New pond build - my happy part of the garden!

[addy1]

The birds love shallow moving water to bath in. They are going to love your set up.
I just have a pile of rocks stacked up where my over flow it. Keeps the fish from flowing out with the water. We get some massive rains and a lot of water leaves the ponds and heads down the yard slope.

 

[ShawnInfirmity]

Welcome @AllyAlbon from a fellow North Texas resident, I'm looking forward to seeing how your pond turns out!

 

[sissy]

yeh the birds love my shallow upper pond area .But aggie does have a habit of attacking them thinking they are food .Aggie is my biggest koi and can be aggresive when it comes to food .She got a hold of 1 little bird and lucky I was right there and saved it .

 

[JamieB]

Welcome. And plan for your overflows to not drain near your house, you want it to stay away from your foundations. I’m working on my pond plans again too, as my first plan had to change. That first hole may become a lotus pond, I’ll see!

 

[AllyAlbon]

Thanks, JamieB - I am looking to run the overflow right to the street drain just to be safe! Hope your pond plans work out too!

I've been insanely busy the past couple of months at work, and then winter was a lot colder and less fun than I thought it would be, no motivation to do anything in the garden. Then this weekend the sun came out and it was glorious! Oh, and a workmate also gave me a couple of "goldfish" that turned out to be a shubunkin, and a koi that were outgrowing their bowl (funny, that!) so they are lounging in my 20 gallon spare tank for now - but good motivation to get cracking and build this pond!

I didn't get a lot done today, mostly prep work, but I started on the fence that separates the pond section from the rest of the garden ( I am standing in the pond section in the photo) and I am pretty pleased with my first attempt at DIY since high school. The fence is just over 3ft tall - it's for keeping nosy dogs out, and my turtles in! The horizontal bits of wood are just sitting there, they aren't permanent.

I was going to do more on the fence today but found that I never received nails, nor gate hinges in my order so I have to go get them tomorrow! I have a day off work on Tuesday and I want to finish the fence then and start laying patio.

Hoping to have the area cleared of weeds and ready for digging up in the next two weeks! Planning on having everything done by end of March, which should be perfect weather to start moving my turtles and the new fish outdoors

 

[addy1]

With the koi addition, make your pond nice and big!

 

[sissy]

yep my koi are over 2 feet long .I wish i had not gotten koi or even any fish but I was not on here when i got them ,so did not know

 

[AllyAlbon]

I was a bit surprised when my colleague handed over the "goldfish"! I am still hoping to hit the 2,000 gallon mark but because the pond will be hosting messy turtles, didn't want too many big fish on the bioload too... I will probably keep him though as he is about a year old and only maybe 6 inches so I am hoping he will be a small boi. We will see how things go!

 

[AllyAlbon]

I am not sure if this counts or not as "ponding" - but I managed to get (drumroll!) two planks of my fence up! I had full intention of getting the fence done this weekend, but it has been cold, wet and windy. I finally got a half hour window in the afternoon to get cracking, then just as I was getting into the swing of things my husband reminded me we were due to go out with friends... so this is all I got! However, this coming weekend is apparently going to be in the 70s, so I have full intention of getting finished then.

 

[AllyAlbon]

It's been a while since I have posted! I had a contract extended at my workplace, so I am temporarily in a studio that's a lot further away and I lose an extra hour a day+ that I normally use for pet/garden time.... also, my husband has decided he is uncomfortable with a liner pond so close to the house in case it bursts and so has persuaded me to go the stock tank route. I am researching right now but it is probably going to be either a 700 gallon or 1000 gallon one, with a 150 gallon one as a waterfall/bog filter. A lot less water than I would like and it cancels out any koi, but I am still going to make it gorgeous!
My turtles are mildly miffed at how long it is taking so I have dug them a mini mud pit for now
I am planning on going xeriscape/desert style rather than paving the area as well, as the pavers I got as a test ended up being burning to the touch already - and they were very pale colour and it's only early May! So desert and a shadesail is the way to go I think. I will do a new sketch once husband and I have come to an agreement! Then I plan on getting things moving asap, as it's going to start getting very hot, very fast....

 

[addy1]

Even if a liner pond burst , in the ground, the water would not go anywhere. Are you putting the stock tank in the ground? It would help regulate the temperature of the water.

 

[Lisak1]

I'm with @addy1 - it's not like a waterbed... haha! Liners don't burst. They may develop a slow leak, but generally when that happens people have trouble even finding the leak because the water just seeps into the ground.

Stock tank ponds can be beautiful, but they do come with the added challenge of making sure they are perfectly level. Unevenness can lead to cracking. And since the ground tends to heave and sink the likelihood that the tank will become uneven over time is another concern.

Just some thoughts - whatever you decide to do it will be lovely and you'll enjoy it!

 

[addy1]

Both of my stock tanks were totally level, not any more. Years later, the down slope side of both tanks has sank a bit. Mine were leveled on rock dust, tamped down with my tractor. They still have sank a bit.

 

[AllyAlbon]

Thanks everyone for your replies, I had no idea that stock tanks would shift like that when in the ground, good to know for the future.

However, the plan has once again changed! Husband says that he really wants me to have an awesome, decent sized pond for my fish and turtles, and that he really wants a rectangular one (as do I!) and that he didn't really care for the stock tank idea... so instead he has decided that my pond is going to be a birthday present for me and that we will get someone in to do it professionally and beautifully! That way I will get a good gallonage, and he will be happy that it's done by a pro and will look pretty. I am really excited by this! I was looking forward to building it myself but it's already gotten complicated and I have barely begun. This way, I can get to really enjoy it without the stress. I am still planning on keeping goldfish rather than koi (I rehomed the one I had) because of the bioload with the turtles - and I love shubunkins so much that I don't feel like I am losing out!

I'm about to contact some pond contractors and see what the estimates will be, but I am still hoping for 1,500 to 2,000 gallons. Because I want a simple liner and paved edge rather than natural look, I am hoping the cost will be a bit lower too.

Still hoping to integrate a bog pond into it, or perhaps a separate, partially buried trashcan filter idea with plants growing out of it so it's less obvious. I am still at stage 1 of a total redesign so I need to do more reading! Thought I would share the update so far though.

Also, if anyone lives in the Dallas area and has any recommendations for pond builders, I would be so happy to hear!

 

[JamieB]

Thanks everyone for your replies, I had no idea that stock tanks would shift like that when in the ground, good to know for the future.

However, the plan has once again changed! Husband says that he really wants me to have an awesome, decent sized pond for my fish and turtles, and that he really wants a rectangular one (as do I!) and that he didn't really care for the stock tank idea... so instead he has decided that my pond is going to be a birthday present for me and that we will get someone in to do it professionally and beautifully! That way I will get a good gallonage, and he will be happy that it's done by a pro and will look pretty. I am really excited by this! I was looking forward to building it myself but it's already gotten complicated and I have barely begun. This way, I can get to really enjoy it without the stress. I am still planning on keeping goldfish rather than koi (I rehomed the one I had) because of the bioload with the turtles - and I love shubunkins so much that I don't feel like I am losing out!

I'm about to contact some pond contractors and see what the estimates will be, but I am still hoping for 1,500 to 2,000 gallons. Because I want a simple liner and paved edge rather than natural look, I am hoping the cost will be a bit lower too.

Still hoping to integrate a bog pond into it, or perhaps a separate, partially buried trashcan filter idea with plants growing out of it so it's less obvious. I am still at stage 1 of a total redesign so I need to do more reading! Thought I would share the update so far though.

Also, if anyone lives in the Dallas area and has any recommendations for pond builders, I would be so happy to hear!

If your going to have it professionally done, you may have jumped the gun on the fence! They’ll most likely use a mini excavator for the bulk digging. A way to incorporate the bog in the rectangular design would be to have one area only 18 inches to two foot deep, then use water safe pavers to make a retaining wall to keep in the gravel. If you figure 1/4- 1/3 of the surface area of the pond for bog, it’ll let you crunch the numbers. Since you have turtles, be sure to slope the sides gently, and you might find some nice logs for them to bask on.
On a side note, I’m flooded in up in Oklahoma, but I found a baby RES! So cute! I can’t resist the idea of adding it to my pond when it’s time!