does anyone have any tips on how to build an outdoor pond?????????????

[RockyToggRanch]

I don't pretend to be an expert, but I do have some knowlege in this field. I owned a pond store for several yrs and "I'm also a master gardener. I try to keep things low maintenance and eco friendly. Nature is my teacher. I don't recommend UV lights...ever. They kill bacteria...good and bad. If you want a "spa" build a spa. If you want happy fish and plants...go natural. JMO

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Also...sorry I'm on a roll....if you don't want a chemically dependent pond enviroment, don't ever use chemicals. Never, never.

If you have algae and use an algacide...the dead algae dies, sinks to the bottom of your pond, decomposes and is the "nutrient" on which the next algae blooms feeds. Add more chemical, more dead algae, more nutrients, more new algae. It's a never ending cycle once you start.

Remove excess nutrients, shade the water surface with beneficial plants, prevent algae blooms.


Just an example...chemicals are expensive and make more work for you in the long run.

 

[pop57]

Barley straw is the way to go to control algae. Don't buy the little bales from a pond shop. Get seeds and grow your own it's easy and it works great and completely organic. Build your pond as big as you can afford. The biggest comment I hear from my customers is that they didn't build big enough on their first pond.




Pop

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Quote:
I agree..

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Barley straw grows great beneficial bacteria. I used it once. I didn't like the way it looked and it took up space. Pea gravel works much better for me and it's more natural looking. Every stream I've seen in nature has gravel in it.

 

[tgcole]

We did a 10 x 20 pond in our flower garden last spring and stocked it with gold fish. I had a Koi, but it jumped out! I really like the gold fish! We got "feeders" for 8 cents each and some are now 6 " long. The pond liner, filter, pump and plumbing all came in a kit we bought on ebay.

Greg

 

[pop57]

Quote:
I believe if you search google you find out how the barley straw breaks down over time and prevents algae form starting. The use of pea gravel is ok but its been my experience that pea gravel looks great but it has to be cleaned every so often , and that is a royal pain. Most any thing can be used to let the bact. colony form i like fiberglass screen, others i know use greenie pads, strapping, lava rock the trick is to be able to remove it for a cleaning when needed. ihavemy screen in a mesh bag. works great pull it out and rinse with pond water so as not to kill the established bact. back online in minutes.

Most pond builders use 45 mil epdm fishsafe liners a 4" bottom drain, filter etc. A pond needs to be at least 3' deep to over winter your fish safely.
If you do decide to go with koi be sure to have a net over the pond, new fish will jump out until they get accustomed to you waters chemistry.

An obeservation... like most things today you can spend as much as you want getting into a hobby. for instance a record was set for a breeder koi in japan last year $800,000 for one special koi.

Wow

But you can get a nice koi for $20. or so, that can live for 40 to 100 years with proper care. and enjoy watching it grow from a 6 " to 3' very kool

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Pea gravel in the upper waterfall basin with water hyacinths is a wonderful natural filter. Gravel in the lower pond can be vacuumed off once a yr.or as needed...depending on your situation. Barley straw also comes in a pellet form in a mesh bag. I used to sell more of that item than the straw bales.

 

[DaKid]

Ok I'll try to upload some of my Ponds

This is a 250 gallon goldfish pond on my deck

This is my 300 gallon indoor pond with some more fancy goldfish



http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i67/JustaKoiHoe/ponds koi goldfish/pondpic9.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i67/JustaKoiHoe/ponds koi goldfish/DaGreenHouse.jpg[/img]

And the last 3 pic.s is my 6000 gallon Koi pond


And yes Koiphen.com is a great site I'm a member for years on there and have meet a lot of good people at some of the koi shows and also on the website great infor. about how to start a pond and all the in's and out's


Alan

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Quote:
This is a popular argument that's out there in the pond world, but I side with the camp that says the bacteria live inside the filter media and are not affected by the UV plumbed after the filter.

JMHO

Also, I had forgotten about the barley straw thing. Yes, that is a wonderfully effective tool.

There are all sorts of different ways to build your own biofilter with pea gravel, lava rock, or a whole bunch of other media. But I prefer the new-school bead filters. They're designed to accommodate a much larger colony of beneficial bacteria and being a sealed, pressurized unit, they offer more flexibility on installation. Also, you can backwash them to clean them...like every other week or so, and you can even do it in your church clothes because it's a mess-free process.