Newbie pond build questions..

[Tom Cook]

Hello All,

I just built a pond in my back yard, Pond is 18x12 and 4 foot deep in the center. two foot of the pond is below grade, the top two and a half foot is above grade ringed with stacked railroad ties. Railroad ties are pinned with 1/2x48 inch rebar stakes.

I hooked the Gutter downspout from the back of the house to the pond via a 6 inch diameter hose and filled it to the top last night.

I couldn't believe my eyes this AM when I saw a frog seemingly happily swinging around the bottom. I see this as a good sign of life and maybe fish will be happy here.

If I figure correctly I have around 2400 gallons of water in there, and i'm trying to save money as best I can. I am thinking of going with a pump larger than what a need and putting it on a timer to run 4-5 hrs a day. I thought this might save power bills instead of running a smaller pump 24 hrs a day. I appreciate your thoughts on this.

Also, I was thinking of liberating some orange swimmers from WalMarts pet center and letting them live there lives in a nicer environment than a Jar. Will they survive the green monster that's swimming in there right now? (the Frog).

I was thinking of putting gravel,charcoal and sand in a 5 gallon bucket for a filter, is this acceptable?

I also plans on a 3 foot long by 8 inch wide brook with stones for the return from the pump as I have attached a raised garden to the pond and the rasid gardes soil will be above the level of the pond and drain into it.

Pls don't hold back, I need your input on this.

Thanks,,

Tom in Roland, OK
37 degrees outside and slightly cloudy water in the pond.

 

[sissy]

welcome but if you have fish the pump needs to run 24/7 and best thing to do is find a pump that uses less energy .I bought a laguna for that reason

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I am thinking of going with a pump larger than what a need and putting it on a timer to run 4-5 hrs a day. I thought this might save power bills instead of running a smaller pump 24 hrs a day. I appreciate your thoughts on this.
Also, I was thinking of liberating some orange swimmers from WalMarts pet center and letting them live there lives in a nicer environment than a Jar. Will they survive the green monster that's swimming in there right now? (the Frog).

If you're getting fish, I wouldn't recommend turning the pump off other than for maintenance. Its just best to keep the water moving at all times.

Frogs don't mess with fish. I've heard some people say a full size Bull Frog is capable of eating fish and even small birds, but I had a decent size bullfrog last year that didn't bother any of my fish including 3 babies, one of which lived in shallow water and would've been an easy target. I don't think you have to worry it. They're usually focused on insects.

Something else I would recommend is buying pond plants if you don't already have some. They're an important part of any pond for many reasons including oxygen and shelter.

 

[Tom Cook]

Thank you so much,
I will employ your suggestions. I also apologize to the moderators for posting this in the wrong place as I
just noticed the Forum for Newbies.
I do plan on Fish, and i'm glad the Frog wont be a problem as I think its cool and it'll help me this summer with
the bugs. I live 8 miles west of Fort Smith Arkansas, so we do have bugs. I did notice a bug with a paddle on each side, bet he wont last long
with "Jim Bob" swimming around (Grandma named the Frog).

Well 24/7 pump it is.

Any more suggestions?
What do I feed the Fish?

Tom..

 

[sissy]

Any fish food is good but if you overfeed you may have water quality problems .Just rebuilding my pond now .I just use tetra but what ever brand you want

 

[addy1]

Any kind of pond fish food. I would stick with getting goldfish/shubunkins for your pond. They are a lot easier to care for then koi. Liberate some from walmart! I have a ton of frogs living with fish.

You are fine with your posting.

to our group!

 

[dieselplower]

I agree with what the other said and would also suggest that a 5 gallon bucket is probably too small for a pond if that size. I would be looking closer to 50 gallons minimum. Also, skip the charcoal and sand. You will want the water to flow up from the bottom if the bucket and spill out the top. This enables gravity to help keep the solids at the bottom, rather than the solids being pulled down by gravity in a filter where water enters the top and flows down.

 

[Big Lou]

Welcome Tom. Like was written, run that pump.

 

[sissy]

My filters have water running down into lava rock and there is a grate at the bottom and there are 2 T's that bring the water from just above the bottom back up and out the tank adapters .Set it up the same way after I rebuilt the pond

 

[JBtheExplorer]

What do I feed the Fish?

I have 9 Shubunkins and Comets (including 3 babies) and I feed them regular goldfish food.

A $5 can lasts a long time. They even have a step up from this that's pretty huge which I would imagine lasts well over a year. I feed my fish once a day. I read once to feed a fish its eyeball's size in food, and I do roughly that. Goldfish will also eat the algae that grows in the pond and probably bugs and stuff too. Last year I caught my Comet with a grub sticking out of its mouth.

 

[sissy]

I feed that to some of my babies too .I only feed mine 3 or 4 times a week this way I don't worry about water quality .But guessing until i build up stuff on the new liner it may be a little more .I actually got 2 canisters of that at my local pet store that had gotten damage so the cost was a dollar for each one

 

[dieselplower]

Please do not use flakes. They really foul up the water because the begin to dissolve in the water quickly. A small floating pellet is much more appropriate. In my tanks I use mostly sinking pellets because the bottom is cleaner than the pond bottom and sinking pellets are better for fancy goldfish because floating food is more likely to swell once inside the fish, which is uncomfortable and can cause problems with floatyness. I've not seen that problem with my pond fish though... The single tail commons.

 

[JohnHuff]

1) Please do NOT use roof water to fill your pond. The roof is probably very dirty and there could be chemicals if you treat your roof.
2) You must have a pump and circulation all the time. Use a smaller more efficient pump.
3) Feeders from Walmart are fine. More likely your fish will feast on tadpoles and not the other way around.
4) Your 5 gallon filter will be fine because you will be making a 3' x 8" brook with stones. That will act as a trickle tower. Put lots of stones there (but not so much as to choke the brook). The stones will acquire a biofilm and beneficial bacteria when they are immersed in the water.
*The amount of filtration you need will depend on the amount of feed/biomass of fish you have in your pond, not the size of your pond.
5) Use only pond food. They are always on sale somewhere.
6) Post up some pics and welcome to our forum!!!

 

[JohnHuff]

I agree with what the other said and would also suggest that a 5 gallon bucket is probably too small for a pond if that size. I would be looking closer to 50 gallons minimum. Also, skip the charcoal and sand. You will want the water to flow up from the bottom if the bucket and spill out the top. This enables gravity to help keep the solids at the bottom, rather than the solids being pulled down by gravity in a filter where water enters the top and flows down.

diesel, I think you've been here long enough to know that the size of the filter depends on the amount of fish and food in the pond. Seriously, do you think he needs a 50g filter for a few feeders from Walmart in a 2400g pond?
Also static media filters such you propose are inefficient and he'll need to put in a drain at the bottom to get rid of the gunk. I think it's rather too much to suggest this to a new ponder.

 

[dieselplower]

diesel, I think you've been here long enough to know that the size of the filter depends on the amount of fish and food in the pond. Seriously, do you think he needs a 50g filter for a few feeders from Walmart in a 2400g pond?
Also static media filters such you propose are inefficient and he'll need to put in a drain at the bottom to get rid of the gunk. I think it's rather too much to suggest this to a new ponder.

For a pond that the OP estimates at 2,400 gallons I think 50 gallons may still be too small. I don't know about your pond/fish, but in my experience, a few feeder fish can become 200 feeder fish in a couple years. A filter as I suggested is great for mechanical filtration, which is what will be primarily needed. I have seen Waterbug go so far as to say biofiltration is not needed in a pond. I don't always agree with him, but in the case of a few fish in 2400 gallons, I would.