Building new pond idea's

[alice]

Hello guys! Mom and I are thinking of putting a pond in the backyard. We are beginners at this so any tips/ help is awesome! How deep/ big should it be? How long will it have to cycle before fish. We are planning on putting plants in aswell- i've heard putting plants in baskets help control the weed growth and easier to maintain. Does it need a heater?

 

[slick]

All depends on what type of fish you are thinking of keeping im a British koi keeper my pond is 5 feet deep in Canada for koi a minimum of around 4 feet if unheated, am
nd for koi length is important plenty of room to excise air is important if you work out uor total dallonage of pond content and double it then that is the size of your fillers need to be, iturn over my pond watet once an hour I run a 4,5 inch bottom drain and pre vortex filter a 55 watt uv and new to this summer a super sive and water filter's with continues watet follow and over flow so im 24-7 doing a water change

 

[MitchM]

If you want to keep koi, you will need to make it at least 1000 gallons.
Use this calculator to play around with the size to see what measurements you'll need.
http://www.pondvolumecalculator.com/

I would recommend 4 feet deep minimum for winter frost protection.
Do not try to heat the pond. It's a waste of energy.
Bottom drains add a level of complexity in our climate because of freezing issues. I don't recommend one.
4 weeks for cycling the pond, using pure ammonia from the grocery store. Measure the ammonia level before adding any fish though.

 

[PoetPonder]

decide on how big you want it, then make it bigger than that. In all seriousness, you'll want it lol.

 

[alice]

Is there a program you can use to pre-plan before actually making your pond?

 

[slick]

As for a bottom drain they are not complex at all and moving water will cause you no problem at all in any weather conditions, a bottom drain is a must for koi as the amount of waste they produce,

 

[addy1]

Is there a program you can use to pre-plan before actually making your pond?

There are a lot of drawings of pond builds on the net. How you build depends a lot on your land, what kind of fish etc.

This guy has a lot of videos on building ponds.

http://theponddigger.com/pond-design-gone-wrong.php

look on the right side there is a pond building pdf you can download

http://theponddigger.com/design-consultation.php

 

[slick]

I built my pond last year I was very happy with it but even now im plann on extending lol all ways build the biggest you can with in reason, as time goes on you wii wish you would have from the get go, plus bigger ponds more room to exacise, longer to cool down in colder waether conditions and the water takes longer to turn bad compared with a smaller pond in full sun with koi a min of of 4feet deep but lenght is more important don't make you pond to wide, think about it for when you need to net and treat a fish you will be surprised how fast a fish can swim and how slow a net moves through the water

 

[MitchM]

As for a bottom drain they are not complex at all and moving water will cause you no problem at all in any weather conditions, a bottom drain is a must for koi as the amount of waste they produce,

The ground freezes 4 feet deep here.
How would you protect the pipes from freezing damage?

 

[slick]

My pond is 5feet deep the bottom drain is in total 6 feet deep a foot trench below the pond bottom incased in concrete, where the pipe comes out of the ground its moving water just like you have in a standard pump and filter box set up! Because at this depth of ground the earth also helps it insulate the bottom drain pipe I have also built a wooden filter room over my filters lined with insulation this helps keep the ice frost and cold winds from affecting the profomance of the water flow, so in the depths of winter do you remove your pump and filter boxs? If so how do you cope with poisoning in the water over this time period?

 

[MitchM]

Outside filters and exterior pumps have to be turned off and brought inside here.

The most important component of keeping fish in an outdoor pond is to provide sufficient gas exchange.
I have ice cover on my pond for 6 months. All I can provide is gas exchange. No filtration.(during the winter)

If you want to have an exterior building for your pumps and filters it would have to be heated and have foundation walls that extended below the frost line.
Like I said, it adds a level of complexity.

 

[slick]

Keeping koi in England is a masive (and very expensive life style nearly all our members do have heated ponds and pond rooms, ) if you look on you tube and check out Adans pond in a vidio about treating with permanganate he is one of our members so a heated koi room is not all that uncommon, we use heat exchanges either run from solar pannels on the roofs of our houses or a gas boiler the same as we use in our household heating, I know it sounds mad and extreme but its all pretty standard kit bead filters vortex sieve s big air blowers and skimmers

 

[MitchM]

I know.
Its kind of funny how there are so many different ways of keeping the same fish.
Everybody swears by their own method.

 

[slick]

You are so right! When I first dug my pond it was a hole, liner, I did install the bottom drain filled it with water fitted the sequence pumps connected the filters and through in a few air stones from the local pet shop stood back and was very happy, I then joined the bkks and met the koi keepers the big boys and they have plenty of money, custom built koi rooms heaters bead filters you name it they have it it made my pond look just like a hole in the ground, I now dare not add up the amount of money I have in the pond or man hours, but as you pointed out it all just to keep fish alive, you can go as far as your mind takes you,

 

[addy1]

You never know what will work for you vs the pond down the street. Goldfish vs koi. I pull everything for the winter, i.e. the pump, filter with just a bog, my pond works just fine for me and my fish.