New pond started

[tattoodaddy]

Just wanted to say that the wife and I have been on shovels all day today. We have dug a 18 foot long x 14 foot wide x 3.5 foot deep garden pond. I will post some pics shortly...II have been taking photos and need to down load them.We took down an above ground pool and have used the liner. We went to Lowes and bought a filter system and uv sterilizer. We have the liner in and started to fill the pond, but it got dark on us so we stopped. I got the plumbing for the filter done also. I can't wait to get it finished. Tomorrow, after the bunny comes for our 5 year old, we are going to lay rock. I had a 600 gallon pond years ago....my body doesn't seem to like all that digging in the hot sun as well as it used to.....

[tattoodaddy]

Quick question the wife is wondering how long before she can stock her pond. :naughty:

[revol2001]

I would say in a about a month or so depending on how good of a filtration you have. I am not an expert but I speak from my personal experience. I started stock my 600 gallon ponds with 4-5 inch koi right after I had water in they half of them started dying but after a month the rest stop dying. so there you have it.:ROFL:

[MrRngr94]

I'm no pro either, but to me a pond seems like just an outdoor aquarium. Could you possibly use some ammonia to speed up the cycling process?

[Hakon]

I waited about a month before stocking the pond (ca. 2500g). No dead fish yet.

[tattoodaddy]

Ok thanks for the insight...I put 2 box filters in it and a large pressurized cannister filter with a uv filter attached. Would adding some iris' from a bog help speed up the process.:confused:

[slammer]

The plants won't hurt. A few small comets will help as well.

[tattoodaddy]

Thanks I was thinking about 5 or 6 of those $.25 Wal-mart gold fish.

[Don4921]

Thanks I was thinking about 5 or 6 of those $.25 Wal-mart gold fish.
be careful!those fish always have some crap on them and may contaminate your pond. Oh yeah...buying a filter and u/v from Lowes might not have been the best idea. most products for ponds is very cheap material and overpriced and will break down in a year or 2. Might want to find a local pond shop and eventually replace all that. Just an opinion though...:thumbsup:

[tattoodaddy]

Ok thanx for the advice, it is taken.

[Miles]

Not to burst your bubble or anything..

Pool Liners often have fungicides in them, that will kill your fish! We had a discussion about this a while back, and to my surprise, majority of pool liners are not suitable for ponds..

Hope this helps prevent a future headache!

[Miles]

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3753&highlight=pool+liner

There is the link to the OG thread.. some people have differing opinions, so hopefully it works out for you!