TheFishGuys Goldfish Pond Build.

[TheFishGuy]

my pumps have never been on the bottom . They are tied to a pipe across the middle of the pond . I pull them every 2 months and spray the cage around the pump with my jet nozzle on my hose. left pump goes to right side filter and right pump goes to left side filter . I tie them to the pipe I can pull them towards me so I can clean them .Part of the hose from each pump goes to a pipe on the bottom of the pond with holes drilled in them to allow some of the water to aerate and clean the bottom of the pond and the rest goes to the filters

I am thinking I probably need to find a way to raise my pump off the bottom...

 

[brokensword]

I am thinking I probably need to find a way to raise my pump off the bottom...

see? I don't know WhY they say 'wisom is wasted on the young'! heh heh

 

[TheFishGuy]

I know its still winter...... but I have been thinking, my pond has 3 major problems:

1. I absolutely hate the shape, it looks so man made

2. there is no real water "feature" of any sort

3. the algae is TERRIBLE!

I think we all know there is only one thing that could solve all 3 of these in one foul swoop, a bog! I have kind of a "bog" area, but it really isnt doing anything, and after a full season of pulling algae out of the pond, the parents are on board too!

below are a couple initial designs, what do you guys think? ( I also attached an empty picture of the area I have to work with, please give me ideas! )

I should also note that I can pull out as much fence as I need, and that little bush can also go.

the realistic idea.... I know, to small and no fun.

the "fix the shape of the pond" idea.

the "why the hell do you have such a big bog" idea

an empty picture, feel free to add your ideas!

Note: the rocks for a waterfall are in green, and the stream of water I would want is in blue, just to give a general idea for the type of water feature I would add.

 

[combatwombat]

Hard to tell the full shape of the pond w/ snow around. Doesn't look bad to me at all. Can't go wrong with a bog, though. Only suggestion is to make the main excavation rectangular to simplify plumbing (and matrix blocks if doing an aquascape style filter). If you want more shape to the bog, dig a shelf around the edge.

 

[UkiahTheTurtle]

WOW your pond looks great!! wish my Dad would let me make a in ground pound but I’m just stuck with a tiny above ground pond.

 

[addy1]

I like #2 picture and if you stick with pea gravel bog only (like mine) you can make it any shape you want. The fancier bogs with aquablocks etc need straight walls etc.

That will be a really neat pond!

 

[sissy]

I could care less about manmade looking ponds , fish health is more important and ways to view the pond is even more important . But understand some people really like natural looking ponds also .Winter pics of ponds always look rather dull and uninteresting . My hubby likes looking down on the pond from the front porch while we sit and have coffee and just talk and watch the deer roam around our yard . Funny deer babies always come up close and you hear them say maaaaa. The deer are so comfortable here I can mow and they will just stand there and watch .

 

[TheFishGuy]

Hard to tell the full shape of the pond w/ snow around. Doesn't look bad to me at all. Can't go wrong with a bog, though. Only suggestion is to make the main excavation rectangular to simplify plumbing (and matrix blocks if doing an aquascape style filter). If you want more shape to the bog, dig a shelf around the edge.

I will be going with the pvc style bog, but I like the shelf idea, I hadn’t even thought of the plumbing being a challenge!

 

[TheFishGuy]

WOW your pond looks great!! wish my Dad would let me make a in ground pound but I’m just stuck with a tiny above ground pond.

Thanks! It has taken many for them to let me do something of this size.

 

[TheFishGuy]

I like #2 picture and if you stick with pea gravel bog only (like mine) you can make it any shape you want. The fancier bogs with aquablocks etc need straight walls etc.

That will be a really neat pond!

That one is what I am leaning towards too! ( it would also allow for a further pond extension down the line )

I will be going with pea gravel and pvc, as aqua blocks are… a little overpriced in my mind.

 

[TheFishGuy]

I could care less about manmade looking ponds , fish health is more important and ways to view the pond is even more important . But understand some people really like natural looking ponds also .Winter pics of ponds always look rather dull and uninteresting . My hubby likes looking down on the pond from the front porch while we sit and have coffee and just talk and watch the deer roam around our yard . Funny deer babies always come up close and you hear them say maaaaa. The deer are so comfortable here I can mow and they will just stand there and watch .

We get deer in occasion and they always enjoy the pond!

 

[Mmathis]

WOW your pond looks great!! wish my Dad would let me make a in ground pound but I’m just stuck with a tiny above ground pond.

You are off to a great start, though! Learn about the hobby now, and then when the time comes to go bigger, you’ll have a solid background.

 

[addy1]

I will be going with pea gravel and pvc,

That is all mine is 11 years in still running fine, zero cleaning. It is big and deep, 2.5 feet.

 

[sissy]

I hate that I had to go bigger because of my 2 koi . If not for them I would not have had to do all this extra work . Pond is now over 5 thousand gallons and the low side is 4 1/2 feet deep and high side is just over 3 feet deep and waterfall pond after rebuilding it in Dec,. is now just over a foot deep with 4 spitters I made . The more aeration will help the pond more this summer stay cleaner. The pond got bigger by it's self as the underground pipe that takes water from my gutter caved in and I had to dig a new ditch and run a new under ground pipe . Not sure what happen because old pipe was a hard drain pipe . But I can see where the liner moved into that area along side the pond . I also noticed that the extra liner that went over the top of the pond got shorter by around 2 feet . I had marked the liner with a wax marker . I looked when it was warmer this past weekend . At least it slid down and did not damage the liner .I just hope whatever happened will not rip the liner or cut into it . I had sand all around the pipe

 

[GBBUDD]

use a milk crate and place a couple bricks in it