I am looking into building a pond for my arowana. He is 14-15 inches in a 75 gallon. He's doing fine for now, but it is (obviously) getting to small. I was thinking of doing a plywood pond, but, thinking of the fact that this will rot, I wanted something a little more permanent. After seeing a thread about an RTC pond ("my second ghetto pond") I'm thinking about using a bestway steel pro frame pool, lining it with a 45 mm EPDM pond liner, and covering it with hardware cloth (a vinyl coated wire) to prevent jumping. The one I'm thinking of is a 12'x30" circular pond. I want this to last my arowana for as long as possible. However, the pond would only be filled up to 6 to 8 inches from the top, leaving only 22-24 inches of depth. Is this depth suitable for a possibly 3 foot arowana? I know it is optimistic of me to think my fish will get that big, but he is growing very fast. One day, I might switch to something else that looks nicer, but I want this to work for as long as possible.
Arowana pond: Opinion needed
- Thread starter Gandalf
- Start date
hi.. should def work.. but what are you planning in terms of filtration and heating? would you be tempted to add more aros or other fish given the volume and space? i'm a lil concerned about the aro jumping though even if you are covering it..
Miami= outdoors, yes? For filtration at that volume and only one (admittedly big) fish you may be able to get away with a big bubbler and a set of airstones through some sort of gravel and some potted plants, or maybe a combination of the two (bubbling through gravel-planted plants). Powerheads might be better than bubblers, particularly as you'll be able to set up a circular flow in the round pool.
Guppies, rainbows or tetras for mozzie control, a few mystery snails for algae, dead plant leaves, poop & detritus and you're golden. Link it to your rain-gutters (via simple foam filter) and bob's your uncle.
A
Guppies, rainbows or tetras for mozzie control, a few mystery snails for algae, dead plant leaves, poop & detritus and you're golden. Link it to your rain-gutters (via simple foam filter) and bob's your uncle.
A
I'm looking at doing something similar for my aro and tsn when they get bigger (7" and 5" respectively). I think I'm going to go 12' or 14' diameter Intex pool that I'm planning to use indoors. I think I'm going to insulate the outside of the pool and encase it in a wood housing (I'm envisioning it looking like a hot tub). Still in the planning stages for filtration, heat, lid and auto-drip. Good luck with your build!
Thanks for all your replies and comments. In answer to some of your concerns:
I am not at all worried about him jumping, because I'm going to make a wooden frame to staple the hardware cloth to it. It will be sufficiently weighted down so he can't push it off; although, I want to leave 6-8" of space on the surface to the wire for him to hop a little bit at insects and food.
For filtration, I'm planning on just making one. Get a pump big enough to have at least a 1x turn-over (hopefully 2x) per hour. I've seen other filters here on mfk made out of just a 4-drawer cabinet. I would just put filter-floss on every level, charcoal on one level, ammonia on another. Etc.
I might at one point add other arowanas, but I would have to get two more, since aros seem to only get along in trios. I am definitely thinking of getting an RTC though.
For a heater, I am looking into a solar-powered heater. Heaters are only needed here in the winter/fall.
I am definitely going to grow some potted plants though to put in the pond, as they really cut down the nitrates, which are horrible for arowanas.
My only worry is the metal frame pool not holding. Not that it is likely, but a horror would be the pond collapsing over-night somehow and finding your fish on the lawn.
I am not at all worried about him jumping, because I'm going to make a wooden frame to staple the hardware cloth to it. It will be sufficiently weighted down so he can't push it off; although, I want to leave 6-8" of space on the surface to the wire for him to hop a little bit at insects and food.
For filtration, I'm planning on just making one. Get a pump big enough to have at least a 1x turn-over (hopefully 2x) per hour. I've seen other filters here on mfk made out of just a 4-drawer cabinet. I would just put filter-floss on every level, charcoal on one level, ammonia on another. Etc.
I might at one point add other arowanas, but I would have to get two more, since aros seem to only get along in trios. I am definitely thinking of getting an RTC though.
For a heater, I am looking into a solar-powered heater. Heaters are only needed here in the winter/fall.
I am definitely going to grow some potted plants though to put in the pond, as they really cut down the nitrates, which are horrible for arowanas.
My only worry is the metal frame pool not holding. Not that it is likely, but a horror would be the pond collapsing over-night somehow and finding your fish on the lawn.