My new pond

[Mvjnz]

We found a pond kit at a nearby hardware store, which included the liner, the plastic things to put around the edge and a pump. It was one special for $27.

The pump turned out to be a pump only, not a filter, so I used a 12 volt filter that I bought a couple of months ago instead.

Our garden is mostly really compact clay, so it was no easy task digging the hole for the pond, but with the help of my partner we managed it pretty quickly:)

It's 1.7 metres long, 1 metre wide, and has a shallow end which is 35 cm and a deep end which is 45 cm. A rough estimate tells me it holds about 300 litres of water.

It has no fish yet, but I'm gonna get some goldfish for it within a few days. It looks a little bit sad now, but the groundcover plants will eventually cover the whole area around the pond. I'm also waiting for some azolla to go in the pond and prevent algae growth.

[smaug]

That looks very nice.Dont hurry with the fish however.A pond needs to cycle the same as a tank.Get just 2 comets to start .What are your hopes to eventually stock it with?

[Mvjnz]

I intend to use my established filter to start this new filter, so I can skip the whole cycle thing:)

I intend to put about 3 or 4 goldfish in it, the comet/shubunkin kind.

I've considered heaps of different fish for this pond, such as a couple of native Australia fish, and paradise fish, but in the end I realised that goldfish is prolly the most colourful and most tolerant of these conditons.

But regarding paradise fish.. Are they gonna look dull and grey in the pond? Cuz I would like a more interesting alternative than goldfish, everyone puts goldfish in ponds, so it would be nice to do something differeint. And for a long time I was decided on paradise fish. But from what I understand I would need 1 one male and maybe 2 or 3 females, and the females are just grey and boring.. Aren't they? I'd love to hear from people who have paradise fish in their pond, and maybe a photo too...

[smaug]

Im unfamiliar with paradise fish in ponds or otherwise.If they are a darker color from above they will be al but invisible.I have a black moor and some blue koi and they are very difficult to see well.With you being in a warmer climate there could be all sorts of colorful fish.If your temps dont dip below 75 deg F just about any tropical would work.

[Mvjnz]

Tropical fish would be fine in summer, but in winter it would get just a little bit too cold.

I'll just go with the goldfish:)

[dean30bb]

wow nice i love the way u have done it with the plants and stuff well done:19: :19: :19: :19:

[Mvjnz]

Thank you:)

[angelcakes]

lovely looking pond:19: :19: :19:

[sandy_n]

That looks nice.

[Fish4Fun]

Yeah thats come up primo... Good job.

[NickFish]

You could use a live stock heater for the winter.

A bud of mine keeps arowanas out all year round in the Canadian winter, yet the temp is always about 78F. It all depends on what kind of power bill you want to have. :c2:

[Mvjnz]

Yeah, I've thought of that. It would be cool to have tropical fish in there, and I've considered moving my red tailed shark out there when he gets too big for his current tank.. For now I'll stick with the goldfish, but in the future I might make it tropical:)

[Mvjnz]

Just thought I'd post a photo of the goldfish in the pond. I've been a bit unlucky with them. I put in 2 goldfish 6 weeks ago. 1 died mysteriously after a week, so a week later I bought another 2. 2 weeks later both the new ones were dead:( So I had 1 survivor and it was lonely.

So a week ago I went to a different pet store and bought a small one, and it seems to be fine so far.

Yesterday I was just browsing the pet store and noticed they had calico ones, so I got one of those too.

The funny thing is, the one I've had for 6 weeks (mostly gold) has grown heaps in the short time it's been in the pond. It was the same size as the other 2 when I bought it, but as you can see in the photo it is now heaps bigger.

It makes sense, because there's heaps of algae and duckweed to graze on and lots of insect living in and around the pond, in addition to the flakes I feed every morning.

It's fun to see them grow:)

[troy]

Cool fish!

[Sir Tristen]

Nice goldfish. I like your little pond!:19:

[Mvjnz]

Thank you:)

[OscarFan]

Do yours come out?? mine are always hiding

p.s. Avoid koi they are to fragile for ponds that arent very deep. They cant handle quick temperature changes.

[Mvjnz]

They mostly stay under cover but can be seen swimming around occasionally. They come out for feeding time every morning.

Koi are banned here, so couldn't get them even if I wanted to.

[Tolley]

Looking good. Got some danios in there? I was going to suggest some. :19:

[Sharon]

Very nice!!!:19:

[Mvjnz]

Thanks:)

Yes, those are zebra danios. That is, 3 leopard danios (male) and one zebra (female). I've seen all the males chasing after the female and she's usually full of eggs so I'm hoping to see some babies to expand the school eventually:)

[Northernguy]

Great project! :19: I really like the pond idea.
I would love to have one but it gets too cold here. I already have ice in my tubs of driftwood I have soaking outside.

[Mvjnz]

In Norway where I grew up it's the same kinda thing. Ponds usually freeze and a lot of people take their fish inside for the winter.

So it's fun to do something different:)