I am really yearning for a pond. I have contemplated for years and remained "chickened out" for this reason or that. Have not been able to make up my mind about filtration, design, size, etc. I have researched *a lot*. We also have racoons, foxes and heron in the area but I don't think they would be an issue for what I have in mind.

I think what I would like to do is build a partially above ground pond from railroad ties, with a center depth of 3'. I'm thinking roughly 1000 gallons, which would just fit in a corner garden next to my patio, that is shaded by the house for most of the day. I've decided I have to have a bottom drain and want to try the Aquadyne bead filter all the Koi people rave about. There is one huge tree in the back yard but the leaves tend to blow in the opposite direction of the house [windy hill]. I'm going to have to have some electrical work done. Anyway, I think it's time to "just do it".

CK

Hi Cometkeeper. I think a pond would be wonderful. Growing up we had a spring-fed pond with large, healthy goldfish, and I really enjoyed them. I am going to be building a pond this year as well, and will be interested in your trials and tribulations.

One thing that has been my fear is pond freezing in winter. Especially with part of your pond above-ground, this may be a concern as well. One thing that I found some people use is a "solar pond cover" along with heater and bubbler. It gives kind of a greenhouse effect, and keeps temps more level.

Good luck!

Thanks, Lantern! We don't really have to worry about freezing too much, here. But those floating heaters to help make sure of that are definitely a good idea. I want the pond about 50/50 above and in the ground. Tall enough to hopefully keep snakes out and conceal most of the plumbing. It's going to be about 2 feet from the corner of an "L", surrounded by our house and patio.

The Aquadyne filters are not pretty, so am going to put that in the corner, pretty much out of site and figure out some way to conceal it the rest of the way.

I do want Water Hyacinth and as they are not winter hardy in W. Tennessee, will have to face finding more and replacing them, yearly. That's a bummer, but only a minor one.

Looking forward to hearing all about your adventures in pond building! maybe we'll figure this out, together. Way glad Andrea is here, too.

CK

It sounds like you have an ideal place for your pond, shaded but not by trees. Near the patio so you can enjoy it, and somewhat protected by the house.

We're probably going to have a pond of about the same number of gallons, but I can't go deeper than 2 feet without a fence. I do wonder, though, about your idea of having some of it above ground -- and in the winter, if I used insulation around the part that is above ground??? I'll have to see what the "swimming pool" codes say about that. I'd really like to go deeper than 2 feet.

You say you've been doing a lot of research, and I'd be interested in what you've come up with. I've been on forums at www.koiphen.com and www.aquascapeinc.com and maybe you can suggest other places you like.

I spent a lot of time on "rocks or no rocks" issue, and I may go with no rocks, but lots of potted plants, including water lilies. I'm still trying to get my arms around plumbing. The kio people have a lot to say about that, and many of them have huge, complicated ponds. They all say bottom drains are very good, though I'm not sure we're up to that level of work. So it goes with the planning.

BTW - everybody goes by nicknames here - is Andrea somebody I've run across on the forum before?

- "LanternFish"

LanternFish,

Andrea is Ranchugirl the Director of this section of the message board and one of KoKo's Moderators. She is very knowledgeable about ponds and goldfish in general. Like a walking, talking, smiling encyclopedia. Also an effective writer, she is able to explain things in total layman's terms. She's also generous with her time in the forums. Not sure what else she could be. So, we're very fortunate to have her.

A lot of my research has been done with local pond owners and area pond supply stores. Ponds are very, very popular in Tennessee. Please correct me if I'm wrong, anyone. The fasmed "PondDoc, is loacted in Nashville and does lots of seminars both locally and all over the country. At one of the pond stores in South haven, MS, there is an elderly lady working there who told me she stopped in one day to ask about how to build a pond. She said she went back so many times and the people were so helpful, she fell in love with the place and eventually applied for a job there. She's still there. She is wonderfully helpful. One thing I love about the store in South Haven, is there are several different ponds set up, showing you how it can be done. Really, really cool. I love to go and hang out there. As I am off on Fridays, I can go when most people are at work, am usually the only customer and can pick their brains and spend lots and lots of time, just looking. Look for places like that if you have them, locally.

There are a couple of area pond clubs, one of which I plan to join in March when they have their next seminars. There is no website or message board I have frequented, lately. I have a hard time visualizing how the plumbing, etc. is done unless I can actually "see" it. I am going to check out the two sites you mentioned. e.

I do know I am hiring a plumber for part of the pond construction! Since my pond is going to be "sqaure" in configuration, I am going to have the inlets from the pumps positioned as Andra mentioned in a previous post, so that there is a cyclone effect in the pond and debris is swept to the center, bottom drain. A local Koi breeder/distributor also told me to have a small, round, floating skimmer attached to the center drain. Will have to go back to my notes to see how that is configurated.

LanternFish,

You mentioned rock bottoms or bare bottoms. I think I am going to go with the bare bottom approach. My goldfish aquariums and tub are currently "nearly" bare with a few, ornamental rocks scattered here and there. Even with just a few rocks, I find that they trap "junk". One thing I did notice though, is a bare-bottom tank or tub takes longer to cycle. Coming from African Cichlids where we used lots and lots of gravel and crushed coral, going "bare" was a daunting concept. But I actually prefer my aquariums "bare" or nearly so, now. I do have pieces of driftwood with Anubias and also some Asian decor in the tanks.

I'm excited about having water hyacinth. I know they grow almost like parasires, but that's no problem. I have a compost "heap" for my rose garden and excess water hyachinth will be welcome, there. Lilies are nice, too. I also like Andreas ideas RE: water-loving houseplants, such as the ones she puts in her ponds. of course, she's in GA and probably has a longer "outdoor" season than we have in TN. The water hyacinth, I gotta have.

CK

Here are my thoughts on having a "bare bottom" pond.

First, they say that rocks do protect ultraviolet light from affecting the liner by shading it. My thought is that I will have water lilies and other plants, so maybe that will be somewhat mitigated.

Also, I am thinking of coming up with some sort of plastic very open basket-type container, or maybe even onion bags, filled with filter medium (the kind we use in aquariums that is little rock-like things) and place them aesthetically in the pond - maybe tucked in between plant pots, by the waterfall, etc. The basket filled with filter medium will be better for growing beneficial bacteria than plain rocks scattered on the bottom would be - and the baskets can be taken out, and cleaned as needed. Am I nuts for this idea?

I currently have a 6-gallon fishless-cycled tank going where I am growing the beneficial bacteria. I'm a true believer in starting with live bacteria - why not in a pond, too?

As for plants - well, I'm not really a fish person (though I'm trying really hard) but do keep a garden, and the "garden pond" was really the thing that got this project started. Only thing I do have to consider is that we do have a natural lake across the street, and I don't want invasives to get over there. One plant I'm really interested in getting is a lotus. Must look into water hyacinth. Anything that dies back every year would not be as much of a concern for being invasive here up north.

Cometkeeper you are long the right line of thought. Sounds like it will be a good set up. The only thing I would consider adding (if you aren't already) is a settlement tank that the bottom drain gravity feeds to. I am always amazed at how much stuff stays in the tank. Another good addition is a microscreen which can be made or purchased. It has kept tons of string algae from going into my filtration (and having to be cleaned out) as well as all kinds of other stuff. It's also a safe place for baby fish to ride to and easier to get them out. Even though you think the leaves will not get into the pond I would still consider a skimmer in the filtration. Leaves and dust and other foreign objects seem to have ways of getting into the pond.

For winter I would consider a greenhouse/hoop type cover over the pond. Easy to attach to the sides of the pond with the RR ties. In your milder climate it would keep the water much warmer and keep unwanted visitors out in the time of year when we aren't out there as much.

A few sheets of foam insulation inside the above ground parts of the pond will help too and down to frostline for your area. I wish I had added some to my pond when I put it in.

I will be addding a goldie pond/watergarden this year and know your excitement!

Mary
water keeper of 13,000 gallon pond...

Thank you so much, Mary. If you don't mind directing me to someplace where I can learn more about the settlement tank as I have never heard of that. It sounds like an awesome idea!

Also, tell me more about the microscreen. Where is it placed?

Your ideas about the mini-greenhouse are priceless. I will do just that!

And finally, I share your love for Wakin. Am just crazy about them. There will be nothing in the pond but Wakin.

CK

will post more info later..My NEW wakins JUST came to the door and I have to get them out in their new home!

ok wakins are in the pool and happily swimming around.

If you want to read a LOT of threads on pond builds of all kinds and sizes..and lots of DIY stuff for filters etc go to Koiphen.. not sure if it's allowed to post other forums, but it is a primarily koi board. It has loads of information and helpful people.

Hey I have a tri-color wakin too! Did you get yours from Tommy's auction?

I also added some pics of my pond the the filtration including pictures of what a settlement tank is. They need to be sized properly for the flow through them so that it wil allow the heavy solids to settle out of the water column..less gunk in the water before the filters, the better job the filters can do and the less they need cleaning! The string algae that the settlement and microscreens prevents from getting into my filters is amazing.

Mary,

Hi! As far as I'm concerned, we're friends already. I LOVE Wakin. I got a [predom. blue] Calico from Tommy's auction, but the tri was never on the auction. I also have a new, predominantly orange, Calico male coming from Tommy [pic, below]. Can hardly wait.

I have a juvie, self-colord red metallic female that I would eventually like to breed to this new Calico male. Thus my interest in the pond to grow out the babies. Weirdest story - she came from W**-***T in a tankful of "imports". She looked like a flower in a bed of weeds. She's every bit as beautiful as any I have gotten from Tung Hoi, by way of Tommy. But she's a plain ole self-colored metallic like on the Bristol Aquarists Website. She's that orange, too. Like a Tequila Sunrise.

Ceasar, in my signature, is from Tommy. I have other 50/50's in a friend's pond, waiting for me to get off my can and build my own.

I am going to check out Koiphen. I see it mentioned, repeatedly in old posts. Must be a grrreat site.

Please post any pics you have of your beauties. I'd love to see them. Congrat's on your new additions.

Thanks for posting and God Bless.

CK

Oh and Mary, where did you post the photos of your filtration? I missed that. Sorry.

CK

Also added this baby to my order. They'll arrive tomorrow AM.

CK

Oooh, are we talking wakin again?? Looks like to wakin lover have found each other...

Guys, posting links to a forum like Koiphen is always okay. Those are great guys over there, some of them I have met personally at koi shows. And if you ever stumble upon Jetman over there, he is a friend of mine and frequents Koko here and there.

CK, about your question regarding the settlement tank - that can be done very easy, and it depends on your setup. Some fish keepers just dedicate a spot in their filtration for that job, a spot that sits the lowest in their filter, preferably the first chamber, and all that does is, it collects the biggest debris, which settles to the ground, and from there it can be cleaned out frequently. The smaller particles will go over them and into the next chamber, where they will be catched by the appropriate filter media.
A friend of mine did a home made filter out of 3 compartments, made from concrete. Each compartment was about 2x2x2ft (huge, but his koi pond was gigantic!), and his first chamber was completely empty - no filter media, nothing. All that chamber did was collect the biggest debris and waste.

Now, my hubby kind of built a settlement spot in our ponds as well, and that was a pretty clever design as well. We have above ground ponds with a bottom drain, and when we did the concrete on the bottom, hubby leveled it out so that the pond has a deeper spot to which the bottom gradually flows. It is not a step in a sense, but merely slowly leveled out to the deepest area in the pond. Due to gravity, all the debris naturally collects in that area, it settles there. Now, to get that stuff out of there without wading through the pond every single time and sucking it up with a pump, hubby built the bottom drain in exact that same spot.

Now, we aren't experienced pond builders by any means, but hubby is in construction, so he knows a lot about design and how things work properly, so he designed his own bottom drain. Nothing but a ordinary shower drain you can get in any home improvement store, and the appropriate width of plastic pipes in the length he needed to get it run further out than the outside of the pond, plus a few elbows in case he runs into a corner, and a checkvalve. That was all he needed.
Since the check valve sits just above ground on the outside of the pond, and the water level in the pond is 3 1/2 ft high, to activate the bottom drain all he has to do is open that check valve, and the suction automatically sucks the water, and accumulated waste, around the bottom drain into the pipes and out the check valve.
Some of the really good bottom drains from a pond supply store have caps over them, something that looks like a round disc, that has a slightly bigger diameter than the drain itself. It is merely there to protect any smaller or weaker fish from being sucked up from the drain and not being able to free themselves. Our ponds outside all house koi, large comets and wakin, and all of those are too big to get anywhere near the drain. But its definetely worth looking into if you are worried about those things.

Hm, no wakin at Tommy's auction this week...

no wakins because everyone bought them all! Know another gal on another forum that bought a bunch from him this year already too!

CK here is the thread http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...mp;#entry741797

Thanks for the valuable advice Andrea and Mary! It amazes me how much information there is in these forums.

I did check out Koiphen, too. Mary, I saw your new additions! My gosh, those Wakin are totamto red. I love 'em.

Please keep the ideas coming, folks. I am going to have to have a sediment tank. Am also entertaining the idea of going bigger than 1000 g. and having the pond in my back yard vs. the corner next to my patio.

Andrea, do your above ground ponds have concrete sides as well as bottm? SInce your husband is in construction, I bet he can build some awesome ponds from blocks. I don't know nuthin' 'bout construction. I'm a dentist and a pretty good landscaper. But I can find someone to help with pond cosntruction.

Thanks again,

CK

My next pond will probably be block above the ground. Actually my first pond is just with dirt bermed around it. Couldn't go any deeper so went higher!