Self-Sustained & Low Maintance Pond?

[aprime11b]

Hello, I am planning to build a pond in our new houses backyard, as I am trying to make it a tropical paradise... I would like it to be a self-sustained and low maintance pond. I live in central FL so it is warm and rains a lot.

Can I please get tips/suggestions/ideas on how to do this?

I keep aquariums so I would imagine it should be a decent size with a few fish only with lots of live plants. I do not plan on doing a filter... I would like a waterfall for it and may add some sort of fountain or water feature in the middle of the pond.

I was thinking of making the pond in the range of 5-7'Lx5'7'Wx2-3'D... not sure how many gallons that range is, but not super huge but decent size.

Like I said, key words are self sustained and low maintance.

Bring it on, thanks for your help.

 

[sissy]

welcome and plants will help you do that .Shade and sun combo .Helps plants grow but keeps algae down .I have plants growing in my filters and grasses growing in my pond .Bridge gives it shade and also made my own shade sails for over the pond .But nothing is easy at first ,it takes time for the pond to become established .It has taken me 9 years to get where I am .This forum helped a lot in helping me figure it all out .I was fighting all the way before I joined here .I listened I read and figured out which and what would work for me .Most times filters of some sort are needed fish have lots of babies .

 

[gardengimp]

Another central florida'er! Welcome! Next thing you know we can organize our very own pond tours.

I have a fountain in the center of my pond and am convinced it does a lot of filtration. A trickle tower in the middle will also do a lot of filtration.

The easiest way to have a low maintenance pond is to incorporate a large bog. Look in the how to section for addy1's post on how to build a bog. Plus, once it is going it is really beautiful.

I started with the same intention as you, but I am not convinced zero filtration is sustainable. I am having pretty good success with minimal filtration.

 

[Jason]

FLORIDA! lol, Welcome, I had a 250 Gallon Pond (My Sig Pics) with only a Prefilter on the pump for awhile and it worked pretty good, but im am now building a 450 gallon pond so i bought an actual filter for it since I will have a higher fish count as well. I also put Lava rock in the Fountain Bed that fills and overflowed into the pond itself and that helped a lot also with filtration. :goldfish:

 

[sissy]

I have used lava rock in my filters for around 6 years now and soak it clean it and then soak it in peroxide and water and then use it and it works great .It may be heavy but worth the weight of it .I put plants in my filters and have had great looking water since .Also grasses in your pond work great at cleaning the water too .

 

[j.w]

aprime11b
I don't have a filter right now in my 2500 gal pond of goldfish and plants. I do have a waterfall w/ a reservoir in it that I have used as a filter before. I have my submersible pump sitting in a big plastic pot that has a piece of fiber matting on the bottom so no debris can enter and also one covering the top above the pump. As long as the falls are still running nicely I know that it's not clogged too much on the matting. Haven't had to pull it out yet and it's been that way for a year now. I just use a net sometimes to scoop out the bottom of the pond if too much gunk accumulates. Never seems like much does tho. Sometimes I will place a plastic tub w/ holes in it filled w/ upholstery batting under the waterfall to collect fine particles of gunk floating in the water. Works great but you have to change out the batting when dirty and then replace again and again till you have the clarity you like. I just hose off the dirty and have another clean piece ready to replace the dirty one.

 

[aprime11b]

Well thanks everyone. I am just south of Daytona on the beach. So my main intentions is to make a tropical looking pond with a few fish only. So say I have no fish, no filter is required then right? I will look into bog but like i said i dont want to have to worry about it like my sw aquarium. Any.others tips for the pond and how to make a waterfall. Any good how tos to make a pond

 

[shakaho]

Why is it that you don't want a filter? Even with just plants a filter reduces your maintenance. What kind of fish are you thinking about and how many is "a few?"

 

[sissy]

I would do like jw then it may be hard to clean but as long as you don't have lots of fish and wastes it would work fine .Lava rock in a bucket would be some what hard to see .

 

[Mucky_Waters]

There are two main kinds of filters uses in ponds, water gardens, etc... Biological, and mechanical.
As an aquarium enthusiast you probably already know the difference. The very least you'll need in a pond is some sort of rudimentary mechanical filter to prevent debris and fish from being sucked into the pump inlet.
To some degree biological filtering will take care of itself as beneficial bacteria will grow on all surfaces on in the pond, and plants will also help filter the water. It won't be very complicated to get lush plant growth, the long term survive-ability of fish in a "natural" pond like that is a little more complicated and depends on a lot of factors, but I wouldn't hold back in throwing a few goldfish in a pond like that. What's the worse that could happen?

 

[sissy]

FLOATING FISH . :sad:

 

[j.w]

So guess I really do have a filter if you count that pot w/ the flat media on the bottom and top protecting the pump from debris getting in. If that's the case then guess you gotta at least have something like that so your pump doesn't clog or suck in little fish.

 

[aprime11b]

I would like 1-2 koi or 1 florida gar or 5 goldfish. Im open to filtration ideas but what is the easiest.to make.and.not expensive. Thanks

 

[sissy]

A tote and a sump pump hose or jw in the pond pump in a flower pot or bucket .I the winter I had mine set up like this and had lava rock on top of the pump inside the planter .
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[sissy]

That is when I still had the rocks or at least some of them in the pond .I used the big ones to hold the bucket off the bottom of the pond .It worked pretty good as you can see to keep the pond clean .I think that is how jw has hers .Course filter media in helps .