natural lake water or not

[lili]

hi all!
I am planning a raised pond maybe 20x20. I live in south florida and have a lake on property maybe 350 feet from where I want my pond to be and would like opinions on what would be better: going with traditional self contained water filtration system or taking water from the nearby lake(50' x 1500') that already has an established fish population and ok water clarity. I can see fish fairly well to about 2 feet in depth. The obvious challange to using a constant supply of lake water being the distance it has to be pumped and the recycled water getting back to the lake. Although i suspect since the water table is only 3 or so feet deep i could just let overflow water run back into the ground with out issue. Also wondering if having the (masonary) raised pond with a negative edge on one side will cause any problems for the fish? I would like to try to catch some of the larger tilapia that currently reside in the lake and have them for my pond fish. Any thoughts or ides on this plan would be very much appreciated

 

[Tula]

Hmmm, I'll be interested to hear what other more experienced folks have to say. It's almost like using your lake as a bog.

 

[MitchM]

Your government may have something to say about hooking up to a natural waterway or wetland.
Check with them first, because they could make you undo whatever work you may start.
Otherwise, running a loop 24/7 could mean that you don't have to worry about filtration.
Transporting live wild caught fish up here is against the law, otherwise I would love to get some local trout in our natural pond.

 

[fishin4cars]

I would recommend separate filtration, To risky that you will exchange parasites that could effect your natural eco system just as you could introduce parasites from the natural eco system to your water garden. Same with exotic species and natural occurring wildlife being exchanged between the two as well. Also as stated you will need to check with your local agencies on if you can even do this. DWLF does not care about giving out a citation for not knowing the local laws. I ran into issues when building my drain off system with DWLF. The agent happened to be checking some reported traps along the river and they were checking to find any that were illegally placed on the property. None were found but the agent noticed what I was working on and came over and advised me of a law that I hadn't heard of. I did some research and found I had to have a screen trap on no less then 1mm in size to filter anything that would be dumped out of the drain line. Since I had not tied in when he visited I was not cited. It took three inspections to finally pass. In the long run I'm happy they did this, I don't want to released plants or exotic fish into the wild and this not only now protects me, but the natural wildlife as well.