Raised Pond?

[hammer1320]

Over the last couple days I have been thinking of changing my pond plans from a regular dug in pond to a raised pond. I just finnished my ground level wooden deck and I am thinking that a raised pond would be more for me. A couple of reasons for me are....

1. I have a wild 3 year old son. He loves the small pond I have now and also loves and respects his fish, but I think a raised pond would be more safe for him.

2. When it comes to dug in ponds, I like a lot of shrubs and plants and rocks that kind of massage it into the surroundings to make it look like it belongs..... Im not very keen on gardening and niether is my wife. I like it and think nice landscaping is awsome but im not one to spend the day weeding. Im more of the "less is perfect" when it comes to landscaping.

3. I see myself wanting to move in the near future (2-5 yrs hopefully). I have a small yard and its fine for me to take up the space but for resale, it might be looked down apon that most of the yard is water. LOL

I see that some of you went raised and others went dug in and I wanted to see pros and cons and weigh the two options against eachother. I feel that if I cant make it look like the pond was there before I was, then make it look like I went to the store and bought it!!!

I was planning on going 12' long by 6' wide and 3' deep

I know that the fish would have to come in for the winter and im cool with that. Even if i went dug in I would have brought them in.

 

[Roadrunner]

I agree with your opinion it will be safer for the kids I too have raised my pond for ths reason I always thought raised ponds were not natural looking but after we decided to raise ours we are now very happy. also we are not getting any younger so we adults can enjoy the fish (feeding time) without bending over (lol) take a look at my pics it might help with your decision
All the best John

 

[Roadrunner]

Not sure what your winters are like but anything 0ver 3ft 2 is safe for over wintering here in the uk ?

 

[hammer1320]

It gets cold. I just looked and it said the normal low is 17f. and the lowest ever was -22f.

 

[stroppy]

i have a raised pond and it suits me just fine but i did dig down just over a foot i have 3 feet above it helps keep the water from heating up too much in the summer and will hopefully be better for the winter (dont know yet as ponds first year )

 

[JustMe]

I've always had an in ground pond. I'm with you in that I enjoy the landscaping around the pond as much as the pond, and I strive to make it look like it belongs there. I'm in Missouri and as long as I go three foot my fish stay in the pond all winter. Safety is always a concern,.do what you think is best for your situation. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

 

[PS3]

i have a rised pond. that what my mom wanted and she got it lolfe

 

[hammer1320]

PS3 are you running a skimmer? If so, good job hiding it. Some more questions are how deep did you go? What is the base, cinder block or wood?

 

[bsr8129]

I have gone raised too for similar reasons. Just had a new born when i first built it. And will be moving in 2-3 years. I went 11x6x3.

 

[PS3]

no skimmer i have the skippy behinde the water fall .i have the pump in the pond with with a cage filter and mesh laundry bag around it. the mesh bag is working100 percent better then the sponge pre filter i had on it. the filter sucks up all the small stuff and i have a drian on the bottom of the skippy.that i empty once a week. and i just take out the pre filter with mesh bag once a month and wash it off. but i do have a hand skimmer but the pond is pretty clean. i also put pics in the picture section of the water and fish. if u want me to take
more let me know. the deepest part of the pond is 3 feet in the middle and the shallow is 2 feet. we made it with cemet blocks
with sand and caprt foam under the liner

 

[DrCase]

If you never had a raised pond..You wont believe how enjoyable it is to be that close to the fish ..Its a lot of fun to feed them and watch them clime on the edge for food
And it offers a lot of protection for the little ones..

 

[koikeepr]

DrCase, I think this sentiment is so true. I've previously just had floor level ponds and always felt I was standing on the fish towering over them. My new pond is semi-raised--so 18" above ground so I can easily sit (or lay) right at water level. The first time I sat on my pond edge, it was as exciting as if I was meeting my fish all over again. With them now swimming just inches away during a feeding, I remember squealing to my DH "wow, this is too cool!"

There is a different perspective for sure!

 

[koiguy1969]

well i know my raised pond is definately more condusive to interacting with my fish than my ground level pond.. it seems standing back up, after spending a while on my knees with them is getting harder each day. and i can honestly say preditors would deserve to eat my fish if they could get to them in my raised pond. its fairly well protected, oh, for those who dont know... its in my basement!

 

[hammer1320]

Yea I am gonna keep the fish in my basement over winter and that brings me to another question. Do I still feed the same amounts?

 

[koiguy1969]

i dont feed the same amounts..i feed less because the pond is smaller, so is the filter. but the fish load is the same if not more.