1.5m Pond too deep?

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I've recently moved house, and my new pad has a couple of ponds. One is circular, about 2meters diameter, but about 1.5m deep. I cant understand why they build it in such a way, as its too deep surely for planting. There is a partial side shelf, but even that is perhaps 60cm deep. The previous owners kept loads of fish in it, but no plant life, so it was a boring, green algae sludge pit.

What do people recommend? I'm thinking of making some wooden crates, and putting them in the bottom, to raise a planting bed to about 90cm. Also create some more marginal depths.
 

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In our city, we would need a permit for something that deep because it would be unsafe. Wood will rot. How about something plastic? A frame made out of PVC pipes?
 
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In our city, we would need a permit for something that deep because it would be unsafe. Wood will rot. How about something plastic? A frame made out of PVC pipes?
As far as I'm aware, in the UK there are no rules about ponds/lakes.

Wood seemed more eco friendly, but forgot about the rotting thing. Maybe plastic will have to do.
 

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As far as I'm aware, in the UK there are no rules about ponds/lakes.

Wood seemed more eco friendly, but forgot about the rotting thing. Maybe plastic will have to do.
Eco friendly? How about huge boulders? You could build an Underwaterhenge.
 
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Koi keepers tend to make deeper ponds, the water pressure is intended to improve 'conformation' of the fish, improving their muscle tone and shape

Yup, it's quite straightforward to find stackable sturdy crates to set plant positions at a reasonable depth

Cunning would be to start off some aquatic iris as a floating island, when they mass up they have just above neutral buoyancy and would literally be, a floating island, iris laevigata snowdrift makes a neat group, dab a few strands of parrot's feather among it...

Regards, andy
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/
 
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I've recently moved house, and my new pad has a couple of ponds. One is circular, about 2meters diameter, but about 1.5m deep. I cant understand why they build it in such a way, as its too deep surely for planting. There is a partial side shelf, but even that is perhaps 60cm deep. The previous owners kept loads of fish in it, but no plant life, so it was a boring, green algae sludge pit.

What do people recommend? I'm thinking of making some wooden crates, and putting them in the bottom, to raise a planting bed to about 90cm. Also create some more marginal depths.


Ahem your almost describing our own pond there which is 4ft or so in depth 7 ft in diameter with a circumference of about 21 ft or so .
The only algae you'll ever see on our pond is on the sides and bottom of it and it just happens to only have partial shade may I add.
I'm a UK koi keeper and we tend not to have plants in the pond so be careful what you say it may offend some fish keepers
I can assure you that it takes dedication to the hobby to keep them green water free.
Have you been in contact with the ponds former owners to see how they kept the water crystal clear ?
Do you even know the first thing about this pond ?
When was the last time you cleaned the filters or did a partial water change or checked the water perameters for that matter?
Please dont think me as being nasty in asking you these questions but we find this all the time with ponds bought with houses.
At least your thinking of keeping it as a going concern most people in the UK want them filled in bacause they quit e simply cannot be bothered.
These poor fish normally end up being rehomed by my friend Max who spends good money going round the UK to rescue and rehome them often without even a thank you.
(she has yet to reach charitable funding level in what she does, I act as unofficial PR for her gettting her food stocks and chemicals for treating them from companies such asTetra)..
If you want plant life may I suggest you have a look into lillies that like that depth of water to root at

Dave
 
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No offence taken, nor was any intended by me. In terms of my own pond (only moved in couple of weeks ago). It was REALLY poor condition. Probably 30 fish say average 4inches long. Water clarity was zero, as could only tell fish were in there because you could see their mouths gulping the surface. No filters or pumps installed. I completely emptied and cleaned it out on the weekend, and perhaps a foot of pure sludge at bottom, and the rest of the water was pretty "thick" with green, brown and white micro debris.

There is another pond perhaps 5 times the size, which is in a similar condition but I dont have the time to fix that. Its probably got 50+ fish in, and they're biguns too. They're always desperate for food gulping at the surface when I pass, but not being an expert I dont necessarily know whether thats just habit or really are hungry.
 
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It is sad that ponds end up like this, happens here in the US also. I would recommend you install a filter and pump if you are going to keep it. I personally like the look of plants in the pond but it is not needed depending on location, shade, etc. Pictures may help to see what to have. There is a lot of knowledge here so ask away. Best of luck with your pond and new home. On a side note even that time is a factor for the larger pond, they are usually easier to maintain in the long run. Smaller is not always better.
 
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There is alott involved in fish keeping that you'll need to know , one of the first things I suggest to a person in your situation is to buy books and read up on the subject.
First and formost is water management as sadly its not just a question of changing water but of understanding its perameters , Thankfully Val and I got into the habit of buying in books after a gift of a numbe of koi books from my tattoo artist friend Doc Price here in Plymouth ,after 27 years you can imagine its a large library that we use to cross reference things:-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/our-fish-koi-health-library-with-reviews-of-each-book.10498/

Each book weve reviewed for people , the book I suggest you start with is a general fish health book which you#ll find the title of along with its Authors names and ISBN number etc .
The book we recomend you buy and red is The Interpet Manual of fish Health , it will give you great insight into our hobby.
Its available on Amazon at less than we ever paid for it , then from there you can go into more specialist books on our subject safe in the knowlege that you are fully equipt to continue on in our lovely hobby for many years to come
Please if you need to PM me at anytime and I will endevor to help you :)

Dave:)
 
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Hello and welcome to the forum! Dont be dismayed... once you figure out what you need to know, maintaining a garden pond is really quite simple and enjoyable! In my opinion, there are a few things you will need to keep the hobby enjoyable.
1. proper stocking level. I would try to keep your pond stocked at around 50 gallons of water per fish. This will keep maintnance needs low.
2. good water flow. figure out how many gallons of water your pond holds and than get a pump that will pump that amount every hour, or better yet, double that. You will use this flow to send water to a filter or over a water fall.
3. good filtration. there are 2 types of filtration, mechanical and biological. Mechanical filters out the solids... poop, leaves, etc. It keeps the water clear. Biological filters out the nasties that you can not see... ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. All of these are bad for the fishes health.
This is not a be all, end all list but a properly stocked tank with good flow and filtration will drastically reduce green water and will make fishkeepig much more enjoyable.
If you can't get rid of the green water using these tactics, run the water through a UV seterilizer and it will clear the water.

By the way, deeper is better. You get more water, and more stable water temperatures. You just have to rig up a place to set plants, and I think that has been covered nicely already :)
 

addy1

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Sounds nice actually, two already built ponds. Just start on one, get it to how you want it, then work on the other. Sending water through plants really helps clear the water, the plants will eat up the excess nutrients. In time your ponds will be beautiful. I love ponds with tons of plants, the more the better for me.

I made pvc squares to float my lilies from. in the past I have made pvc stands to put plants on also.

oh and Welcome to our group!
 
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I bought a 6000L 4-in-1 pond pump, biofilter and uv filter. Will look around for some old black plastic milk crates (or similar), and stack them at the bottom of the pond for plants and to sit pump on.

Im keen to get going on the planting. The big pond is going to be filled in unfortunately. Whilst I would have been happy to keep it, it does take up a lot of the garden, and the missus wants it gone. At least I get one pond.
 
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Kryten22uk,

The milk crates are a great idea. I have used them for many functions. They are really swell because they are stackable and open as well.

Also, take a look at some of the "snap together" PVC shelving units from home and hardware stores. They are "stackable" so you can make them come out to almost any height (and you can adjust the height by cutting the corner PVC posts down in length). The flat shelving parts may come either solid or perforated, but would provide a nice flat spot for setting plants upon. The fish would find the other levels to be handy hideouts. You could weight the bottom layer down with some bricks to ensure that it doesn't topple over

Gordy
 
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JohnHuff

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The milk crates are a great idea. I have used them for many functions.
Yes, I have heard that the Cedar Bluffs region in Nebraska has the nation's highest milk crate theft rate. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?
 
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Yes, I have heard that the Cedar Bluffs region in Nebraska has the nation's highest milk crate theft rate. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?


John,

Certainly not! I stole all of mine from the Fremont area! LOL

Besides, the milk crates in the Cedar Bluffs area are all black and white and come in the shape of a cow and moo at you. I don't think they'd be good for a pond.

Gordy
 
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