Newbie with 170~ gallon pond

[Mattks]

Hi all, near my home (about 20 feet away) there is a small area with a few trees and sort of a rock garden. I’ve never really done anything with this area and I was clearing it out and found what I think may have been a small koi pond. It’s roughly 6.5’ in diameter and roughly 7-8” deep, I calculated roughly 600 gallons. It’s filled in with dirt and rubble, and I only cleared out one corner to measure the depth, so I’m assuming it’s flat on the bottom. It’s all concrete.

I’m guessing this is too small, or not deep enough, for actual koi. So what, if anything could I stock in the pond? Perhaps some Lily’s and goldfish?

I’m not new to fish keeping, I currently have salt and fresh water aquariums, but I’ve never done anything outdoors or larger then 100 gallons.

Edit: I forgot to mention I am in the KC area. Perhaps I can get a picture uploaded of the area.

 

[EricV]

Too small for koi, but perfect for a handful of goldfish, a lily or two, and some marginal plants.

Will 7-8" be freeze proof in your area?

Next you have to see if it holds water!

 

[EricV]

I get 170 gallons, though. I suspect you treated diameter as radius in the area of a circle.

 

[Mattks]

I get 170 gallons, though. I suspect you treated diameter as radius in the area of a circle.

You are right, my mistake on calculating. Thanks!

 

[j.w]

@Mattks How about a photo so we can see what you are dealing with and if it truly is 600 gals and does not leak you can put several goldfish or Shubunkins(which I love) in there nicely. If it does leak you could just lay a liner in there to fix that issue.

Oops your new post just popped up so is it now 170 gals?

 

[Mattks]

Too small for koi, but perfect for a handful of goldfish, a lily or two, and some marginal plants.

Will 7-8" be freeze proof in your area?

Next you have to see if it holds water!

I’m pretty sure it will freeze without some sort of heater. Would a regular heater from an aquarium work? I have an outlet about 20 feet away.

View attachment 110480@Mattks How about a photo so we can see what you are dealing with and if it truly is 600 gals and does not leak you can put several goldfish or Shubunkins(which I love) in there nicely. If it does leak you could just lay a liner in there to fix that issue.

Oops your new post just popped up so is it now 170 gals?

I recalculated and I got about 160 gallons.
So not much to work with.

Edit: I’ll try to remember to take a picture tomorrow morning, perhaps I’ll have it cleaned out. I work late tonight.

 

[sissy]

get yourself some fat fantails .They do not breed as much and very friendly .Mine swim into my hand to get belly rubs

 

[j.w]

Prolly better to first find out after you clean it all out if it holds water. If it really does and you plan on keeping the fish in there all winter then you could use a pond heater or livestock trough heater but wondering if that would be too much and over heat the pond as the pond is quite small? I don't use a heater as we don't ever get cold enough here. Or perhaps your water would not freeze solid and you could just have a running water fall or some other device for keeping a hole open in the ice.

Course if it leaks and you really want a pond...................................you could dig a bigger, deeper one

 

[Mattks]

Prolly better to first find out after you clean it all out if it holds water. If it really does and you plan on keeping the fish in there all winter then you could use a pond heater or livestock trough heater but wondering if that would be too much and over heat the pond as the pond is quite small? I don't use a heater as we don't ever get cold enough here. Or perhaps your water would not freeze solid and you could just have a running water fall or some other device for keeping a hole open in the ice.

Course if it leaks and you really want a pond...................................you could dig a bigger, deeper one

Would most goldfish be able to survive a winter in a partially frozen pond, or do people typically bring them to an indoor tank, or just let them die during the winter? My wife prefers some sort of fountain filtration system so we can enjoy it from all parts of our property or even from the window. Are there any that would work for a pond, of this size?

If it doesn’t hold water, I’ll consider jackhammering out the floor and making it a few feet deeper, but I’d like to keep the perimeter intact if I can make it hold water, either with some sort of lining or epoxy paint?

 

[j.w]

With your pond being so shallow it might freeze solid and that would be the end for the fish. Deeper would be better, like maybe 3feet. You could bring them inside but no we do not let them just die. You could run a little fountain in that pond but not during the winter as it would freeze. Some come w/a filter.
I have a 2400 gal pond and I also have a bathtub pond that does not have a filter but has a little hole in the end up towards the top w/a screen in it. I have 3 goldfish in there and I just have a little air bubbler going and I run well water every once in awhile in there to refresh the water for them. sort of like a giant goldfish bowl you would have in your house. Had lots of plants in there too.The little air bubbler keeps a hole in the ice.

Used to have these two fountains in my bigger pond but they quit working and I just never replaced them.

Had just a water spouting one in there too once. It broke eventually also.

 

[EricV]

Lifegard makes a filter/pump/fountain combo. If I recall, you said it was 8” deep at the edge. With luck it will be deeper in the middle.

 

[Mattks]

I got it all cleaned out this morning. The concrete is in really good condition, zero cracks, but I found 3 small holes created by roots. Not sure if any go all the way through or not, the concrete is about 4” thick. I caulked them using a sealant and will allow to cure for 24 hours.

I remeasured and recalculated and the final size is... drum roll please, a tiny 130~ gallons. Haha, much smaller then I initially thought, but I’m feeling optimistic about it holding water.

 

[ShawnInfirmity]

Based on volume and shape (it being a circle) a nice fountain would probably look pretty cool right in the middle. Tetrapond makes a kit that looks pretty reasonable (https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Pond-F...60639&sr=8-10&keywords=fountain+pump+kit&th=1)

With it only being 7-8 inches deep I don't know what plants to recommend since most lilies are recommended to be planted at 12-24 inches.

 

[Mattks]

Based on volume and shape (it being a circle) a nice fountain would probably look pretty cool right in the middle. Tetrapond makes a kit that looks pretty reasonable (https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Pond-Filtration-Fountain-Attachments/dp/B0024EE8US/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1526060639&sr=8-10&keywords=fountain+pump+kit&th=1)

With it only being 7-8 inches deep I don't know what plants to recommend since most lilies are recommended to be planted at 12-24 inches.

I was reading that hardy lilies can be planted at 6” and then later moved to 12-18”. That’s gives me 2 questions, since the water is likely only to be 6-7” deep, will that be okay that the plant can’t really grow up any farther. Second, hardy lilies go dormant during the winter, will a freeze kill them, or can they survive freezes in their dormant state. I assume they can.

Perhaps I can dig out a second small pond that is 2-3’ deep with a smaller diameter. I can move the lilies as they grow to the second pond. That will probably be a next year project.

 

[Mmathis]

How much sun does the pond receive? That’s what will limit your choice of plants.