goldfish pond?

[jqs birds]

I've raised koi for about 10 years now. Goldfish are a little different they are hardier than koi so much easier to maintain.
Despite what I have seen posted you do need some type of filtration. Fish poop and you need a way of getting rid of it. Plants help remove some of the nitrogen that this fish waste causes.
Waterfalls and little fountains add air to the water, warm water in the summer holds less oxygen. air exchange like that also helps rid the pond of nitrites that fish waste put in the water.
If you want to keep your pond relatively free of algae you need to keep it shaded. The best way is with a shade tarp or shade sail, they keep your pond cooler and free of leaves. If you get a pond that turns green from an algae bloom like the one pictured here you can install a UV filter or spitter that will kill the microscopic algae going through it and will keep the water clear.
This is a good start but there are online resources. Try koiphen.com or koishack.com they both have online forums and there are people there that know tons more than I do.
A WARNING though some of the people there are not as nice as the people here!

 

[dlhunicorn]

I was warned by a good friend not to try koi in my system I have set up here (as it is so dependent on the plants) > they will eat and damage the plants at the base and therefore if you are wanting to try koi then I suggest you indeed to a specialist forum for more info.
I use my pond water regularly (once a week maybe?) for feeding my veggies and plants (and top up the pond with tap water > I swish the water around a bit first and in this way get a lot of the "loose" stuff out (>saves on plant food supplement)... but in general outside of that I have no other filtration method and it has not been a problem.

 

[Bec]

First of all, all the pictures of the ponds here are gorgeous!!

Ok, having a pond is a lot of fun! I have a few tips for you, my husband owns and runs his own business of installing customized Koi and Aquatic Water Gardens!

They are very easy to get started! you just pic out a place you like, personally I would not do under a tree, in the fall and winter the leaves will clog up your filter! The problem with that is, when the pond ices over in the winter, all the carbon dioxide from the dead plants will kill your fish! Benn there, done that! Another thing you will want to is check the frost line for your area. You want to make sure you make it atleast 6-8 inches deeper than that! The fish will go dormant at the bottom for the winter as long as they have water at the bottom and it doesn't freeze solid. It is a good Idea to unplug your filter in the inter because you don't want the tubes and filter to freeze if the temps drop really low. As far as feeding, you want to somewhat over feed in the fall months to prepare them for dormancy and feed slowly in the spring until they get moving again, you can bloat their tummies and they will die because their metabolism isn't to where it should be yet! I would also recommend getting a UV filter, this will keep your pond nice and clear with no algae, after all, you want to see your pretty fishies swimming around!

So installing is pretty easy! You just dig the shape and depth you would like, sometimes it is nice to have a few ledges in there that lead to deeper water (your pond doesn't have to be big to do that) Or you can buy a pre-made pond from Lowes, they are nice and definitely convenient, but can crack eventually. I personally like the pond liners. You can also get those at Lowes. You really don't want to use anything thinner because the tiniest tear will drain you water, then you will have to start all over. We once had a rat living under our big pond years ago, he chewed a tiny hole and drained all the water (not on purpose of course..LOL) But he killed about 600$ worth of show Koi! After that we stuck to inexpensive fish, because accidents do happen!
Make sure you get some chemicals to get the water right, they have them at lowes too. Let the pond run for a few days, I recommend a little waterfall or fountain to aerate it! You can get some rocks to border it, don;t have to be fancy, just to hold the liner down around the edges, then you can plant some pretty plants around it, and you are all set! I put some beach grasses, different species that grow different heights and used slate around the edges to create a shade/hiding ledge around the outside so that there is shade no matter what time of day!
If you are worried about predators, you can buy some deer netting (12$ for 100ftx7ft) At lowes and cover it. The nice thing about the deer netting is that it is pretty sheer and doesn't interfere with viewing your fish! You can also get some floating plants to put in there, the fish will hang out under them for shade!

If you have any questions, PM me!!


Here is a picture of mine after we had just finished it! I decided I wanted a smaller one this time, believe it or not, I was tired of the big, huge ones!! I wanted something that I could incorporate into my landscaping! I will get better, more up close pictures later!

 

[19Dawn76]

I have had a water garden for 3 years now. We have goldfish in it and never feed them. We had to remove a huge tree stump and it left a big hole so my husband just kept digging and then he used an old water bed liner to line it. We got the goldfish from a bait shop and they have gotten huge!!

This year I have noticed a snake in my water garden . I have seen him twice but can t seem to catch him.

Also once we tried to transplant some flowers from a creek nearby and they had some type of algea on them cause it took us months to get it all killed offf in our WG. The water turned bright green and slimy. So if I were you I wouldn't try to transplant.

 

[shelleyd2008]

So you can let the water freeze?? I thought it had to be heated?!?! That's pretty neat, makes me want to do this for our huge goldfish in the 10 gallon tank! Never let your kid play the goldfish game at the fair, they don't die like they used to!! We've had this fish for over a year, and it's probably 5" long!!! That's so neat, I"ll have to do something like this

 

[Bec]

Yes, you can let it freeze as long as it is deeper than the frost line in your area, you don't want the fish to freeze in it! But they go into a dormant state and just kind of hang at the bottom, don;t really move around. As long as you have enough water in the bottom, they are fine!


This snow caught us off guard so we did have the water running, and most likely if it isn't unusually freezing, it is fine, but if the temps go way below normal, we turn it off. The water heaters don't really make it warmer, they just basically keep it from freezing solid. It is still pretty cold in there! We don't use one.

You can see in this picture, it is frozen around the edges, but still running

(Please excuse the goose and duck poop on the sidewalk..they are out front ALL the time)

 

[Imp]

Beautiful ponds!!!
Here's mine, find it's not so much difficult to maintain, as you just need to stay on it. I have mine covered with netting to keep out the herons. I like herons, but they don't need to eat my pets (anymore). It's been in about 9 years and I need to replace the liner. There's a hole or several from animals in it, so it doesn't hold water to the top anymore. I'm on vacation this week so it's the plan. I think I'm going to go away from the natural look. I was given a mountain of marble countertops scraps, so I'm going to try a marble edge with a patio effect extending out. The filter is hidden under the deck, and all the cords etc are under rocks. I have an outdoor outlet and switch on the edge of the deck.

Imp

 

[dlhunicorn]

Quote:
Yep ... you dont need a heater as long as you have a deep enough spot with mud in it for the fish to go dormant (mine go dormant in the waterlily area)
Basically you need no chemicals and all that (my birds free range my backyard that my pond is in so I cant use anything that is not safe for them to drink)... All you need is a good bucket of muddy water from a well established pond (a natural one not one that is artificially/chemically kept at swimmingpool clearness) > that will have your "starter" micro-organisms in it already.
I'll give you an example... my lab (7 years ago) got in my pond while chasing a cat out of the yard > bye-bye pond liner

but .... remember I told you I had buried an old corner bathtub and another tub way down deep and then put a liner over everything once I had made all the different levels and and such?
Well that saved my fish and my lilyplant (the bottom is filled with substrate dirt and has the lily in it)... it was a hassle removing the contents (including fish and all the pond water not throwing ANYthing away) to a couple of big ole cheap cement mixing tubs (I had to replace the entire liner which is in one piece) but well worth it as my fish only had to wait a day after putting the lily and its dirt back and filling with tap water and redoing all the bog plants and such (I did use that stuff you use in acquariums for tap water) > such a tub under your liner will save your fish!
Anyway... you might want to wait till spring and very slowly introduce that pet house fish to a pond environment...

 

[redroosta]

Quote:
no, unless you have some brave cats. most people dont know much care a goldfish really needs. gold fish can grow up to a foot long and require lots of space, 10 gals for each fish would be ideal. gold fish are coldwater fish and enjoy temperatures between 65 and 75 gold fish breed in higher temperatures. at 80 or above. the best thing to do is get like 8 feeder goldfish and put them in your pond. they will be small now but in a year or so they will be up to 6 or 7 inches. and will be quite large. do not keep ornamental goldies with feeder goldies. they will compete for food and the ornamentals with long fins will not be able to get the food and may starve.

 

[redroosta]

the water can definatley freeze over, but not solid, if you live in an area with extreme cold temps you may want an emergency heater.