Setting up a shallow pond for goldfish

Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Messages
12
Reaction score
5
Country
United States
Hey folks,

Dipping my toes (ha!) into the world of ponds, still a newbie.

We recently added a rain curtain water feature in our back yard that looks like this:
IMG_20170415_114043.jpg


So it's a rain curtain and underneath the rain curtain is a pond about 3 feet wide, 6 feet across, but only 10 inches deep.

Currently I have a TotalPond 1300GPH pump + UVC pushing the water up the 6 feet to the rain curtain.

I'd like to build a setup that allows me to keep a small number of small goldfish in the pond underneath.

I've been having trying to work out a setup that accomplishes this, because 10 inches is pretty shallow and most products are designed for greater depths.

I think what I need is:

- A pump with an intake (the above pump doesn't).
- A surface skimmer to get rid of leaves etc that fall in.
- A mechanical and biological filter.

How would you tackle this? How you would build a goldfish-friendly setup with these constrains? Also, will the rain curtain itself cause any issues?
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
You could get a pump with a built in filter and instead of a skimmer you can get a net to pull stuff out and instead of goldfish since the breed to much ,go with fat fantails .What are your winters like .The fat fantails have never had babies for me and been in the pond since 2004 .I call them butt wigglers because they wiggle their butt to swim and so cute and can be very friendly
pics on durecell back up 609.JPG
pics on durecell back up 599.JPG
 

Meyer Jordan

Tadpole
Joined
Oct 10, 2014
Messages
7,177
Reaction score
5,674
Location
Pensacola, Florida
Hardiness Zone
9a
Country
United States
I completely agree with @MitchM. !0 inches is entirely too shallow for keeping any type (specie) of fish. If you live in the Northern latitudes the pond will completely freeze during the Winter months. If in the Southern latitudes, the pond will become too hot to safely keep any fish.
 
Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Messages
12
Reaction score
5
Country
United States
Thanks for the feedback MitchM and Meyer! I'm in Northern California, so the weather is pretty nice here.

What's the minimum depth you would recommend?
 
Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Messages
12
Reaction score
5
Country
United States
Thanks again! Are there any fish that you think could live in such an environment?
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,092
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
In the peak of the Summer months, any fish will cook in 10" of water unless ample shade is provided.
I was wondering if that constant fall of water, assuming it is always on, would keep the water cool enough for some small fish.
 
Joined
Oct 28, 2013
Messages
13,075
Reaction score
13,395
Location
Northern IL
Showcase(s):
1
I was wondering if that constant fall of water, assuming it is always on, would keep the water cool enough for some small fish.

I can't imagine it would. Plus I don't know how fish would feel about water constantly falling on their heads with no where to go to get away from it.
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2010
Messages
4,069
Reaction score
4,010
Location
Chicago Area
Hardiness Zone
5b
Country
United States
Why don't you just remove some of the rocks and let a fish liner go out 2-3 feet in each direction from your water feature? This way could go under the waterfall to go from side to side but they don't have to. Generally the more space fish have the happier they are!
 
Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Messages
12
Reaction score
5
Country
United States
So, quick update.

I decided to take the plunge and get 5 1.5" comets to see how they behave (talked to another fish owner who said I should try and that he thinks there might not be any issues).

They seem to like the environment OK. The water feature doesn't seem to bother them much, other than -- weirdly -- it providing camouflage from predators -- I can't see them unless I turn the water feature off.

Also discovered I do have mosquitofish after all ;-). Thought they had all died, just turns out it's impossible to see the mosquitofish with the water feature running and there's _plenty_ of them.

Temperature variation does seem like it could be an issue. Today's weather ranged from 50F to 80F, with the temperature of the 100 gallon pond varying from 53F to 70F. So it does appear the water feature provides some cooling, but that's a double edged sword.

Considering putting a 300W aquarium heater in there to help with that.
 
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
7,046
Reaction score
7,233
Location
Water Valley, Alberta
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
2a
Country
Canada
I wouldn't advise using a heater.
Heat loss through evaporation will exceed the heat that a heater puts out.
 
Last edited:

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,783
Messages
508,600
Members
13,043
Latest member
cisifom

Latest Threads

Top