I already have a 20,000 gallon fish pond in my back yard. It's a rectangular pond, black liner, about 25 feet long, 10 feet wide, and about 4-5 foot deep. I want to see how I can go about making it into a pond that can house some monster fish. I live in South Florida and it gets pretty cold here in the winter, last winter is got down to the low 40's. I think it's mainly heating and maintaining the heat is the problem for me, although in summer temperatures the water is at about 80 degrees. So how do I do this???
How to build a monster fish pond?
- Thread starter Asianleful
- Start date
sounds like you are more than halfway there. in my opinion, heating is your only obstacle. 20,000 gallons is alot to heat up or let alone maintain. but when i calculate your pond, i only come up with 7480 gallons at 4' and 9350 gallons at 5'...
I' pretty sure it's a lot more then that, I just felt kind of lazy to get the exact measurements... I'll be right back, I'll measure it
If you aren't willing to spend at least $3000 a year heating it I wouldn't think about it. I don't know if it would take that but it might, that is a lot of air surface area. I would start by draining it, removing the liner and insulating the ground with a couple of inches of foam. Reinstall the liner and figure out some kind of retractable cover for the really cold nights (a pool solar cover might also work). You'll have to install a boiler, whatever fuel is handiest to you, a heat pump with a water exchanger would be great but a bit of a maintenance issue, solar would be nice but I don't know if I would rely on the sun being out enough to keep my fish alive. They could probably do with a couple of degrees drop but I don't know. I don't know what temp oscars, cichla, tilapia, and other species that have invaded florida can live at but being trapped in a small pond will take some of their ability to survive away.
Man... taking out the liner is going to be a lot of work. I was just seeing what the costs would be, so thanks!
If you wanted to heat that pond you will need about 20 kilowatts (no cover 77 degrees F). If you can cover it during the cold weather you could reduce that to 12-14 kilowatts. Pool heat pump will give you the most economical running costs over anything else.
P.S If your wondering where I get my information from I work for a pool heat pump manufacturer in New Zealand.
P.S If your wondering where I get my information from I work for a pool heat pump manufacturer in New Zealand.
I heard someone say that they did not heat there bond and when it got extremely cold they would just cover it and nothing happened to there fish. I don't think you would have a problem either considering it is at least 3 feet deep. Think of all those cichlids let loose it Florida that survive the winter months in those lakes rivers and ponds.