Beginning of my pond...

Ok here is the start of my new 13x6 foot pond. It has the deepest point of 25 inches deep, it has a shallow area where minnows and fry can hide without the other fish chasing them. And has a 13'' marginal shelf. Any tips for upkeeping a pond? I plan to put pickeral in there but I don't know if they will last winter and spawn? I'm new to this and I need some help. I have my sump pump running into it right now had it tested and the water is drinkable.

Is 24 inches deep enough to winter over fish in your area? I suspect that'd freeze to the bottom. Two feet of ice is not unusual here in Ma. I'd guess it would be the same there.

Awesome, dude! Looks like a really fun project. I like a very naturalistic pond. I suppose you'll be looking for interesting plants to add. After a year's aging, everything will look very different, hopefully more natural/native. There are lots of lakes in southern Michigan and northern Indiana full of all kinds of aquatic plants. Enjoy!

You need to limit the nutrient input to prevent excess algae growth. Green water is a common problem. Adding aquatic plants will help absorb excess nutrients (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus). These come from any organic material such as soil, leaves and fish food/waste. Runoff from your lawn can be a big source. Remove these materials as they enter if you can. Water changes can help. It will likely take time for things to balance out, just as in an aquarium. You may have unsightly algae blooms. Limiting fish stock and feeding will help. Being in full sun is a huge energy input that is not present in most aquariums. This effects temperature and plant/algae growth as does nutrient input. Another issue is predation by mammals (raccoons) and birds. Providing lots of cover will help: plants, etc. You may want netting to keep animals and leaves out. There is fine, black plastic mesh that works pretty well. Kind of a pain, though. So I guess just be prepared to experiment and react on the fly. It's fun, really. The upside is all the insect/invert life that will voluntarily populate and provide diversity and free fish food to the system. You will need something small enough to eat the mosquito larvae. Pickerels won't do that beyond the fry stage. I recommend mudminnows, but hundreds of species could work. If you bring in material/plants from wild waters, you will get lots of invertebrate hitch hikers. You may be surprised by what you find in your pond later

Thanks you guys I added liner and water today its about 30 inches deep!

Thanks you guys I added liner and water today its about 30 inches deep!

What size liner did you wind up buying? What did it cost?

I just helped someone tear down a pond today, and managed to extract the liner. I think it's probably something like 12' x 20', already cut in an oval. I was just going to catch the fish out of the pond, so I was psyched to get the liner for free!

This pond was probably about 36" deep at the deepest point. It had a healthy breeding population of fathead minnows, plus one goldfish. They had all survived at least a couple Vermont winters. I'd guess 30" would probably be okay in Michigan. I grew up there, and it's definitely not as cold as Vermont gets!

Looks like a fun project. I'm psyched to do my own this summer. Cheers, Jase

Jase, it cost me about $160 at Home Depot for a12x18. I am trying to breed minnows in there as well I think Imight let a hundred go in there! It took me 3 days of digging 3 hours each day, Luckily I had a good truck and place to put the dirt. GOODLUCK Jase, I still in the workings too. The rocks ran me Roughly 150 for 35 sandstone stone. I'm not planning on adding filter or pump, I will have a sump pump and oxgenating plants. AGAIN GOODLUCK!!!!!!!!!

I was looking for liners yesterday and all the Home Depots here said they weren't stocking them any more. Which is a crying shame because everywhere wanted to charge me over $300 for the size I need.

Jase, it cost me about $160 at Home Depot for a12x18.

Wow, that makes the hour or so I spent digging/pulling the one I got for FREE yesterday all the more worth it. I'm psyched!

Yeah, working an hour for a liner isn't that bad... Are you planning too add peagravel to it? I'm uncertain What i'm going to add but the liner does not like UV lighting. My neighbor said his worst decision was adding peagravel too his, but i'm uncertin why? Mine holds probaly 500 gallons. I'm testing it out I let go a couple feeeder fish in there they seem to be doing fine. Good luck man! and "threegoldfish" Check out craigslist.org for some chep liners it's kind of like an ebay.

Edited by nerfgunner, 25 May 2008 - 11:22 AM.

Plants will protect your liner from UV too. Get some lilies or duckweed going and you should have a green canopy on the pond in no time (be careful with duckweed, it's hard to get rid of if you decide you don't want it).

I'm not sure what the problem with pea gravel would be.

Re pea gravel, or any substrate, if you want to clean out the debris from the bottom of the pond periodically, you will have difficulty separating the debris from the substrate. In an aquarium you can use a gravel vac to remove the fine debris that accumulates. Typically in an outdoor pond you get lots of large debris like leaves, twigs, dead plants, who knows what, that accumulates over time. It's hard to see what's down there and hard to remove it without removing everything that's on the bottom. There are pond vacs, but I can't vouch for their effectiveness over various substrates. They will generally get the big stuff that needs getting. Whether they'll also get your substrate depends on a lot of variables. Also, if you're trying to catch any fish, you will get nets full of substrate at the same time. The problem with leaving the debris in is that it effects water and quality and continually accumulates. This is a natural process that over time would fill in an isolated pond completely.

Hey, will I need pump/filter is I have my sump pump running in there? I also am adding some of those oxygen plants soon. 2 crappie are in there right now!

Hey, will I need pump/filter if I have my sump pump running in there? I also am adding some of those oxygen plants soon. 2 crappie are in there right now!

Well, that depends I suppose. You may not need a filter or pump, depending on how you plan to maintain the pond. If you will add lots of fish and feed a lot, you will likely need a filter to take care of the ammonia from the fish waste. And you may need something like that to move the water and maintain adequate aeration, especially in the summer when the water temp gets high. At night, plants stop producing oxygen and actually consume it, so if it's warm, the fish may be oxygen starved even if you have lots of submerged plants. Extra plants may actually be a liability in that case. A pump and filter will also help to break down the organic debris that gets in the pond. Of course those nutrients end up in the water, so they still can become a problem as they build up. Another reason to pump/filter is to improve water clarity. Especially at start up, ie the first year, you may have silt and algae blooms that cloud the water and are unsightly. A pump/filter can sometimes remove this material. But a water change can do the same thing. You can do a pond with no pump/filter if you are careful about what you add to the pond and keep it clean by removing excess plant growth and debris and do water changes. Keep the number of fish small, and by this means, limit the amount of food you have to put in. The ideal natural pond is one in which you have small fish that feed exclusively on the insects and inverts that are naturally present, and then a much smaller number of predator fish that feed on the smaller fish and larger, natural prey like larger insects, worms, frogs, salamanders, bird poop, whatever wanders in and is edible. In this case, you have to seed the pond with the invertebrates at the bottom of the food chain, or just be patient and don't add any fish for a week or more until the mosquitos, midges, etc move in on their own. The length of time will be strongly dependent on the water temperature and weather.

I don't know how you have your sump pump set up, but you will need to be careful that, especially during a heavy rain event, the pond doesn't over flow. That's when your sump is most likely to kick on and at the same time your yard is saturated. You could easily lose your fish this way. Worst case is that they get washed into a ditch and eventually a local stream and become an environmental problem. Not good for the reputation of us fish lovers/keepers.

WOW! "it's me" I can't THANKYOU enough for explaing that! YOUR AWSEOME DUDE THANKS!!!!!!!!!!! I had the water tested and the sump is on timer and I can easily change sump water to move diffrent direction.

Edited by nerfgunner, 27 May 2008 - 04:27 PM.

WOW! "it's me" I can't THANKYOU enough for explaing that! YOUR AWSEOME DUDE THANKS!!!!!!!!!!! I had the water tested and the sump is on timer and I can easily change sump water to move diffrent direction.

Hey, no problem! Gave me a change to shoot off my mouth!

HAHA man I am probaly going to get pump, Got any for sale or where I can find them?

Edited by nerfgunner, 27 May 2008 - 05:53 PM.

HAHA man I am probably going to get a pump, Got any for sale or know where I can find them?

The problem is not finding one. The problem is deciding what you want. Do some googling. There's lots to learn.

The problem is not finding one. The problem is deciding what you want. Do some googling. There's lots to learn.

Second that. There is a *ton* to learn. Check koi keepers forums. Those guys are the most obsessive about pristine water quality, since they're dealing with fish that can easily cost hundreds of dollars and need super clear water to show them off well. You'll certainly want some biofiltration, and also a way to remove particulates. You can do simpler/cheaper/better home-built versions of many of the components of a complete system, but you need to do your research to be sure you understand what each part plays.

You'll definitely need some way to remove nutrients from the pond, since you generally don't do water changes to the same extent that you would in a tank. That probably means plants that will grow enough to allow you to harvest some out on a regular basis. Search the native plants forum for advice on that topic, and be *very* careful not to bring in invasives, especially if you're anywhere near a body of water. Good luck!

Thank you! jase and It's me!