Do It Yourself DIY POND Assistance Needed

Re: i need some help on making a pond

no help here, other than telling ya to buy one of those plastic ones the sell (kit)

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

Concrete leaks slowly.... The black sheeting Dawn mentioned is the best way to go.

I tried using the black plastic sheeting used by painters and after a hard freeze it leaks too...

There really is no shortcut... Even if brick/stone/mortar is used the black plastic is still needed IME...

Also think 2 ponds... 1 called a bog which is a small pond filled with rocks and you can plant grasses and other plants in it and 1 larger pond that actually has the fish... the pump pulls the water from the fish pond to the bog pond and then the water should follow a "river" or channel back to the main pond...

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

All kinds of good stuffs out here to build one. You need to determine what size you are looking at...how deep...etc. Cement is fine. There are a few different epoxy coatings out there that you can use. I can look through my notes when I get home to give ya some info. Don't have my jump drive on me today.

Being in Tenn...you will definately have to mind the weather in the winter. If you plan on keeping fish year round, you will have two choices: 1) get a rather high output pond heater. This only heats enough to keep a small hole at the top. You will also need aeration during this to help circulate the water and gas off the bad stuffs. OR 2) move the fishies inside during the winter months. Kiddies pools work very well for this purpose.

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

haha ima make one over the summer if i have the money to but here are some things to consider
1. what are you going to put in it?
2. removable or permanent?
3. and you $$$$ range? answer those and i cann help you =]

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

Since this isn't a DIY writeup I'm going to move this to the General Discussion area.

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

I think the easiest way to build a pond would be to go to Lowes/Home Depot and buy a premolded pond, add a filter/fountain and some pond plants (optional), a pond heater if necessary and some nice goldfish/koi.

It may be cheaper to buy the rubber mat but by the time you do that, then buy blocks/rocks it may come out to be about the same price.

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

thats no fun and also its not big enoguh!!! [laughing] [laughing]

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

Well drain the pool and refill it without chemicals and throw some fish in there.

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

i would if i could [sarcasm] [sarcasm]

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

I agree that the premolded ponds aren't big enough for much. As for liner, yes, it's the best way to go. The epoxies are IMPOSSIBLE, in my opinion. After spending over six hundred bucks on epoxy, we still had little pinholes that leaked. You have to literally cover every millimeter of the concrete in order to avoid leakage. The liner was half as much as the epoxy, and we know it will never leak. Unfortunately, I'll always know that there's six hundred bucks worth of epoxy under that ugly black liner... darn. What kind of fish do you want to keep? Koi are often kept outdoors year-round if the pond is deep enough. Other fish present a problem, because most of the fish you'd want to keep in ponds (i.e. larger fish, such as catfish, Oscar, and Pacu) are warm-water, Amazon fish who don't put up with cold water well. This is why our pond is in our bedroom, which may not be an option for everyone, but it works for my husband and I (with a dehumidifier). Overall, ponds, especially indoor ones, really open up the possibilities as to what fish can be kept, and are a much cheaper route than trying to buy an aquarium in the thousands of gallons. Wetwebmedia.com is a great resource for pond construction and care, if you'd like to check that out. Good luck!

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

wow.... when he agreed was he drunk or did he do something really bad lol [angel] but yea

here would be a few pros and cons off the top of my head

premolded ponds:
-small
-easy to take down
-hard to store
-will crack unless you get think ones which cost $$$

pond liner:
-what ever size you want
-easy to take down
-easy to store
-might break but slim chances (mines work fine)
-can be expensive

concrete:
-unmovable
-cant store period...
-would last
-can pain it
-nice if you want a big one there for a while
-will hold up for a long time.

hope this helps let me know which one you want and i can help you more [dancing] [dancing]

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

LOL Steven! No, he was not coerced in any way. I promise!

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

Guys, I've seen premolded ponds that are huge.

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

yea but rarely even if so its hard to store and not that durable the only good thing is easy to set up

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

Not durable; how so ? They last years and once you install them they're not supposed to be moved around so there's no storage needed.

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

I've actually seen a couple of these and I must say...wow...truely amazing!

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

Here's a link I have to one. I'm actually going to use his filter plans when I build mine in my deck.

http://kilk.com/pond/

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

mines will either be a giant sump or a bog filter even if i did have a pond filter it would be hooked up to my tanks!!!

 

Re: i need some help on making a pond

Here's what I will be using for the sealant:

http://www.pondarmor.com/