Hello everyone...!

[Iain the moon]

What better time to start building your first pond than right now in the midst of this crisis when most of are spending more time at home. Hello everyone, my names Iain and I stay in Glasgow. I have previously kept aquarium fish some years ago. Always wanted a pond but probably never really had the time, money or the support of my wife, which I now have. My first plan was to keep Koi, although I never really appreciated the dedication and effort to keep these fish healthy. I had no idea about the significant size of pond and equipment required either.

At the moment my revised plan is to keep Goldfish. The pond I have in mind will be partially raised and constructed using Railway sleepers and lined with marine ply or equivalent and a welded box liner. The finished size should be 2.3m x 2.1m x 1m deep with either 450mm or 500mm being above ground.

I know I need filtration but this looks like a bit of a minefield to me right now with so many different types. I'm sure I need an air pump to provide some form of aeration. I also want to add some kind of water feature to return filtered water to the pond, whether a fountain or a side mounted waterfall, I'm not sure yet. I like the look of the waterfalls that give the sheet of water effect, sorry I don't know the proper name.

When I search online I see several companies offering box liners in different materials and thicknesses so any recommendations for suppliers and what material and thickness best suits my application would be appreciated. I have loads of questions, some of which I haven't even thought of yet, but that's what I joined this forum for. Looking forward to receiving advice from the collected experience of others.

Please speak up if any of my initial thoughts are flawed or could be done differently. Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday afternoon...!

Kind regards, Iain.

 

[GBBUDD]

Welcome
First question to you which would point you in the right direction is since your leaning toward a raised pond i would say 80% of those with similar go with heavy mechanical filtering . Usually requiring a good deal of maintenance. The other is a natural bog The method most here use . Some have your canister filters. but i have seen few to any nexus or other fancy complicated systems. Bog or canister info you found the right place being this forum. If you are looking at a nexus or similar the koiphen is probably a better bet for you

 

[poconojoe]

Agree...a bog filter is the way to go no matter the size of your pond, small or large.

I wish I would have not spent so much time and money on homemade and commercial filters. Too much work to maintain them and they never kept my water clear anyway.

There are many threads here on building a bog filter. One can be made out of a small rubbermaid container or a large dug into the ground version.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome @Iain the moon ! WE LOVE NEW PONDS! And you're right... what better time!

We use a bog to filter our pond - love it!

 

[sissy]

welcome and happy you decided to build a pond .Keep it simple and have a budget and stick with it as filters and waterfalls you can always upgrade later .Remember also to look for pumps and aerators that are energy saving and that have a good warranty and a good rating from customers

 

[j.w]

@Iain the moon Great plan on building now! Check out Shubunkins for your pond. They are a type of goldfish and very pretty! You can have a different variety of many types of goldfish. Some have really nice long flowing tails too. Don't get too many fish tho as they can grow to a pretty good size, around 12" in the long run. Maybe limit yourself from 6 fish to start as they will multiply.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum of pond lovers!

I love my bog filtration the only filtration I have for my ponds.