Intro -1st Pond, having fun

[DanAZ]

Hi and thanks in advance for fielding newbie questions.
I've never built or had a pond before, but I'm enjoying the process so far. My need/reason to build a waterfall/pond is to hide some unsightly pool equipment in the corner of my yard. Well, there's that and also I think it would be fun to build and a neat thing for my son (7mos) to look at (supervised, of course).
The pond building is in-progress - March 2011. So far I've done lots' of planning and dug a hole. Good start, eh? The general dimensions are 5' x 6' x 2'. 500gallons+/-.

Special considerations: I live in obnoxiously hot Arizona - so, yes, 2' deep is going to be a challenge. No intentions of raising Koi, just some cheap colorful fish.

I'll post my first direct questions soon.

Dan

 

[addy1]

I have a pond in arizona, I would suggest deeper unless it is in the shade, the goldies wont like the heat in the summer

 

[sissy]

hi there from all the ponding nuts or am I just talking about myself LOL Well at least I admit it ,hi danaz

 

[sissy]

geeze and he's going get a 7 month old addicted too LOL

 

[DoDad]

Your not going to have koi in 2 feet of water and at 500gallons you should only have one.
Even if I had goldfish I would go deeper.
Hot weather can kill koi in a number of ways, the most common of which is oxygen deprivation due to the reduced oxygen levels in the pond. Shading a pond and keeping the water well-circulated go a long way in keeping your koi cool, and alive. Experts say that at 90 deg F, only 7 ppm of dissolved oxygen can remain in fresh water, and koi start dying at 3 ppm of dissolved oxygen. It is recommended therefore, to have an extra air pump or two to aid in oxygenating your pond during summer.
With a shallow pond there would be big temperature swings between morning and afternoon. Not good.

 

[j.w]

Dan
Yes sissy is right we are all nuts about our ponds here and soon your will be hooked also. I have goldies and I love sitting by the pond watching them swim and listening to the falls. Deeper would really be much better so the fish could head down to the cool depths in the hot summers. Otherwise you better provide the shade or you will end up w/ some cooked fish for sure

 

[CometKeith]

Hi DanAZ, Welcome to the forum. I wish I had the luxury of knowing about this forum when I first started ponding. It would have saved me from flushing away my mistakes!

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[jennyb5149]

Hi Dan,

I started my pond for somewhat unorthodox reasons too. I had always wanted one but was finally pushed to building one after a particular nosey neighbor had wandered into my backyard one too many times with more "helpful" suggestions about how I should landscape my yard, re-side my house, refinish and stain my deck, rearrange my parking area, etc, etc. So, in went the pond. I figured if the lady can figure out how to leap over 6 feet of flower beds and 9 feet of water she has earned the right to tell me how to keep my yard and house (even if don't listen :lol

Though I didn't start my pond for the most noble of reasons, I have fallen in love with the hobby. Watch out....you're about to be bitten by the pond bug. Have fun!

Jenny

 

[fishin4cars]

Welcome to the forum on ponding nuts! LOL I would recommed going a litle deeper if at all possible. A lot of folks worry about ice, in fact Heat is FAR more dangerous for Goldfish and Koi! (The deeper the pond the more stable the water temps stay, deeper ponds are cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter) The more shade the shallower the pond you may can get away with but shade normally, but not always, means trees, tress drop leaves which are a big headach for ponders.

 

[addy1]

Mine in phoenix is 5 ish feet deep, the water does stay a decent temperature. Has a waterfall filter that i think helps also, good water movement and cooling.

 

[sissy]

You may find her swimming across your pond to tell you what to do jenny .You may have to find a fish that looks like a shark . lol

 

[addy1]

So glad our neighbors are not on top of us! and they all are nice.

 

[sissy]

my neighbors are cows and when they get loose they come over to my property and voice there opinion loadly

 

[j.w]

My neighbors used to be cows til they were turned into hamburger................no more cows now, but have some horse neighbors in the back and human ones on one side :lol: