Idea for a small pond

[Tad]

Hi everybody, I finally have an opportunity to attempt a small pond setup. Here is my idea, and please tell me if this is just a dumb idea.
On my property is a steel tank, that's been cut in half and used as a cattle trough. It's half of a 3000 gallon tank, cut length ways. There have not been cattle using it for at least 30 years, and it fills up with water and has tadpoles and frogs and salamanders every year, then it dries out in summer. I want to use the tank, eco-system and all, in the garden, raised above ground level about 3 feet with a dirt mound, and I also have a plastic 30 gallon pond to use as part of the system.
I don't necessarily want fish in it, but if they could do OK that would be great. I imagine one pond spilling into the other, with just a few water plants, and using the outflow for watering the garden. I would re-fill it with well water.
I live in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[addy1]

Sounds neat! Post some pictures when you can.

Welcome to our group of ponders.

 

[RobAmy]

Sounds like a fun project

 

[Waterbug]

... using the outflow for watering the garden. I would re-fill it with well water.
I live in the Pacific Northwest.

That's is a state of the art type of setup. All knowledgeable high end Koi pond owners would do this if they had the water. Results in great water for fish and if done enough very clear water with no filtering required at all.

You want to watch water temp. Well water can be rather cold compared to what's in a small above ground steel pond depending on amount of water changed. Quickly dropping the temp can be hard on fish. Also, adding lots of new water can cause fish to jump out of a pond.Their ancestors jumped up streams when it rained (new water) as part of spawning. So you kind of have to watch them.

A possible improvement is to do what's called a 24/7 trickle water change. A landscape drip emitter of a certain flow drips into the pond 24/7. Excess water then goes out an overflow. That overflow can go to water loving pond plants or collected in a tank for use later. A buried 55 gal plastic drum, or several linked together is cheap for a collection tank. With 24/7 you have no worries about temp or new water jumping.

Installing an overflow on the steel tank should be pretty easy. Even a 1/2" overflow pipe would be enough. With a wire basket to keep leaves from clogging it.

For chlorinated water there are guidelines for how much the drip can be compared to the pond size. But in your case, with well water, you can drip as much as you like.

I will say that overflowing one rigid pond structure into another is tricky unless the small pond has an overflow spot formed into the rim. Can be done of course but not sure I'd mess with it. Liner is easier to work with and the cost for the liner for a 30 gal pond is pretty cheap...like under $20.

Also, just a heads up...if the 1500~ gal pond overflows into the 30 gal the 30 gal pond will appear to have a leak because water level will fall surprisingly fast. It freaks people out. But all that's going on is that all evaporation in both ponds shows up only in the lowest pond. Normally I put an auto fill in that lowest pond to keep it filled. With a 24/7 drip system an auto fill isn't needed.

 

[Tad]

Thank you for the advice and encouragement! I like the idea of 24/7 drip and no filter. I can do that.