work?

This is my partial plant list for the pond (I have another one for the bog filter):

Submerged
Anacharis bunch (hardy to zone 5)
Cabomba bunch (hardy zones 5-11)
Hornwort bunch (hardy 4-11)

Floating
Duckweed, pint (hardy zones 3-11 - the fish will eat this one for sure, so I'll hold some back in a grow-out tub to replenish)
Frogbit (Limnobium spongia) Floating Pond Plant (some websites say hardy to zones 4-11, some say 7-10)
Hardy water lilies

My tank is a galvanized stock tank. Ironically these tanks are recommended by some ponders on other fish and pond forums.

So I'm going to go with what I already have in place, and add the bog filter, using this Laguna 60 gallon basin.

Galvanized stock tanks last for years under pretty extreme conditions on farms.

The pond container you choose is, of course, up to you.

 

[jlk]

I grew up on a dairy farm in PA that my parents still have. I can tell you from experience, the galvanized metal tubs will deteriorate. They do last for quite awhile (as in years) but they eventually all go in the end.

 

[That Fish kid]

Sorry for the late reply! I think I will use a plastic one and then build stone up around it.