Jump-barriers, netting etc.

[andyroo]

Greetings.
This week I/we start digging out a 12'x6'x5' concrete diesel tank entombment that's been a garden for the last 30years.
Intention is fish, lilies/lotus etc, including a ~20" silver arowana who's outgrown her aquarium.

What are my options to keep her off the lawn?
Photos?

This pond will be the view from the bathroom window/shower, so barrier/netting needs to be either pretty or misty (IE visually non-existent).

Current thought is:
3' 1/4" FRP posts at the corners, holding a 1" (gill) netting of 20~30Lb nylon mono.
Angles? Upright or angling in/over the water?

Next thought/option would be to set same net taught at an inch above water surface - lily pads beneath with flowers extending thorugh & above. This would arguably be the easiest option, but I fear she'd tooth-tangle forcing a larger (more visible) mono.

Next option would be to bow the FRP along the 6', and stretch a the mesh as a tent.

Glass is out - too costly, too frail, too hard to keep clean.

This pond will be at lawn-level on one side, so thoughts on keeping dogs out would also be hepful.

 

[fishdance]

UV stable black netting about 10mm mesh is better than monofilament. I recommend a Tee Pee (or circular hoop) frame so the arowana can use gravity to roll out if it gets caught up. This also lets you slip underneath and stand up if you need to do maintenance

 

[andyroo]

Thanks Fishdance and agreed, but I don't think that'd get this through the aesthetic editors...Photo?

We were in Capetown last year and saw a system with a finer black mesh suspended ~10mm below the water's surface, and mesh largely disappeared unless you looked for it. The lilie-pads were obstructed but flowers came up & through; it should work better for for reeds & lotus. However, I'd like lilies (and arowana) so thinking to set mesh just above water line. May set to a rigid (steel or aluminum) frame for easy-access/maintenance.

 

[FLA]

This stuff seems hard to see from a distance Amazon.com : POYEE Garden Bird Netting - 13x13 FT Heavy Duty Garden Net Provide Better Protection for Vegetables and Fruit Trees - Against Birds, Deer and Other Pests : Garden & Outdoor

I may be the only one who likes this, but I thought it was a very clever way to make the cover an artistic part of the design. I am not sure if they leech anything into the pond. It probably isn't cheap, and it keeps the fish in, but it isn't gently putting the fish back in the pond. . These are not my pics

 

[fishdance]

black netting is the most invisible to human eyes. have a look at bird flights, walk in aviaries.