Beginner

[Robheff1026]

I’m a avid aquarist w many fish tanks and appx 6 years experience. I’m looking to build my first pond. I’m gonna purchase (2) 265g Preformed ponds that I’d like to attach somehow. Also I’m not aware of the filtration, waterfall etc that’s needed. I’m going to eventually be putting 6-7 common goldfish in them. Any info or guidance would be much appreciated. Aesthetics aren’t important. Just the welfare and happiness of the fish. Thanks in advance for any help

 

[JRS]

Welcome! I did aquariums before my ponds also. Principles the same, different scale and less controlled environment. I started out the same way-two tubs, one elevated to drain into the other as sump with a small submersible pump with prefilter and plants-does fine lightly stocked with common goldfish.

 

[IPA]

Welcome. Having done preform ponds and EPDM liner ponds I’d say the only advantage in preformed is that you don’t need to spend too much money on rocks, which turned out to be the biggest single expense for me with the EPDM pond. Read about bog filters here before you make up you mind because in the long run the bog has more than paid for itself in maintenance free operation; no filters, no UV lights, no chemical additives, no fish health issues.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

I had preforms, they were a pain. Cracked shifted etc, esp after winter. I tossed dug deeper and put in liners.

 

[j.w]

@Robheff1026
The ground settles so much w/weather it is hard to keep the preforms level.

 

[AlyssaFish]

Welcome to pond land! A quick question--with your aquarium experience have you used sump tanks? Ponds use very similar equipment--pumps, overflows, skimmers, bulkhead fittings, etc.

To combine 2 preformed liners, you have a couple options. You could turn one into a top pool of a waterfall that feeds into the second. This would have the benefit of good water aeration and movement, but it would have the downside of your fish being limited to one pool or the other (whichever one you choose to place them in). This could be a good thing if you wanted to separate the males and females.

You could also combine 2 liners by fitting a PVC pipe between the two. It would have to be large enough for your fish to travel through without risk of getting stuck, or debris clogging it up. This would give the benefit of creating two separate pools next to each other your fish could travel between "underground" which would be cool. They could also shelter in the tunnel if any predators showed up.

Both choices require some patience and can be tricky. With your first choice, you will need to cut the edge of one of the liners to create a waterfall spill way (or drill a hole for a pipe, to have the water spill from the pipe into the lower pool).

The second strategy you'll need to get bulkhead fittings to match the size of pipe you use. In case you're not aware, these are plastic fittings that thread through each of the holes you drill into the pond liner and create a water-tight seal.

The rule of thumb for ponds is that it should cycle at least half the pond's volume in the course of one hour. I personally prefer stronger filtration because it gets ridiculously hot where I live and oxygen levels in the water drop in the heat. So I make up for it by adding lots of aeration by cycling the water quickly.

Because your pond going to be relatively small, you could make a filter cheaply out of a 5 gallon bucket, bulkhead fittings, a few pieces of filtration foam, and some lava rock. You set up the pump to drain into the top of the 5 gallon bucket where you have your filter floss/foam to pick up big debris. The water travels down into the lava rock, which makes a great home for beneficial bacteria. At the bottom of the bucket, you have an outlet with a bulkhead fitting and pipe that feeds water back into the pond (preferably through a waterfall to add aeration.

There are lots of DIY videos on building your own filters on Youtube if that's something you're interested in. You can also buy filters that are designed for pumps. These work like canister filters, but often without an internal pump.

Good luck! I think your project is very exciting! I had tons of fun with my first pond, which was a 225 gallon preformed!

 

[Jhn]

What addy and j.w. Said preforms are a pita. You will eventually get sick of it shifting, limited designs and ability to plant, Hiding filters without looking at a bunch of hoses and cords running around the pond. I have had one crack before....who knows why. Just save the hassle/money and use Epdm, just all around much easier to deal with and keep looking nice.

@AlyssaFish FYI...turnover in a pond should be 1.5-2x volume per hour, 1/2 pond volume per hour would be woefully inadequate.

 

[addy1]

FYI...turnover in a pond should be 1.5-2x volume per hour, 1/2 pond volume per hour would be woefully inadequate.

Mine only turns over about every two hours, but I do have one huge bog filtering it.

 

[Jhn]

Mine only turns over about every two hours, but I do have one huge bog filtering it.

Haha yeah there are caveats to this rule, as there are no hard fast rules with ponding...like huge plant filters be it in a bog or in the pond itself, you can get away with less circulation. Having a large pond is also more forgiving, the old saying dilution is the solution to pollution.

My pond At 10000 gallons doesn’t quite get to the 1.5x turnover either, I turnover about 13k and hour if the pumps are running full throttle, probably a little less realistically. But Like you the immense amount of plants I have growing in my pond bare root and the bog keep everything going fine, it works and neither one of us have small ponds.

The OP only wants to get a 265 gallon preformed, I would at the very least run a 600 gallon per hour pump feeding a filter system of some sort in that set up.

 

[addy1]

When I started ponding mine were small and they were a pain to keep healthy clean water.

 

[Robheff1026]

Thanks for all the help. I guess I’m gonna rethink the preformed as opposed to using liners. I was leery of the liners because of ripping but had no idea there were so many problems w the preforms cracking. I’ve never done a sump w my aquariums because, tbh I was a bit intimidated by them. I’m prob gonna dig this out next summer but I’m grateful for the info because I know there’ll be pitfalls other people have experienced that hopefully I can avoid. I understand the necessity of over filtration. I love the idea of using pvc to connect two separate ponds. I’m really excited. Thanks everyone I’m sure I’ll ask a million more questions when I’m getting closer to the build. I learn something new everyday w my aquariums so I’m sure this will involve much more research then I realized

 

[sissy]

That is why this sight is great as it helps you figure out the good verses the bad and helps you decide .You can bounce ideas you have to see if they will work or not and help you not waste money or time and your sanity .Plus what other people have tried and if they worked or not .Remember in building a pond you need to think about your winter temperatures and summer temperatures to figure in depth .Also electric and filters and sun or shade .

 

[addy1]

When you start your build start a construction thread, we love to help others build the perfect pond

 

[Mmathis]

Thanks for all the help. I guess I’m gonna rethink the preformed as opposed to using liners. I was leery of the liners because of ripping but had no idea there were so many problems w the preforms cracking. I’ve never done a sump w my aquariums because, tbh I was a bit intimidated by them. I’m prob gonna dig this out next summer but I’m grateful for the info because I know there’ll be pitfalls other people have experienced that hopefully I can avoid. I understand the necessity of over filtration. I love the idea of using pvc to connect two separate ponds. I’m really excited. Thanks everyone I’m sure I’ll ask a million more questions when I’m getting closer to the build. I learn something new everyday w my aquariums so I’m sure this will involve much more research then I realized

If you use an EPDM liner, you shouldn’t have a problem with ripping (PVC liners can rip). And, as we’ve all learned, once you dig that pond, it won’t be long before you want to make it BIGGER! Don’t scrimp $$ on your liner — as the literal foundation of your pond, you want the best you can afford. Best wishes, and keep us posted!

 

[gimpy]

I had a small (3 foot diameter, about 18 inches deep) circular preformed little pond (mostly just a water feature). I had no problems with it, but I did dig a hole for it and set it in the hole, so it was at ground level. I did use sand to cushion the bottom and sides. I did not have fish in it, but I could have.