The house I moved into already has a VERY shallow 15' x 4' "pond", tends to dry out quickly (and algae up) and I'd rather have a deeper one with plants 'n critters and more 'control'. Was created with some sort of liner and rocks (basic river rocks, 1" diameter give or take). Assuming I have to completely empty all rocks and pull liner and then just "dig" - but any other suggestions? New liner vs. prefab stuff (can I mix)? How deep? Filters? Had landscaping company give me a basic estimate and it exceeded 6K, want to do something for (quite) a bit less than that....
2006-09-16 15:10:39 · 4 answers · asked by DrJunk 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
this is going to be a nice pond, when it's all over you'll really enjoy it
pull out rocks and then liner, dig your pond out at least 24"
buy new liner and install, put rocks back into place and fill with water, at the top end use some of the dirt escavated to make a waterfall, then install pump and filters, use PLENTY of water plants let it run for a few days then go get some fish!
2006-09-16 21:59:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with first 3 answers. After you replace liner, add pump and I use a bio-filter. My water still has algae but the fish feed on it, it's not a year round problem, so I consider it part of a "naturalized" pond. Once you do this, the fun begins. My pond is 4 feet deep in one end and the pump helps keep ice from freezing solid in the winter. My pond is 10' diameter and has ice 2" thick on the sides and but not in the middle and the fish do fine. Depending on the type of plants, most do really good. Ponds are great. Good luck.
2006-09-17 14:59:39 · answer #2 · answered by pat j 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
15X4 feet is PLENTY!! My best friend has koi in his, and he has several in a row, and they amount to that amount of area.
If you have any lime stone, GET RID OF IT!! It is probably the reason why the algae is growing so fast. High PH values.
I would make sure you have a good pump, so that you can have a waterfall, or fountain, in the middle, so that you will help stop the algae growth with running water, and aerate the water for the fish also. Though, the algae does put oxygen, and other plants do too, some fish actually eat the algae, but those are grass carps, and you need a lot of it for them.
Four feet is enough for the fish. You wont find them at the bottom :) And you can have all kinds of things in a huge pond like that, probably up to 60 fish!
I wish you well..
Jesse
2006-09-16 22:30:05 · answer #3 · answered by x 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only tip I have is to be sure there is a water pump, to keep the water aerated and moving. Godo for fish, bad for mosquito-breeding! :-)
2006-09-16 23:51:51 · answer #4 · answered by Sugar Pie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋