Hi all,
Been away from the forum for a while, but we are moving from Scotland (near Edinburgh) to Devon (south west England) in July and I'll be building a new pond at the new house.
The climate is much warmer there (5-6 celsius warmer in summer, 3-4c warmer in winter) and I'll be building an above ground (prebuilt at my workshop) timber walled pond 15x8x4ft with about 12000 litres volume. I will be taking around 10 3 year old carp (C3s, as they are known) and growing them on for a couple of years before rehoming them and starting again. I love carp, not koi, and love growing them on.
The farm where we will be living has an unlimited supply of free (drinking quality) spring water on tap, which I plan to utilise as a continuous water change, dripping in and overflowing out. The water (I am led to believe), comes out at a steady 10-12c which means over winter it would artificially elevate the water temperature in the pond, but cool it in summer. To counteract the summer cooling, I can build a simple solar water heater for about £150 which should bring the inflowing water up to at least the same as the pond temperature (23c, I'm hoping as the pond will be under cover, under a clear roof).
I'll install wavemaker type pumps to circulate the water (some very high output models on eBay for not much money, with a low wattage draw) and aeration too.
The carp will be put in at approximately 8lb weight, and I'd expect them to reach 20lb within 2 years.
With all of the above information, does anyone have an idea of what kind of drip rate I should be employing for the water change? I am thinking 50 litres an hour, which would equate to 10% per day. I would like to avoid the need to install filtration, hoping that the continuous change of water will provide a healthy and stable environment for the fish.
Also, if anyone spots any glaring issues with the above plan, please do say! I've kept fish for years and years, and have a pond presently, but this is a new concept for me. I love the idea of the continuous change as it vastly reduces the workload for maintenance as well as providing steady water parameters.
I'm not growing the carp on for financial gain, rather as a hobby and a challenge. The pond will have an acrylic window built into the front, so that I can enjoy watching them side on too.
Also, does the stocking plan sound reasonable? 10 fish in a 12,000 litre pond that isn't a closed system seems OK to me, but I'm happy to be told I'm wrong if I am!
Been away from the forum for a while, but we are moving from Scotland (near Edinburgh) to Devon (south west England) in July and I'll be building a new pond at the new house.
The climate is much warmer there (5-6 celsius warmer in summer, 3-4c warmer in winter) and I'll be building an above ground (prebuilt at my workshop) timber walled pond 15x8x4ft with about 12000 litres volume. I will be taking around 10 3 year old carp (C3s, as they are known) and growing them on for a couple of years before rehoming them and starting again. I love carp, not koi, and love growing them on.
The farm where we will be living has an unlimited supply of free (drinking quality) spring water on tap, which I plan to utilise as a continuous water change, dripping in and overflowing out. The water (I am led to believe), comes out at a steady 10-12c which means over winter it would artificially elevate the water temperature in the pond, but cool it in summer. To counteract the summer cooling, I can build a simple solar water heater for about £150 which should bring the inflowing water up to at least the same as the pond temperature (23c, I'm hoping as the pond will be under cover, under a clear roof).
I'll install wavemaker type pumps to circulate the water (some very high output models on eBay for not much money, with a low wattage draw) and aeration too.
The carp will be put in at approximately 8lb weight, and I'd expect them to reach 20lb within 2 years.
With all of the above information, does anyone have an idea of what kind of drip rate I should be employing for the water change? I am thinking 50 litres an hour, which would equate to 10% per day. I would like to avoid the need to install filtration, hoping that the continuous change of water will provide a healthy and stable environment for the fish.
Also, if anyone spots any glaring issues with the above plan, please do say! I've kept fish for years and years, and have a pond presently, but this is a new concept for me. I love the idea of the continuous change as it vastly reduces the workload for maintenance as well as providing steady water parameters.
I'm not growing the carp on for financial gain, rather as a hobby and a challenge. The pond will have an acrylic window built into the front, so that I can enjoy watching them side on too.
Also, does the stocking plan sound reasonable? 10 fish in a 12,000 litre pond that isn't a closed system seems OK to me, but I'm happy to be told I'm wrong if I am!