I think I will post all my future questions on this thread so as to avoid cluttering the forum.
I built my first pond practically by myself over a two year period starting when I was 14, and it was pretty much a complete disaster.
I won't go too much into details, but Imagine a teenage boy deciding he wants a pond, checking out a dozen or so books from the library for research, and deciding to make a 14'X15' approximately circular pond with just a pump and fountain (no filter) :yikesu:
It's been about 11 years now, And I think I'm finally ready to try again.
(I would like to try to fix the old pond, but we've moved since then.)
I don't have the details hammered out yet, but I'm thinking of a rectangular tiered inground/aboveground hybrid pond that would be 10'x15' and 5' deep at the deepest point, and have a volume of somewherebetween 3000 and 4500 gallons and run on 4 55 gal
skippy filters in tandem on two pumps.
The fish I would like to include are:
Dalmation color variety of the latipinna species of sailfin molly (max 5.5 inches, usually 3"-4")
While This species is native to my area, selective breeing may have made it unsuitable for life in an outdoor pond. If so, I guess I'll collect the wild form instead.
Rosy red minnows 3"-4"
Comet and/or shubunkin Goldfish
Still haven't decided between orangepotted sunfish (max 6" usually 3-4")
or longear sunfish (max 9", usually 4"-6".)
Golden weather loach.
Okay, finally the questions.
#1: Can anyone give me a recommended stocking rate for these fish with this size pond and filtration?
#2 Would it be possible to run the filter year-round in my area? (I live in zone 8b, which means an average minimum temp of 20 to 15 degrees, but it gets down to 10 degrees about every 5 years or so.)
#3 What type of biomedia is fairly cheap, rarely channels or clogs, and can have plants growing directly in it to add veggie filtration?
#4 How steeply should I slope the floor of the pond so that all the "gunk" collects at one spot?
I built my first pond practically by myself over a two year period starting when I was 14, and it was pretty much a complete disaster.
I won't go too much into details, but Imagine a teenage boy deciding he wants a pond, checking out a dozen or so books from the library for research, and deciding to make a 14'X15' approximately circular pond with just a pump and fountain (no filter) :yikesu:
It's been about 11 years now, And I think I'm finally ready to try again.
(I would like to try to fix the old pond, but we've moved since then.)
I don't have the details hammered out yet, but I'm thinking of a rectangular tiered inground/aboveground hybrid pond that would be 10'x15' and 5' deep at the deepest point, and have a volume of somewherebetween 3000 and 4500 gallons and run on 4 55 gal
skippy filters in tandem on two pumps.
The fish I would like to include are:
Dalmation color variety of the latipinna species of sailfin molly (max 5.5 inches, usually 3"-4")
While This species is native to my area, selective breeing may have made it unsuitable for life in an outdoor pond. If so, I guess I'll collect the wild form instead.
Rosy red minnows 3"-4"
Comet and/or shubunkin Goldfish
Still haven't decided between orangepotted sunfish (max 6" usually 3-4")
or longear sunfish (max 9", usually 4"-6".)
Golden weather loach.
Okay, finally the questions.
#1: Can anyone give me a recommended stocking rate for these fish with this size pond and filtration?
#2 Would it be possible to run the filter year-round in my area? (I live in zone 8b, which means an average minimum temp of 20 to 15 degrees, but it gets down to 10 degrees about every 5 years or so.)
#3 What type of biomedia is fairly cheap, rarely channels or clogs, and can have plants growing directly in it to add veggie filtration?
#4 How steeply should I slope the floor of the pond so that all the "gunk" collects at one spot?