I Live in phoenix and a friend came across 2 plastic ponds and gave them to me they were both black plastic and had some issues... I used FLEX seal to coat the outsides completely on the inside i used a white rubberized roofing product but i added dark and light pebbles and sand. The finished product came out just like i wanted not black not bright white but a neutral gray mostly. I put them out in direct sunlight for a few weeks then i filled them and emptied them about 10 times over the summer... I used a mild soap and cleaned em both... the bigger round pond went inground and the other formed pond was position about 2 feet above so that I could create a waterfall. I have lots of slate and stone on my property so I stacked flat rocks and used a waterproof glue to hold the rocks together I put a plastic pond liner behind the the water fall so no water escapes. I hid the water pumps in the rock ledge under the waterfall and also the water lines to the upper pond. The filtration pump is placed center for easy access it also has the ability to pump water up to the upper pond to make water fall stronger and it can be set to airiate the water with a fountain... I crossed my fingers and put 6 common feeder goldfish in it hoping that my pond would not kill or poison them.... within 1 week everything turned green! I emptied the ponds cleaned em and then put shade plants around the pond and added water plants to the upper pond and that cleared the water and reduced the green stuff from returning.... The water gets up to 85 °F on hot days and temps drop to 77 at night... the fish are alive and very active.... im gonna see how the winter goes.... I paid like 3 bucks for the fish.... I will add about 12 more goldfish if everything goes well this winter... Oh I also added drop in pumps to help move water around in the upper pond it keeps water from getting warm...
Above ground pond possible in AZ?
- Thread starter Barnessf
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Welcome to our group!
Shade will help, water movement will help, plants will help. My Phoenix pond was large deep, in ground, the summer temperature climbed to 85ish but I had a large water fall cooling the water.
Shade will help, water movement will help, plants will help. My Phoenix pond was large deep, in ground, the summer temperature climbed to 85ish but I had a large water fall cooling the water.
Mmathis
TurtleMommy
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Hello and welcome. What is the size/volume of these ponds? How deep are they?
The green water is a normal, healthy, and expected part of the cycle of life in a pond, so there is no need to empty and clean it. The algae is feeding of excess nutrients in the water. Let nature take its course, because every time you “clean it out” you are destroying the natural algae and bacteria that work to keep the water safe and healthy for the fish. And, depending on the size of your pond, you may not want to add any more fish. If it’s a small pond (in the 100’s of gallons range), 6 healthy goldfish are a good number as they will grow and probably have babies. More and/or bigger fish can lead to poor water quality issues (read below about nitrogen cycle and it will make more sense).
You might want to do some internet research on the nitrogen cycle of a pond. Having that knowledge will go a long way in helping you understand what is naturally taking place when the fish and water interact.
For example, some people say to add this or that chemical to the water to kill algae or to raise or lower this or that. We advocate the use of....nature, and most of us only add a dechlorinator for water changes. It’s totally up to you as to how you want to keep your pond. There are many schools of thought.
Plants and shade are great and plants also help with filtering.
We’d love to see some more pictures of your pond. The one you posted is kinda fuzzy and dark.
The green water is a normal, healthy, and expected part of the cycle of life in a pond, so there is no need to empty and clean it. The algae is feeding of excess nutrients in the water. Let nature take its course, because every time you “clean it out” you are destroying the natural algae and bacteria that work to keep the water safe and healthy for the fish. And, depending on the size of your pond, you may not want to add any more fish. If it’s a small pond (in the 100’s of gallons range), 6 healthy goldfish are a good number as they will grow and probably have babies. More and/or bigger fish can lead to poor water quality issues (read below about nitrogen cycle and it will make more sense).
You might want to do some internet research on the nitrogen cycle of a pond. Having that knowledge will go a long way in helping you understand what is naturally taking place when the fish and water interact.
For example, some people say to add this or that chemical to the water to kill algae or to raise or lower this or that. We advocate the use of....nature, and most of us only add a dechlorinator for water changes. It’s totally up to you as to how you want to keep your pond. There are many schools of thought.
Plants and shade are great and plants also help with filtering.
We’d love to see some more pictures of your pond. The one you posted is kinda fuzzy and dark.
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