Hi there. I'm new to this forum. My wife and I just moved near Mahopac NY for our retirement. I have been fishing for carp (catch and release) since I was a teenager (that's a long time ago!) and would love to have a mid-size pond in our yard, plus a waterfall. I know a good deal about carp, but I don't know much about pond design and I am not much of a handyman. We have the entire winter to plan for it, to try to do the right thing...
I'd like to have something fairly sizable, say 20 feet by 10 feet, 4 to 5 deep (hence 6000 to 7000 gallons), to have nice fish (a mix of kois and commons, maybe a grass carp or two) which can grow to 20 pounds or more. Our budget is roughly $50k for the pond itself, and then some extra landscaping $ to make it pretty around it. The little I've read about the Aquascape system tells me "run away from those guys" (and this great video reinforced my impression). I am not looking for a water garden of sorts, I'd like a real pond designed for healthy fish... Also, I'd rather not be locked in a cycle in repetitive costly maintenance (although I don't mind having some regular work to do myself).
See above a picture of the area in front of the house, the idea is to have something which starts in front of the bow windows and then gets a bit wider, without getting too close to the trees. The ground goes up steeply towards the street (left side of the pic), making for an easy waterfall support. I was thinking to dig the ground by 2 or 3 feet, then have a small wall of bricks elevating the water level by 3 more feet, so that we can sit on the wall to watch or feed the fish (and hopefully avoid to hit big rocks when digging, the general area is very rocky).
I understand a few basics (what's a liner, pump, filter, skimmer), but really not much. I have a local contractor coming on Thursday. Any practical advice on how to proceed, what questions to ask, how to gain trust with the contractor, etc? Also, is one of you pond experts located within reasonable driving distance, by any chance, and be willing to chat?
I'd like to have something fairly sizable, say 20 feet by 10 feet, 4 to 5 deep (hence 6000 to 7000 gallons), to have nice fish (a mix of kois and commons, maybe a grass carp or two) which can grow to 20 pounds or more. Our budget is roughly $50k for the pond itself, and then some extra landscaping $ to make it pretty around it. The little I've read about the Aquascape system tells me "run away from those guys" (and this great video reinforced my impression). I am not looking for a water garden of sorts, I'd like a real pond designed for healthy fish... Also, I'd rather not be locked in a cycle in repetitive costly maintenance (although I don't mind having some regular work to do myself).
See above a picture of the area in front of the house, the idea is to have something which starts in front of the bow windows and then gets a bit wider, without getting too close to the trees. The ground goes up steeply towards the street (left side of the pic), making for an easy waterfall support. I was thinking to dig the ground by 2 or 3 feet, then have a small wall of bricks elevating the water level by 3 more feet, so that we can sit on the wall to watch or feed the fish (and hopefully avoid to hit big rocks when digging, the general area is very rocky).
I understand a few basics (what's a liner, pump, filter, skimmer), but really not much. I have a local contractor coming on Thursday. Any practical advice on how to proceed, what questions to ask, how to gain trust with the contractor, etc? Also, is one of you pond experts located within reasonable driving distance, by any chance, and be willing to chat?
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