EVERYTHING I will need to build a pond?

[iHammer]

So what are the things I need to build a pond? So far I have thought I needed these:

Must Haves:
Water (requested by Matt724)
Pump
Bio Filter
Liner
Shovels
Rocks (for holding liner on the sides)

Optionals:
Plant life
Rocks (Make the insides more natural)
Fish
Heater

BTW, I also want to keep Silver Arowana and in winter my temperatures drop to 6 celsius (42.8 fahrenheit) in winter and in Summer they are 25-26 celsius (77-78.8 fahrenheit). Will fish that live in temperatures of 77 be able to survive in temperatures of 42 for 1 month?

 

[Muske]

Anything tropical won't tollerate water temps. in the 40's. In aust. why not some barra?

List sounds about right. Plus a couple of other things will help....

You are going to want to use an underlayment to protect the liner.
A transit and levels are needed for the edges and filters and next item.
A skimmer is good for hiding the pump and catching most of the debris that fallls into the pond.
Rocks and gravel in the pond will provide for a huge BB bed. It also holds down the liner, protects the liner from UV rays, gives fish an area to root around in, and looks really good.
Plants are going to be your friend. Floaters, lillies, and marginals will help with nitrate and phosphorus removal. They also provide shade and cover for the fish. And again, look really good.

 

[CalgaryAC]

I am a rather large fan of ponds having bottom drains, so that the filter system can handle the suspended solids a little better.

a Skimmer/bottom drain system is very good.

with a bottom drain you will need to use an external pump, so you will need a basket strainer. an after market strainer typically has 200 sq inches of space, where a standard basket atached to the pump will have about 30 sq inches.

bottom drains are known to suck up fish, and that is a pretty big draw back.

if you are going to use a bottom drain you will want to add a flow switch near your output. this is a safe gaurd for if you get a leak in your line. there is nothing worse then showing up at an empty pond that was full of fish because the bottom provided the pump with all the water in the pond. This is also true for any bottom pump if you choose to use the oase system. http://www.oase.ca/usa/pumps.htm

The advantage to using the sump pump is noise, as the water will act as a muffler. if I could recommend any sump it would be the Tsurumi PN (2.25 or 2.45) I have installed well over 100 of these and only had one fail. I don't recommend the 2.75 because its power consumption to output ratio is not very good. These pumps also have the best trash handling abilities i have found. both bottom plates are reversible and give a large amount of freedom.

http://www.tsurumipump.com/prods/Submersible-Pumps/Sewage-and-Wastewater/PN-Series.aspx



I do like using sand filters; however, you must be pretty creative in hiding it. I have a room under my top waterfall that houses my equipment, but that took alot of work.

An airstone burried under the gravel with some weighted hose is really nice for the winter, but make sure it has a check valve on it down by the stone of if you loose power during the winter it will freeze. you can also attach it to a photo cell so in the summer months it can run during the night. running it during the day will increase your water temp and promot algae growth, but if you need to heat your pond it will work well for you. if you are going to run it during the night, put a nice led light with it, because the bubbles will look amazing refracting all the light.

I hope I was able to help out a little...