Creative people: HELP!

[julsnealey]

Good Afternoon! Okay, I have a unique situation here that I am hoping someone will be able to help me with. I built a pond 6 years ago. It took me forever to dig out a square with shovels and a wheelbarrow and sweat, 5' x 5' x 3'. It is a fiberglass pond hardshell.

I have 2 small 6-8" koi in there as well as some trapdoor snails and plecostamus to cut down on algae growth. So far they have all lived for the last three years. (They simply survive our Seattle winters with the help of a deicer and constant water flow.

I am building a 3.5" tall waterfall spillway, as currently there is not enough aeration to cut down on algae blooms. Going to get more plants, a UV-light and utilize barley bails in a biosphere.

SO, NOW YOU HAVE THE BACKGROUND..... ON TO THE REAL ISSUE

I own a very successful in-home pet care company. I board/daycare dogs in my private home, with a quarter acre of dog-friendly backyard (fully fenced), kennel-free. so, 365 days a year, 24/7, I have dogs of all sizes at the house. My main issue is that I have MANY dog breeds that want to jump in my pond. I mean they treat it as though it is their personal swimming pool, disturbing my fish and basically destroying the pond.

Upon many hours of desperate thought, I designed a temporary solution. **Please see pics below**. I made a slab of concrete and built a "cage" to hold up the structure so I could still see the fish, but keep the dogs out. It is not really pretty, but provides shade, and does keep the dogs from diving in, but collects algae like crazy as it receives the majority of the daily sun. Any thoughts on how I can reconfigure a more aesthetically pleasing FUNCTIONAL(dog-barrier) solution? I would love any and all solutions, as my husband prefers to not put up a fence. It would have to be very tall and would eliminate the "zen-like" tranquility we have created in our yard. I know, I may be crazy, I just love those fish and the sound of the water...sometimes its the only sanity I get with three kids, husband, and 6-10 dogs daily!

 

[dieselplower]

Youre very successful. You should pay someone to fix it for you.

 

[julsnealey]

Thank you for the thought, but without any idea of what to create, I am not at that point i don't believe. I also like doing the work myself!

 

[Tula]

We've trained our 7 dogs to stay out of our pond, but realize that is different than operating a kennel and having different dogs in and out. We bought some green fencing at Lowes that wasn't too tall and if they got near it, we clapped our hand, or said " Ahh Ahh" loudly. Do they still go inside the fencing sometimes.....yes, but they stay out of the pond

 

[max384]

I vote fence! Although you said that would disturb your tranquility, I think having a bunch of boarded dogs running wild would destroy the tranquility much more quickly. No way I'd leave that beautiful deck and pond unfenced to be destroyed by dogs.

It doesn't have to be an unsightly fence. I've always liked the look of black metal fences like these:

Don't take this the wrong way, but if it were me, I'd rather a nice-looking fence to hide the dog house area. To me, that would ruin the tranquility much more than a fence. Again, no offense intended.

 

[dieselplower]

Thank you for the thought, but without any idea of what to create, I am not at that point i don't believe. I also like doing the work myself!

I was just giving you a hard time. I actually like the concrete slab you put up there. It actually functions as a surface for the beneficial bactera that process ammonia and nitrite to colonize, and help aerate your water. The increased surface area also helps with gas and oxygen exchange. What is the flow of the pump of the water that flows over there? I hate to say this but think it will be very hard to keep algae from growing on there. It's just what algae does. the surface of my pond liner is covered in it.

Side note, what if you just put a net over that pond and then created a doggie swimming pool elsewhere in the yard? Get a cheap swimming pool or stock tank from tractor supply and bury it.

 

[JohnHuff]

Fence. Aeration does not cut down on algae. Maybe you're feeding too much.

 

[Mmathis]

Without seeing it in person, it's hard to tell, but I agree that your solution does look very nice. However, it does keep you from seeing the fish. If I had a structure like that over my pond, I'd want it to be easily movable -- concrete is pretty heavy.

Not pretty, but what about an electric fence?

You mentioned that a fence would have to be tall -- how tall are you talking, 'cause I think you could design a nice fence that could partition off the area and still be attractive. Something like Max384 posted....

Have you Googled decorative fencing? Maybe something in vinyl? I just checked the HOME DEPOT site, and they had this page that might give you ideas. There is a "fence designer" in there, but since I'm using an iPad, I couldn't try it out.

http://t.homedepot.com/b/Lumber-Composites-Fencing/N-5yc1vZbrk7

 

[Priscilla]

I've seen some sort of pond safety thing from the UK to prevent kids from falling in, basically decorative wrought iron that is secured to the sides of the pond. An adult can walk on.

Perhaps you could fabricate some sort of attractive grill type 'cover'. Maybe visit someone who does fences, maybe they can do some sort of swirly iron grid type cover.

Maybe not exactly like this, but you get the picture. http://www.elitepondcovers.co.uk/featured/essex-child-and-animal-safe-pond-cover/

And it would be removable for times when you don't want to see it.

 

[BlueOrca]

I feel your pain, I built my 16x8x3 pond last April, then I got a chocolate lab puppy....she won't leave the pond alone. I have the aforementioned green snow/deer fencing around mine now, but she has figured out she is 65 lbs and can just push it over so she can munch on the lily pads (only damage thus far). I just purchased the steel fencing (looks like wrought iron) from Menard's and will be installing it this week.....more aesthetically pleasing than green snow fence, but not Zen like.
Good luck

. original design

snow fencing (with snow for effect)

 

[Mmathis]

I've seen some sort of pond safety thing from the UK to prevent kids from falling in, basically decorative wrought iron that is secured to the sides of the pond. An adult can walk on.

Perhaps you could fabricate some sort of attractive grill type 'cover'. Maybe visit someone who does fences, maybe they can do some sort of swirly iron grid type cover.

Maybe not exactly like this, but you get the picture. http://www.elitepondcovers.co.uk/featured/essex-child-and-animal-safe-pond-cover/

And it would be removable for times when you don't want to see it.

That's an exellent suggestion! I'd seen those before, and wished they were available in the US.

 

[Shan]

I like what you've done -- very artistic.

Maybe you could put a pretty garden fence along the outside of the cement border and then drape a pond net over the fence, letting it drape down the sides.

 

[herzausstahl]

What about blending in a seating area around the pond to look like a place to sit, relax, and ponder life's question, while at the same time creating a fence like barrier around the pond?

 

[Nepen]

I've seen some sort of pond safety thing from the UK to prevent kids from falling in, basically decorative wrought iron that is secured to the sides of the pond. An adult can walk on.

Perhaps you could fabricate some sort of attractive grill type 'cover'. Maybe visit someone who does fences, maybe they can do some sort of swirly iron grid type cover.

Maybe not exactly like this, but you get the picture. http://www.elitepondcovers.co.uk/featured/essex-child-and-animal-safe-pond-cover/

And it would be removable for times when you don't want to see it.

I was going to suggest the same. Google 'pond safety grate' and you will see some variety then you can go from there.

 

[j.w]

julsnealey
What about some kind of gazebo w/ the seating idea?