So I've been toying with the idea of putting in a pond, thanks to (believe it or not,) my HUSBAND!

Now, I don't know ANYthing about putting in a pond, but I've made a new friend here who happens to live close to me who can help me out. I found this on eBay, is it worth a darn?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ADME:L:RTQ:US:1

WOOOOOT!!

Well actually I know nothing much of ponds myself but just wanted to egg you on to get one Erika!!

Where are you going to put it?

I dont know anything about ponds either but I say go for it!!!

I'm going to put it in my yard Dells... ain't that where people normally put 'em?!

Actually I think I'll put it in my garden area next to the house. The stinkin' garden is so hard to control man!

Anyone else know if that kit is any good? Oh, and if I didn't want the pond to be 500 gallons, is it okay to cut the liner and make it smaller around and deeper?

Ok Smat A$$! Well I thought maybe digging a hole in the driveway would be cool too ya know?!

Acutally.......What I meant was like front yard, Back yard....silly! It will look nice next to the house I bet too.

Yeah, backyard....... I'll get my BAT-TREES charged here and I'll take a pic of where I want it.

Erika, that is a setup that Homedepot usually sells. It might sound cheap, but some of those things aren't all that great.

The pond liner for one - its a great liner, but what if you dig the hole deeper, and all of a sudden you don't have enough pond liner? Trust me, happens all the time. And since you are doing all the work, why not going a little bigger right away?... Sticking pieces of pondliner together is something I personally hate - there are always leaks, no matter how good you do it. Its always best to go with one big piece of pond liner, and maybe a big bigger so you have something to work with in case, you know, your hubby diggs up more than he planned...

The filter only pumps 325 gl/h, which isn't enough for a 500 gl pond. And it looks one of those in-pond filters, that rest on the bottom of the pond, and are a real pain to clean, simply because it steers up a mess when you try to take it out of the pond. The fountain is a nice thing though, it airates the water and is a pleasant feature just for the sound and relaxation of it.
If you have a HomeDepot close to you, hop into the garden section and see what they have there. Check out how exactly the filter works, and that should give you an idea if you really want it. Piping and hardware is cheap anyhow...

Okay, I'll have to do some looking around. I'm really confused as to what kind of filtration system ponds need, and I guess that's my main concern right now. I also think I'm going to "try" winterizing the fish in it, so I know it needs to be deep and I'll need a heater, but for now I'm just trying to figure out how to do the basic set ups for it. I don't want to go huge, I'm thinking about 200 gallons or less, and have plans and some commons.

Well, for around 200 gl that stuff on ebay would work, and the liner would probably be big enough.
As for filtration, the common thing is that the filter should pump the volume of the pond about 1-2 times an hour, so if you have a 200 gl pond, find a filter, and a pump for that filter, that does 400 gl an hour. My favorite filters are those green round ones, let me see if I can find one....

Found one!
Tetra PF 1 round barrel filter

They come in bigger sizes as well, and are wonderful filters. I like them because they have a small extra pipe going into the filter and airate the water as it comes in. They are also very easy to clean, have a load of bio media on the bottom, and on top of that sits a round sponge to collect all the bigger debris. There is still plenty of space left inside to add more bio media or 2-3 more of those round sponge materials.
All you need to to is find a pump that does 500 gl/h, but be careful, some of those Homedepot pumps are so darn strong, its amazing! Mine says 300something on the package, but that thing overflows my Tetra barrel every now and then...

Okay, I *think* I'm starting to understand ponds.

The filter is basically a "non-electrical" and depends on the pump to flow the water thru it, right? So I basically need a pump that's going to throw the right amount of water (say 2 times per hr) thru the filter, right? This is so weird from having fish tanks all my life!

200 gallons is going to freeze quick in a cold area. Even with a heater you may get into trouble, if that heater goes out over night. You may want to rethink leaving fish in a small pond over winter.

Scott

Well, that'd be fine with me actually. When it starts getting cold, I can just bring em back inside to their tank.

So am I right with how a filter/pump works then?

Would something like this be what I need?

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-TetraPond-Typhoon-...1QQcmdZViewItem

Yep, that thing would work, Erika. Just make sure whatever you buy mentions "for a fish pond". Some of those pumps are only made for water gardens, which means they clog easily as soon as they have to deal with big clumps of fish waste. We learned that the hard way with a $200 pump....

Yikes. Hopefully you sold it on eBay and recoup'd some of that cost?!


THanks for the help Andrea, I've been stalking some 45 mm liners on eBay and I think that I'll just make my own "kit" instead of buying the ones that I've found. They just don't have the right equipment with em for fish!

No, haven't sold that pump, Erika, we use it now to do water changes on the ponds. At least its good for something...
45 mm liners are the best, and some of them are made of recycled tire material or something. Very robust, yet easy to handle. Just put an old carpet or something soft underneath as a buffer, just to be safe...

OH yes, we have plenty of old carpet in the loft in the garage. At least I know it'll come in handy for something.

I've been looking at filters tonight too........ I think I'mma end up going with one of those Tetra ones that you suggested. They have a prefilter too, and I think that's pretty nifty.

So what's the latest on the Pond?Are you definately going for it or what?

I think so. It's just a matter of time and money right now though. I want to find a liner cheap enough, and that's been my main problem so far. No one sells them locally for anything I want to pay, LOL.

I'll have to come down there and check that baby out Erika-Heck I'll come down there and you can put me to work even! haha, I need something to do.....

Might be a really dumb suggestion, But is there any way you could use that black plastic stuff that you use for landscaping around your house?, Ya know like what's under rocks? Just thought it'd be cheaper than a liner.

The black liner used in landscaping wouldnt work, lol. It has a tad bit of a tendancy to be extremely porous. Its made primarily to block weeds from comming up but it still lets water down and through. U may be able to use it for a type of "carpeting" to put under the liner though.

Good Luck

Yeah, I had someone locally tell me that it was ok to use the thick blue tarps too. I just think I'd rather get something that I kNOW is going to work and hold up.

Ok, Scratch that idea.... I figured it would be a no go after yesterday while I was out pulling weeds and planting stuff, I saw that there was tiny holes in the stuff we have, It almost feels like fabric though.

I have another thought, Migt be a crap shoot too but the plastic that come's in rolls might work? Hubby buy's that stuff when he's gonna paint a car and plastic's everything off that he doesn't want paint to get on. Ya know what Im talking bout Erika??

After this I'm done with my silly idea's.....Promise!!!

I dunno about that stuff Dells.........

Jon brought up a good idea though....... what about pool liner? Id think that'd work, it's super thick. Maybe one of the pool stores will sell me some scrap piece?

Oh Yeah, One up for Jon! That sounds like it might work for ya...I was just browsing around looking at some site's. Dunno if you've seen most of these but I'll paste them here in case you haven't.


http://royalliner.com/


http://www.graystonecreations.com/flexible_pond_liners.htm

Here's just a site that brought up a lot of places that carry them...
http://www.shop.com/op/aprod-~Pond+Lining?...ing&sourceid=16

Erika, if you have pond maintenance companies in your area, or a local koi club, maybe you can talk somebody into giving you a small piece of the liner... Or have you tried Aquabid yet? I know, don't wonna encourage any "unneccessary" browsing on any fish related sites, but hey, if it can't be helped!!

Thanks for the links Dells, I'll check em out when i get home!!

Andrea; I've posted probably 4 "want" ads on the local auction sites and freecycle here, and I haven't gotten any response. As for a pond club, I dunno, I know John (Jfriend) knows of one around him, but local to me, I haven't a clue. I didn't even think about posting a "want" ad on aquabid! I've been stalking that site for something to bid on, but I haven't found anything.

NP BOB!

DUH, I just got my new Doctor's Foster and Smith catalog's today.....Did by chance already look at their supplies?

Here's their pond liner's, A tad on the pricey side though. (To me anyhow)


http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavR...?N=62728+113823

Wait a sec, look what I found locally...

http://qconlineauction.com/site/view_ad.php?v=46642

There ya go! It's the right price too....Bid on that sucka.

I wonder if if it's pond liner? I emailed the seller and asked how big it was and what it's original purpose was. It LOOKS like it though, doesn't it?!

Yeah, Totally-If I'm reading the Description right sure sounds like it would work for your pond.

OOOH, I'm getting excited. I think I'm going to end up making my own filtration system, thanks to Andrea's Rubbermaid idea. It's just going to suck cycling. I HATE cycling.

This is the one you want. The EDPM pond liners are awesome. I had a less expensive one break down. It will last a good 15 to 20 years.

Erika-Either Jason said he could get some plastic from work, Or to go to Home Depot and check there, But he can just take some from work, Free to him

I just showed him this thread...And that stuff you were looking at, He just mentioned they have that at work.

Just a backup in case you don't get that stuff your looking at. Just let me know.

Thanks Dells, I'm going to possibly bid on the one in the link. It's here in Moline, so I wouldn't have to pay for shipping. She's suppose to get back with me tomorrow and let me know how big it is. It IS pond liner too!

Sooooo, did you get it, Erika?

I bid on it once, and got outbid by "oldfart". The auction is over Sunday night, so I'mma hit the bidding hot and heavy right before it's up. You know how it works Andrea.

I won it. It's a 9 X 13 foot pond liner, new, and I won it for get this....... $11!!!!

Congrats on the pond liner, know the real works start to kick in lol! Good Luck with your Pond.

Thanks Gecko, I'll need it. Although the husband is willing to do the whole digging part himself!! Silly boy, he's going to regret that greatly. (CUz I'll be out there digging WITH him, and probably irritate him to no end, hehe)

That is such a steal! And good for you getting your hubby to do the work for you! I dug out our (approx) 2,000 gallon pond myself last summer. Not fun!

Keep us updated! I am looking forward to hearing all about it. And how many gallons does the 9 x 11 come out to?

I haven't a clue!!!! I don't think we'll make the pond itself that big, after the depth is counted in, I don't know how big the pond will be or the gallonage. I guess we'll have to figure that out once we've got it put together, HAHA. I'm waiting to buy my pump till I know what the gallonage is. I've got a small (300gph) pump that I'm going to put in there right away to start the cycle. I won't be putting fish in it till it's done cycling and I have the appropriate pump size for however many gallons it is. See? I have a sort of plan!

I've been working.You mean it's not done yet???Geez,I wanna see a pond!

LOL, it'd get done faster if you'd get off your lazy butt and help! 80 hour work week.... sheesh!!!