Steel frame pool pond stocking

[Bbuckley]

Hi all

I have a 10ft steel frame pool I was thinking of using as a pond it hold 6500 ltrs of water.

I was wondering if i would need to do any prep work on the pool first, I was just planning on throwing in a pump to send water to the filter and let it return through gravity. Would this be OK.

And also how many goldfish/koi could happily live in there.

Also I live in the UK, the pool is 32 inchs deep would this be deep enough for the winter if I had air stones and filter running to stop it freezing over.

Thanks in advance all help and advice is highly appreciated.

 

[twentyleagues]

I don't know the avarage low temp there in winter I live in Michigan and a friend has a pool like that no animals in it he uses it as a pool or should I say he did. Most years he drains it half way. Last year he didn't and the liner ripped when it froze. It's about the same size it didn't freeze all the way to the bottom but was close. I don't know alot about koi. I do have a friend that has a very large pond and a couple smaller ones and a very large tank inside koi and rare gold fish is all he keeps. All the smaller ponds get emptied of fish in the late fall, they go inside. The big pond got a solar heater we built a couple years ago it keeps the pond mostly clear of ice through out the winter. Prior to that it would freeze about 6-8" down in most parts even with water movement.

 

[tlindsey]

I would personally use it seasonally here where I live.

 

[Bbuckley]

Hear where I am in the UK winters tend to be any where from 0 c to about - 6 c that been the extreme.

Alot of people keep ponds hear all year round but tend to be a lot deeper than what I'm proposing.

Im fairly confident I can keep it from freezing over so I'm not worried about ice splitting the liner.

I'm more concerned about it been deep enough for the winter when they want to go dormant.

I don't know the avarage low temp there in winter I live in Michigan and a friend has a pool like that no animals in it he uses it as a pool or should I say he did. Most years he drains it half way. Last year he didn't and the liner ripped when it froze. It's about the same size it didn't freeze all the way to the bottom but was close. I don't know alot about koi. I do have a friend that has a very large pond and a couple smaller ones and a very large tank inside koi and rare gold fish is all he keeps. All the smaller ponds get emptied of fish in the late fall, they go inside. The big pond got a solar heater we built a couple years ago it keeps the pond mostly clear of ice through out the winter. Prior to that it would freeze about 6-8" down in most parts even with water movement.

I would personally use it seasonally here where I live.

 

[tlindsey]

Hear where I am in the UK winters tend to be any where from 0 c to about - 6 c that been the extreme.

Alot of people keep ponds hear all year round but tend to be a lot deeper than what I'm proposing.

Im fairly confident I can keep it from freezing over so I'm not worried about ice splitting the liner.

I'm more concerned about it been deep enough for the winter when they want to go dormant.

Yes the freezing over and depth was my main concern.

 

[tlindsey]

Yes the freezing over and depth was my main concern.

Ulu
kendragon

 

[Ulu]

I live in the desert. It never really freezes here. But it does get cold at night so my outdoor tanks are insulated with Styrofoam and have Styrofoam lids. I raise tropical fish and they need the water temps to be stable or they start to get sick.

BUT, I don’t know about goldfish or Koi or the climate where you live.

If you’re going to use a flexible plastic above ground pool I might insulate it on the outside with air-pillow type insulation, and arrange an insulating cover that floats or is suspended above the water, but does not rest directly on it.

 

[Fishman Dave]

I live in West Yorkshire and have 2 ponds, one decent sized six foot deep for the larger koi and this has been fine down to -15.
However, the other is an above ground liner 3ft deep 5ft x3ft just to grow on koi fry from 1/2 inch to six inch.
This pond is made of 4” thick wood with panelling on the outside and is insulated with polystyrene.
Hence is insulated with both polystyrene and wood and I cover it as required in winter. It has both a pump and air stone running.
However this year at -8 I have lost half the 4” koi and mixed size goldfish due to the cold. I had to rehouse the rest indoors in the fish house which poses its own problems with them going from 0 to +24 over 1-2 days mid winter.
Personally I don’t think your pond idea would work above ground without being sheltered, protected, insulated or all three.
I am now in the process of rebuilding my small grow on pond inside a wooden extension to my fish house to avoid the same next year.
Note however that the previous batch survived fine the year before when temperatures during winter never really dropped much below freezing and the spring started early. This year we are still getting frosts well into April.
What I mean by that is, we won’t know for sure, it will probably depend on the weather so is a risk, is it worth taking?

 

[The Masked Shadow]

I would do natives. But koi is cool as well. I would say 3-4 koi. I would be worried about the cold, though.

 

[Bbuckley]

I live in West Yorkshire and have 2 ponds, one decent sized six foot deep for the larger koi and this has been fine down to -15.
However, the other is an above ground liner 3ft deep 5ft x3ft just to grow on koi fry from 1/2 inch to six inch.
This pond is made of 4” thick wood with panelling on the outside and is insulated with polystyrene.
Hence is insulated with both polystyrene and wood and I cover it as required in winter. It has both a pump and air stone running.
However this year at -8 I have lost half the 4” koi and mixed size goldfish due to the cold. I had to rehouse the rest indoors in the fish house which poses its own problems with them going from 0 to +24 over 1-2 days mid winter.
Personally I don’t think your pond idea would work above ground without being sheltered, protected, insulated or all three.
I am now in the process of rebuilding my small grow on pond inside a wooden extension to my fish house to avoid the same next year.
Note however that the previous batch survived fine the year before when temperatures during winter never really dropped much below freezing and the spring started early. This year we are still getting frosts well into April.
What I mean by that is, we won’t know for sure, it will probably depend on the weather so is a risk, is it worth taking?

I feel I need to clarify a little (I maybe should of put it in the first post) sorry.

I planned on insulating all around the pool with polystyrene and several layers of large bubble wrap. Then building a bench area / decking frame to surround it and completely hide the pool from the out side.

But I'm intrigued by what @themaskedshadow said about native species.

Would I have more luck?
Would it be more interesting? ???