First Pond :)

[newponder]

Hi,

I'm from Melbourne, Australia and I have always wanted a pond having recently bought out house in the last year. But now having a mortgage, we have never really had enough "spare" money to get a pond.
WELL! Someone from work is wanting to get rid of their pond, so I jumped at the chance. They are giving it to me for free, it is a preformed fibreglass pond, a kidney shape and is about 1.8mL, 1.1m W at its widest point and I think depth of about 45cm.
I really just want to have a small nice pond with some goldfishies/plants in it (and hopefully clear water!)

I have worked out that very roughly it will hold about 450Litres of water, I was looking at the Hozelock Bioforce filter (http://www.rockaroundtheblock.com.au/product.asp?pID=551&cID=92) and was wondering if anyone could tell me if it is a good filter??
I am not handy at all so do not want to DIY anything

Thanks!!!!

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forums! :wave:

That's excellent news about the free pond! I look forward to hearing about it.

 

[koidaddy]

Dont know about the filter as I am a DIY guy but welcome to the forum.

 

[taherrmann4]

Welcome to the forum....

 

[sissy]

I stared out with a preformed and it grew and grew and grew LOL.Yhis was taken with a regular camera and is 4 pics in one

 

[j.w]

newponder

 

[Tsuska]

Hello Newponder, I'm also from down under. Here in Sydney =P

 

[sissy]

welcome new ponder and hope you like the sight and can learn what you need to know .Fun learning more about ponds and how they work

 

[addy1]

Welcome glad you joined us ponders

 

[Tsuska]

Hi,

I'm from Melbourne, Australia and I have always wanted a pond having recently bought out house in the last year. But now having a mortgage, we have never really had enough "spare" money to get a pond.
WELL! Someone from work is wanting to get rid of their pond, so I jumped at the chance. They are giving it to me for free, it is a preformed fibreglass pond, a kidney shape and is about 1.8mL, 1.1m W at its widest point and I think depth of about 45cm.
I really just want to have a small nice pond with some goldfishies/plants in it (and hopefully clear water!)

I have worked out that very roughly it will hold about 450Litres of water, I was looking at the Hozelock Bioforce filter (http://www.rockaroun...?pID=551&cID=92) and was wondering if anyone could tell me if it is a good filter??
I am not handy at all so do not want to DIY anything

Thanks!!!!

I recently bought a cheap pressure filter: Jebao CF-30 (for $168 with 5m of free 1.25 inch non-kink hose). That was because I have a waterfall feature as well (and I have a relatively large pond). They sell a smaller one: CF-10. Remember you need a pump as well (and enough tubing). Lots of people aren't a fan of pressure filters but hey =P That's my 2 cents XD

 

[Waterbug]

I don't think you can beat a stream for filtering. Even if only 3' long. Handles ammonia and beats any filter for growing the bacteria that attacks green water algae. Super cheap, almost no maintenance, just about as easy as a store bought filter to install. Pea gravel bogs are also great but a big more cost and effort.

Trickle towers are also great bio filters and pretty good for growing algae killing bacteria. Even a tiny terracotta pot pot for $20 and some stone from the yard for that small a pond could be a great filter. I'd say it takes less DIY skills than setting up a store bought filter and way less trouble.

Complicated DIY filters like Skippy are more for people who like to build stuff. They're fun to make and impressive to see. But for actual filtering these simple stream/bog/trickle filters beat the complex DIY filters dollar for dollar.

However, the 3000UVC does have UV and that is the only way to guarantee no green water. But wow, 9watts, that so tiny I'd have to wonder. If no green water is a requirement UV is the way to go.

 

[koiguy1969]

FIRST OFF...WELCOME TO THE GROUP...
NOW...a skippy type filter is easy to build and isnt complicated at all. "are you smater than a 5th grader?" than you can build one in 20-30 minutes!! with a flush valve!!, which makes cleaning take about 1 minute, and makes for easy small water changes, dont even get your hands wet....my 2 perforn flawlessly, using the same media transfered between the 2 filters.. i have a 55 gal one on my 800 gal basement wintering pond and a 70 gal on my 1200 gal outdoor pond... i keep over 200" of fish in a clean healthy enviroment...you cant do that with a 3' stream, no matter what some folks might say.especially feeding twice a day as i do!...and i ran a 9 watt tetrapond for a few years on my 1200 gal pond and never had green water. and i only ran it 2 weeks a year!!...you can take opinions for what they are...opinions!!...but i only write what i know to have been successful for me. and not just temporarily, but long term success!

 

[Waterbug]

I don't think it's a question of intelligence that some of the people coming here don't want DIY options. Maybe they just aren't into building stuff. Being a long time DIY myself I'm not so sure DIY is all that smart. It's fun for me, but smart? I certainly wouldn't say someone not wanting to DIY isn't as smart as a 5th grader. This is a pond forum, not a DIY forum. DIY is a part of the hobby, not the entire hobby.

As for building a Skippy in 20-30 minutes...that's just plain outrageous. I'd be doing well to just read the Skippy instructions in 20-30 minutes let alone begin to understand them. Instructions like "Cut out this hole" with a poor picture of a sabre saw. I know lots of people into DIY who've never used a sabre saw or could tell from the picture that it's even a sabre saw. Many people not into DIY don't even own a drill. That's take time to learn. Time some people would rather spend doing something else.

I also doubt anyone, and I mean anyone, could even accumulate all the materials needed in 20-30 minutes to build a Skippy even if they lived next to a Home Depot. Just tracking down a stock tank is an adventure.

Suppose someone falls for that line and tries to build a Skippy in 20-30 minutes but it takes them a weekend to track down the materials, and another weekend to build. How are they going to feel thinking a 40 hour project was suppose to take 20-30 minutes? Like crap I should think. How does that help this hobby?

Anyone who doesn't want DIY and doesn't feel comfortable posting questions here can send me an email or private message and I'd be happy to provide details. For that matter, if you want to build a Skippy but are new to DIY and don't want to be compared to a 5th grader here because it might take you more than 20-30 minutes I'd be happy to help with that too.

 

[koiguy1969]

i wasnt saying if you cant build one in 30 minutes your not as smart as a 5th grader..but stressing the point..that theyre not a big, hard to do, complicated build..theyre quite easy in fact...
and....
I didnt mean anyone could gather everything together and build one in about 30 mins..but with everything you need in front of you and the right tools ...no problem getting the basic filter built, (anything that might be considered complicated)...a beginner may need a couple hours. but should have done the research and know what your doing and what you'll need and have it ready before you build. first off...no sabre or jig saw..a 3&1/4" hole saw for a drill motor will do a better and cleaner job in a few seconds. as far as the filters internal plumbing...a few minutes. a 2' piece of pipe, two 1' peices, a 'TEE' connector and two 90* elboes slid together..you dont even need any glue... as far as media ..thats your choice, and prep time is based on your choice...so yes the basic filter is a quick , easy bulid. and most anyone can find everything they need in one trip..all the plumbing you should ne able to get at any hardware store. stocktanks are more readily available than you might think....TSC tractor supply company, ACE hardware, online etc.. i can get everything i need within 10 miles of home.

 

[addy1]

They are easy to make I made one in about a hour, with searching for parts in our collection of junk.........umm left over parts. I made one to get rid of the pea gravel dust from the bog. Just ran it for about 3 days, have not used it since. it is now parked with the pond left over stuff to be used again if ever needed. Most likely not.