Above ground pool for a pond???

[EvaJean]

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum. Currently I have 1 Butterfly Koi (in profile pic, although he is much bigger now), 1 comet goldfish, and 6 minnows. I currently have them in a tank and will be upgrading them to a bigger tank in about a week. I am hoping in a few months to have a pond for them. I am on a very tight budget and trying to find alternatives to digging out an actual pond. I live in Florida and our soil is straight soft sand even as far down as 12 feet. So in order to build a pond it would take a lot of cinder blocks and cement, and it would cost a pretty penny. So I was wondering what the general consensus is on using an above ground pool as a pond?


This is the one I am currently thinking of: http://www.walmart.com/ip/ProSeries...fault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n


I am thinking that I would be able to put in a bottom drain and bury the pool leaving at least 8-10 inches above the ground. That would help with insulating it and still preventing rainwater run off entering the pool. I would use the attached pump as a skimmer only and feed it into a filter along with having another pump on the settling tanks feeding into the filter. What type of bottom drain would be a better way to do this? One like this: http://www.aquaart.com/AquaArtRetroDrain.html , or just a standard one?

I have no clue how I plan on doing the filter or about using a UV light. I'm just trying to get a good head start on my plans so I can start buying stuff a little at a time when it's on sale rather than buying everything all at once. Thank you in advance

 

[MitchM]

If you're on a tight budget, I would think of long term costs, and not start off using materials that you will be throwing out in less than a year.
Try thinking of a smaller pond with a 45 mil EDPM proper pond liner and using energy efficient water pumps.
That pool you highlighted is about 3500 gallons, so it will require a lot of water movement, which requires a lot of electricity. Your koi should have at least 1000 gallons and the other fish can fit into that same space.

 

[Lisak1]

I'm a little confused how burying this is different than digging and laying a liner? You're digging into the same sandy soil, right? What about doing as @MitchM says and buying a liner, and building a pond that is partially below ground, partially above ground? Check out @callingcolleen1 and her posts about her pond for an example. And since you are in Florida, you won't have concerns about your pond freezing so above ground is perfect. Just a thought!

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Welcome to the group Evajean

You could always use the pool as temporary housing until you save up for the pond. I had a friend in OK who used a swimming pool as a place to house some of her extra fish. Not sure how long she used it but I think it was eventually damaged by bad weather and she had to take it down.

If you want to get your fish outside you could always buy a rubbermaid stock tank and use it until you save up for the real pond. That way you would also have a quarantine/hospital tank for future use.

 

[Dave 54]

Welcome to the Forum EvaJean I'm sorry but that sort of tank wouldnt last two minutes under a hot Florida sun and would eventually rot ,no you have the right sort of idea just the wrong sort of tank, your best bet if your thinking of free standing tanks would be to buy a stock tank .
They are tough and long lasting they hold quite a few hundered gallons US then all you need to is add your filter UV-C and pump then your away .
Our own opond is a large UK version at 1,000 gallons which weve spent the last 5 years retro fitting into a pond.
It has wooden surounds and looks quite good .

http://www.rubbermaidcommercial.com...ryCode=agriculture_stock_tanks&rcpNum=4242-88

Dave

 

[callingcolleen1]

My ponds are all dug down and then built up as well and they are easy to access having the edges built up. I also find that the upper level ponds that are built up more, have much less ice as well. I think that because they are half built up they are not frozen hard with the ground, the ground can freeze 6 feet here some years, and the ground takes much more time to defrost. We get lots of warm Chinook winds during the heart of winter, and then the ponds are not stuck in the frozen hard ground, which acts like a deep freezer.
I have to get back to the garden right now cause I am on local Garden tour this Sunday so I got lots to do. Will get back to you guys after the garden tour is over this Sunday..

 

[EvaJean]

Thanks for the reply's and the welcome. The thought behind partially burying it is to help keep the water temp regulated and keep the fish from getting roasted as it does get quite hot in the summer. I'm not at all concerned about the cold during winter as it rarely stays below freezing during the day. At night though it can get down to about 15 -20, but we usually only see very thin surface water freeze and it thaws during the day, and with the water movement from the pumps it shouldn't pose a problem. I was hoping with using the pool with steel supports (skeleton) I could get away not having to cinder block, rebar, and cement the walls. If I were to dig out a pond the only way to keep the sand from collapsing in would be to do the cider blocks. Unless there is another way to do this that I don't know about? I am not too worried about the sun damaging the liner as I plan to put a pergola over the pond to give it shade and our neighbor has the same type pool and it has been put up in full sun for over 4 years (year round) now with no damage. Even if It had to be replaced every year I wouldn't be too worried due to the price, after summer they can be found on sale for around $88, quite cheap compared to a pond liner of the same size. I do plan on getting a stock tank for a quarantine/hospital tank. I had originally though to use a 920 gal stock tank as a pond but they are only about 2.5' deep and close to $500. I was concerned with it being so shallow that I wouldn't be able to regulate the temperature as easily, and the fish would end up being longer than the depth. I guess I could get the 1,000 gal as it is close to 4 ft deep, but is also over $700. It may very well be worth the price in the long run but I would need to put off doing the pond until next year.

 

[Dave 54]

EvaJean you seem to want to run before you can walk slow down save up and then go for the best you can buy rather than a cheaper option like your doing at the moment.
Then next year you'll have everything saved for and bought and you can then make your dream pond

Dave

 

[EvaJean]

So then what would you suggest I use to house my 11 inch Koi until I am able to build a pond?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

And since you are in Florida, you won't have concerns about your pond freezing so above ground is perfect. Just a thought!

Here is Florida, and the rest of the Deep South, heat is the enemy of above ground ponds. The temperature moderating ability of the surrounding soil saves many a pond from becoming a large container of Fish Chowder.

 

[EvaJean]

Here is Florida, and the rest of the Deep South, heat is the enemy of above ground ponds. The temperature moderating ability of the surrounding soil saves many a pond from becoming a large container of Fish Chowder.

Exactly. The pond HAS to be in the ground at least half way regardless of how it's done. What I am trying to do is not have to use blocks and cement. I mean if I had the time, money, skill, and ability then I would absolutely go that route, but I don't. And for the health and well being of my fish I need to get him into something that is at least 500 gallons within the next few months. We got him 2 days after Christmas last year when he was only 2 inches and did not fully comprehend how fast they grow. I am just trying to do what I need to for him. I could just spend the money every few months to upgrade to a bigger stock tank and filter system if I could. But it would be cheaper in the long run and better for him to just go all the way to begin with. In all honesty a 1,000 gallon stock tank just would not cut it for the long run as I plan on having more than 1 or 2 Koi. So I just can not see spending $700 on the tank and then hundreds more on the filter system just to have to upgrade with in a year.

My question is:

Can an above ground pool be used as a pond given that it is halfway in the ground, has a bottom drain, settling tanks, skimmer, and filter system?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

.....and the answer is Yes!

 

[EvaJean]

Thank you

 

[Karen Crowley]

If you're on a tight budget, I would think of long term costs, and not start off using materials that you will be throwing out in less than a year.
Try thinking of a smaller pond with a 45 mil EDPM proper pond liner and using energy efficient water pumps.
That pool you highlighted is about 3500 gallons, so it will require a lot of water movement, which requires a lot of electricity. Your koi should have at least 1000 gallons and the other fish can fit into that same space.

Mitch, I live in Florida as well. I'm also transferring fish to an above ground pool with a pump. Mine will be housed in a screened in enclosure, shaded by a group of Laurel oak trees, so it's shady all the time. Do you think I should be okay?

 

[MitchM]

Mitch, I live in Florida as well. I'm also transferring fish to an above ground pool with a pump. Mine will be housed in a screened in enclosure, shaded by a group of Laurel oak trees, so it's shady all the time. Do you think I should be okay?

I'll reply in your other thread.