Overview
Medium aquarium experience. Only able to excavate 12” due to very large boulders. Hand dug what I could and settled for the tank pond approach. 2” HP Certifoam footprint. This gives me an extra week or so on both sides of winter. Ely MN has stretches of below 0 F that last for weeks. Usually at least twice a winter. -40 F happens. 2x4 pressure treated frame glued and screwed. Inner skin is 1/2” pressure treated plywood glued and screwed. Next the pump house.
Let me mention now this project was/is 50% planning and 50% scheming on the fly with what I had around or could come up with. Pump house has a 1.5x6” gate into the tank. Spillway is acrylics and silicone so the liner could mate to the gate. Spills through a .75” pvc grid into a 6 gallon waste can with my pump. Pump house has a solid pressure treated floor (2x4s) with overflow drains. Water travels through the framing into the garage where...a picture is worth about $90. Experiment. Not a new idea. Effective. Cheap. Returns to tank via a mini bog and water feature. Outside tank is combination of scrap, bought and milled materials. This will be a work in progress hopefully. On to bigger ideas!
Let me mention now this project was/is 50% planning and 50% scheming on the fly with what I had around or could come up with. Pump house has a 1.5x6” gate into the tank. Spillway is acrylics and silicone so the liner could mate to the gate. Spills through a .75” pvc grid into a 6 gallon waste can with my pump. Pump house has a solid pressure treated floor (2x4s) with overflow drains. Water travels through the framing into the garage where...a picture is worth about $90. Experiment. Not a new idea. Effective. Cheap. Returns to tank via a mini bog and water feature. Outside tank is combination of scrap, bought and milled materials. This will be a work in progress hopefully. On to bigger ideas!
Planning and Construction
THINGS I’VE LEARNED
-dude you suck at liner installing
-this is not a pond. It is a living water feature. It will “establish” about a month before I start shutting it down.
-this not an aquarium. See above.
-this is way too fun not to become overboard addictive.
-people see the pond. People even “feel” the pond. I believe WE are the pond.
-oh yeah. I’m calling it the pond.
-dude you suck at liner installing
-this is not a pond. It is a living water feature. It will “establish” about a month before I start shutting it down.
-this not an aquarium. See above.
-this is way too fun not to become overboard addictive.
-people see the pond. People even “feel” the pond. I believe WE are the pond.
-oh yeah. I’m calling it the pond.
Fish / Plant Stock
I received 7 fish from a friend who ponds for a retail in town. They are 1YOA. I have never had goldfish. Lots of tropical. I really enjoy them. We’ve hit it off. They are growing quite fast.
Update 6/20/18: All fish present and healthy. Plants added-water lettuce, hyacinth, hardy white lily, hardy pink, cattail, swamp grass, horserush, creeping Jenny, zebrarush and some guests. Not all at once obviously.
Update 6/20/18: All fish present and healthy. Plants added-water lettuce, hyacinth, hardy white lily, hardy pink, cattail, swamp grass, horserush, creeping Jenny, zebrarush and some guests. Not all at once obviously.
