Hi everyone,

Well im thinking about making a pond but I barely have a yard. And I have a tiny tiny bit of room. I measured my little room and it was. Height - 3 ft and 1 in and with - 27 in. ( 2 ft and 3 in ) . Im going to make it above ground. I would like to make it 2 feet deep. I estimated the gallons online and it said it would be 45 gallons. Im going to do what my moms best friend did she has a 90 gallon above pond ( Very Nice ) with 13 Koi and she made a huge box made of wood. Put that black outliner of the pond ( i dont know the name ) and she filled the sides with dirt and plants. Then filled the pond. Its hard to picture but its nice. I was going to do the same. I have 3 inch comets. BUt the problem is how can I make this pond not expensive because I dont need a filter that goes up to 1000 gallons. Only like a pond filter for 50. Do they even make that?

Thank You
Stephanie

you can get small pond filters, have a look round at your lfs.

All of your goldfish will love you so much for the pond

I looked everywhere . I can not find a small cheap filter. The cheapest was $50. Plus 20 dollars for the refills. Can I use a rubbermaid as a pond. Of course ill make it look nice. But is plastic good for a pond ?

i *think* you can use them? i like someone to confimr it thou


and - thinking out loud here - if you made 100% certain the wires were protected & waterproofed, couldn't you use a aquarium filter for a small pond?

just a thought... would like someone to confirm that too

I thought about the rubbermaid but dont I need a heater ? And wouldnt that melt the plastic ? Also I heard because Im using such a small pond that I can use a pump instead of a filter. What is a pump ?

Thanks for the help !

Frist 13 koi in 90 gallons? You should tell your mothers friend that is 13 too many koi in there. I have 4,000 gallons with 17 koi and I am overstocked by 1 fish. Please remember, koi are dirty more so than goldfish. You should have a min. of 250 gallons for each koi. Also a koi can easily grow to 24 inches and some will grow to 36 inches.

I am sure that your moms friend has a beautiful pond, but koi aren't for a small area.

You can make your own filter, but will have to buy the pump. The best filters are the home made ones anyhow. They generally provide better biological filtration and IMHO much easier to maintain. Since you are looking at doing a small pond what you can do is get a submersable pump to put in the bottom of your pond and run a hose to a rubber made container, have the water come up from the bottom so it is forced through the filter media you choose. I would get some filter matts or something like it plus you can get some filter media fairly cheap. You'll want to fix the rubber made container so that it will spill over into your pond, this will help oxygenate your water while giving you a nice water fall. Make sure that you at least cycle your water once per hour.


Here is a link on how to make a sponge filter

http://koivet.com/html/articles/articles_d...name=Filtration

here is a link on how to make a barrel filter, remember that this article was writen with a large pond in mind. You certainly can make a filter like this for your small pond on a smaller scale.

http://koivet.com/html/articles/articles_d...name=Filtration

They sale different types interesting homemade filtration media on ebay. One that I thought would work great is pvc pipe shavings. This is something someone could make but I'd say it'd be time consuming. For the size of filter you need it probably wouldn't take but a couple of hours? Would provide a lot of area for your good bacteria to grow!


Another great resource for the DYI ponder is Roark's Experimental Puddle. They have lots of stuff that could help you on your way.

http://www.click2roark.com/cgi-win/weborde...document=index2


Please keep us posted on your progress. Oh, and remember, pictures get a GREAT response, we LOVE them.

Scott

Hi,

I have two ponds right now. One is very very small. just a very small 20 gallon with one common goldie, and then I have a 650+ gallon pond, not positive on the exact gallons, but I know its more then 650. ANYHOW... with my 20 gallon one, I have an internal filter I got for $20 bucks. I found it at walmart. LOL.. great find. Im pretty pleased with it. And I have a nice water feature on it to oxygenat the water. As for the bigger pond, I have a filter that sits on the bottom of the pond, and it has a tube on it that leads up to my water feature, and then it spills back into the pond with the filtered water. Works our very nicely. I found that filter at Home Depot for $80, which would be too big for the type of pond your looking to make. I would look around, and look online. I agree with Scott with trying to make your own. They are much better, and alot cheaper!

I have 3 koi in my 650+ pond.. I didnt plan on putting anymore in... Does that seem like too much?? Ive never had koi myself before, but BOY do they grow fast. Ive had them not even a month I think.. maybe just about a month... and one of them like tripled in size!!!! Hes huge! He was 3 to 4 inches when I bought him, and now hes like at least 8 inches. HUGE... the others are catching up with him though!!!

TY guys for the help. I think making my own filter would be great but I think to make sure i got it right and stuff ill buy my own.

I have a few questions about ponds.

- because I a, going to make a tiny pond . Can I just use a pump and nothing else. Like no filter just a pump. What does a pump do. I saw on Home Depo website .

Beckett
Small Submersible 60 gph. Fountain Pump


For small indoor & outdoor fountains. Adjustable flow control. Pumps 60 gph. at 1 ft. height. Maximum lift is 2.5 ft. 115V pump with 6 ft. cord. UL & CSA approved. Connects to 1/2 in. ID tubing.

I tryed to give u the webpage but it leads u to the main and from there u have to search for it.


Is that it ?

Please can u tell me what is required for a pond. Do I need a heater for goldies ? I heard I dont .

Thank You, Stephanie

I'm pretty sure you don't need a heater for goldfish, if that answers your question.

Well the pump your speaking of only pumps water say into a tube that leads to a water feature. it isnt a filter though. For a filter, you need a pump and the filter piece. I know its confusing. The pump in no way filters the water. The one I bought at home depot (my filter for my bigger pond) is the filter and pump in one. Works great. The pump is inside the filter piece.

Good Luck, I hope I answered your question.

Walmart has a filter for $20 and there are a few great ideas in the DIY forum .

Akk0415 is right. i got my internal filter at wallies world for $20. great deal!

If you are going to have fish in the pond you should have BOTH a pump and filter. Pump circulates the water and oxygenates it, filter gets all the bad out and makes good (basically). If you opt to NOT have filter and you want fish you are going to have to change water more frequently with larger water changes. With a smaller pond this really shouldn't be much of a problem, but you certainly wouldn't want to forget.

Here is a good way of looking at this.
1. (Fish in pond no pump no filter) You in a room with someone smoking without vintalation you wouldn't like it.

2. (Fish in pond with pump only) You in a room with the smoker with a celling fan which draws the smoke up it'd be a little better but still it'd suck.

3. (Fish in pond with pump and filter) You in this same room with the smoker with some windows opened and a fan pulling the smoke out of the room you'd be much happier!


Scott

I like the idea with the smoking . Now I get it. Well i searched Home Depo even more and I found this .Which is PERFECT . Agian sry but when i put the web page here it goes to the main page ... soo heres what it says....

SafePond
SafePond Low Voltage Pond Kit

--- Low Voltage Pond Kit comes complete with PVC liner, heavy duty submersible pump with large bio-filter, two fountain heads and three extension tubes. Also includes Low voltage transformer and 25 feet of low voltage wire included. Everything you need for your pond. Just add fish and plants.

Price: $99.00/ea
Special Price: $79.00/ea

Well ??? I thought it was great.

It looks like a great pond. 270 gallons, which is larger than what you originally planned, I think that is a plus. Always the bigger the better with ponds IMHO. It comes with a bio filter, you need to call them and find out if the bio filter comes with the bio media. Some filters don't come with the media that is sold seperatly (then again some do come with it). You also will want to call the number that they give for the warrantee. Check and find out what the warrantee is, you may need it. Some pumps don't last the season, some do. You want to make sure your covered. I've had two only last 3 months and they were done. It was nice to have a warrantee to cover that.

It really looks like a nice deal, your goldies will like the room!


Scott

i was looking this over again and certainly it is a good deal but the low voltage transformer bothers me. You might ask someone about that. I don't know anything about it but if this comes with a transformer your going to have to find a place for it out of the elements, I think? Maybe someone here has some expereince with this? and if not find someone that does, this may be a draw back I don't know.

Scott

I dont know what the low votage thing is either. But me and my dad are going to check it out when I get the money. We'll goto Home Depo and ask =] But can that thing be TO big ? I mean I want a tiny pond. OR it doesnt matter ?

Thanks Guys.... oo and thanks for getting the pic I couldnt put that on here for some reason.

I agree with Scott on most things. Deffinetly need a filter on that. A pond with no filter is like swimming in the toilet after someone has taken a pooh.....

The rule of thumb for koi is 250 gl's min. each. Smaller ponds are much better suited for goldies such as comets, shebunkin,Wakins. There's another one or two I think that get fair sized, Tosanaba or something like that.

Are you guys thinking of a CFI?

Whats a CFI ?

when you're done will you promise us pictures?

Its the electrical plug in used for pumps uv lights etc. I'm not a electrician, so can't really explain how they work but they are beneficial as they are set up to stop electrical kick backs etc.

I'll show u guys pic BUt i dont have anything.... earning my money first =] What ever the place says I need I'll get... I'll know if there trying to take advantage of me to keep buying... Then I just wont buy it .... Well ill keep you guys in touch

Guess what ! yesturday I went to a flie market with my parents and i saw this nice necklace . It was the flip flop ones and it was $6. Now i been saving up for my pond . I was like should i ? So then i kept walking and saw the same ones in differnt colors 2 for 5 . I was like ok I really want them. So me and my friend bought 2 each. My friend paid with a 20 and I gave my 5 but the lady was like no u paid. I was like no i didnt . She goes I gave her ( my friend ) 15 dollars back I was like yea I have to give you 5 for mine. She said I owed my firend 2.50. I dont get it. So walked away. I was like ok ?!? I got 2 free necklaces =] . Then I wanted a gyro. It was $5. My mom said u have money U pay. I was like well then im not getting it. Then my moms friend was like i want one to Ill get it for u I was like Great ! Thanks. So I would of spect 10 dollars and I got it for free =] . But thats not the end of it! Well I had 35 dollars saved up. The thing is 80 plus tax. I didnt even know if thats going to fit my pond to be. It looks to big but if it fits I want to buy it so Ill need the money. but anyway I searched the house of coins and got 34 dollars ! I have a total of 69 dollars. My mom is kinda mad because it was mostly HER coins but she said what ever. Now my parents know im so close to getting it they keep saying negative things about the pond. .
But I still have alot to buy and save. I hope the sale keeps going on so it dont reach 100 agian . that would be sooo uncool. I was going to take pics of my 1 eye fish and my pond area but my dad said his camera is dead. Yea Right.
Yep thats my up to date story.

You would not believe what happend. I went to the webpage to look at it and i saw a button to see the size of the things in the pond. And its TOO biG! My dad was like then ur not getting a pond . I was like no not THAT pond hes liek yea w/e. Im sooo mad. Its 4 in height and 6 ft with. oo im soo bad.......