Discouraged Pond Owner

[poconojoe]

I have not had very good luck with moving my fish. Some people here move them inside every winter.
I had to do a liner change once and lost a favorite koi. He was 14", beautiful salmon colored. I had garbage cans full of the pond water to house them temporarily. When I put this guy in he jumped out onto the ground. Even though I carefully picked him up immediately, he didn't survive. I guess the shock was too much. Out of about 25 fish, he was the only loss. Wish it were a cheapo feeder goldfish, I wouldn't have felt that bad.
I agree with not adding any chemicals. The only thing I add is dechlorinizer (Tetra Pond Aqua safe) since I'm on central water that is treated.
When it comes to pond chemistry, things don't happen overnight. Patience is important. It might take several days for readings to get back to where they should be. Partial water changes are needed sometimes. I'd rather do a partial water change than add chemicals. Too my horror stories from people adding chemicals that are supposed to be fish safe.
Once your pond is fully established, mother nature will keep it balanced. Too many fish can be bad too. I'm definitely guilty of that.
Lots of good filtration is needed. Bio material for a place where beneficial bacteria can reside and other means (filter pads, sponges) to filter out sediment. You can clean the filter pads, but never clean the bio material.
Don't be discouraged. Once it's all established, it's really not that much work. it pretty much runs itself. You can then sit down and enjoy feeding you little friends.

 

[sissy]

But every spring no matter what it is like starting over I always put window screening with clamps on top of my tanks no matter what .I had a stupid mouse fall in my over winter tank for the water hyacinth and felt bad even though he did not belong in my basement .That was 6 years ago and use it on the edges of my pond also because I found out a long time ago during a hail storm how fish can freak out .That is also why I built the bridge to give them some protection .I also added a bigger over flow pipe and added a second one .Reason also my filters are inside the liner and my hoses are inside the liner ,moles and mice chew everything .Been there no fun and if filters overflow it all is good because it runs right back into the pond .

 

[poconojoe]

In the beginning, before I knew better, I used a PVC liner instead of EPDM rubber. I had a severe tear during the winter. PVC is horrible as a liner. It's weak and gets brittle real quick. I had to keep adding water until spring when I finally replaced the liner. Before I installed the new underlayment and liner, I reshaped the bottom of the pond. I created a soil dividing wall across the narrow area about half the depth of the pond. This way if I had a leak on one side, there would still be plenty of water on the other side to support the fish. Call it paranoia if you want. I call it insurance. You can hardly notice the divider when the pond is full.

 

[poconojoe]

But every spring no matter what it is like starting over I always put window screening with clamps on top of my tanks no matter what .I had a stupid mouse fall in my over winter tank for the water hyacinth and felt bad even though he did not belong in my basement .That was 6 years ago and use it on the edges of my pond also because I found out a long time ago during a hail storm how fish can freak out .That is also why I built the bridge to give them some protection .I also added a bigger over flow pipe and added a second one .Reason also my filters are inside the liner and my hoses are inside the liner ,moles and mice chew everything .Been there no fun and if filters overflow it all is good because it runs right back into the pond .

Great! With everything contained within the liner, your plumbing can't leak water out of the pond!

 

[Stephen Noble]

Hi Janice, is there anything we can do to assist? Hope things are going well.

 

[Janice7]

Hi Janice, is there anything we can do to assist? Hope things are going well.

Well, I'm overwhelmed with the amount of information on building a pond. I have a front pond that was simple and easy to put in and maintain. No big pumps or bottom drains etc and that's because it's a small pond. Now I want to add a 2nd pond in the back around 4,000 gallons and the bigger the pond the more complicated it seems to be. There are so many things to buy that i didn't need before. Is there a way to start with the bare minimum and add to it over months? My backyard does not have any trees hanging or flowers. However, it is full sun and i know I'll need to create shade. Can you give me further guidance on this?

 

[sissy]

My pond is not complicated ,no bottom drain just a swimming pool net to clean the bottom .I planted bananas and put a bridge I built over the pond and used pipes across the pond for window screening to help with that also .I live in southside VA and pond is full sun .

 

[sissy]

just remember plants and aeration are your friends

 

[Janice7]

just remember plants and aeration are your friends

how many gallons and what's the depth of your pond? And thanks for the pics!!

 

[Gemma]

Well, I'm overwhelmed with the amount of information on building a pond. I have a front pond that was simple and easy to put in and maintain. No big pumps or bottom drains etc and that's because it's a small pond. Now I want to add a 2nd pond in the back around 4,000 gallons and the bigger the pond the more complicated it seems to be. There are so many things to buy that i didn't need before. Is there a way to start with the bare minimum and add to it over months? My backyard does not have any trees hanging or flowers. However, it is full sun and i know I'll need to create shade. Can you give me further guidance on this?

It doesn't have to be complicated! We just built a second pond about 5,400 gls, other than the digging and the retaining wall cause we wanted it half above ground, the rest is pretty simple. No bottom drain, just a skimmer and bio fall system. and like the other pond (3800gls) we have a separate yet connected tub for lots of plants

 

[Janice7]

It doesn't have to be complicated! We just built a second pond about 5,400 gls, other than the digging and the retaining wall cause we wanted it half above ground, the rest is pretty simple. No bottom drain, just a skimmer and bio fall system. and like the other pond (3800gls) we have a separate yet connected tub for lots of plants

what bio filter system do you have for your 5400 gal pond?

 

[Gemma]

what bio filter system do you have for your 5400 gal pond?

large waterfall and skimmer box and of course the plants.
You can see it here from start to finish...well it's not finished yet but it's running and has 4 fish in it...I will fill the upper pool with plants for the first time this Spring...can't wait

Building pond #2

Unfortunately we had to give up the idea of the Greenhouse-pond combo, too large, it would have had to been built too far from the house. I'm still getting both, just not in a combo. So we (I :D) decided to take down the lower deck in the back, and build the pond in its place We started...

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[sissy]

5000 + gallons ans just over 4 feet deep .I use 2 laguna energy saving pumps and sump pump hose to connect them and a laguna aerator with 12 air stones and I put 1 air stone in each filter .Total watts used in my pond is is around 130 watts .I used a watt tester to make sure they are working efficiently .Pumps that are cheap and use lots of energy to run them does not help if your electric bill sky rockets .I have an extra pump I keep on hand just in case .I have had my laguna pumps since 2014 with no problems and before that I had the harbor freight pump for 5 years and my neighbor is still using it .I always look at energy savings .It helps a lot .My pond is half above and half below ground and is near my septic tank so it helps heat the pond in the winter

 

[addy1]

Between all my ponds I have over 10000 gallons being filtered just by a pea gravel bog full of plants. My pond has one pump, one skimmer, and water falls. The most complicated part of it was digging the hole on our hill. ie. making the pond level. One liner for the bog and pond.

No bottom drain.

You can make it as simple as you want or very complicated.

 

[Stephen Noble]

It is best to go smaller and use top of the line than to overbuild and skimp on pond material, life support equipment and landscaping. It would be well worth the time and small expense having a couple of different water garden installation companies come out for a consultation.