I have been thinking about starting a pond for sometime. I have kept tanks for years and untill recently have no tanks due to my little girls tank breaking. I am actually renting a house right now so didnt want to do anything permanent like cementing a pond into their backyard. So I was thinking about buying a above ground pool and converting it into a pond. Now is this possible? It would be 18 feet across x 42 inches deep; holds 5,946 gallons. I live in AZ and as you would imagine it would get some sun during the day. I have kept African and South American Cichlids and that would be probably something I would be shooting to keep out there. Would this be possible in this pool or would it be to hot?? Also would i be able to put some substrate like sand and maybe some rock in it and some live plants in this. Also I know with tanks there are limitations to what you can and can not keep. I was thinking about doing some peacock bass, a redtail cat and maybe some other cichlids in there. What would be the best thing to keep in this pool? Also would the filter that comes with the pool be enought to do the job?? I have always over filtered when I did aquariums and had plenty of airiation going into it. Any help would be much appriciated. Thanks in advance.
Thinking of starting a pond.
- Thread starter Phnxbndt79
- Start date
there have been plenty of pool convertions in the past on this site, even in the indore pond section. in AZ the water temp would get on the high side but cichlis and a red tailed cat would thrive in a 5000gallon pond, add sonr rocks and sand with drift wood and in two years you will have them comming out the butt. the problen is that unless you stack up rocks on the inside its just going to look like a pool with fish inside of it. then you have to think plumbing and filtration, a pool filter just wont work it gets cloged too quick. google search pond filters and look for one thats rated for 6000-7000gallons. that would work just fine. start to my diy 480 gallon timber pond looks good and he must have spent 500 big ones... thats pretty cheap. you could do the same thing but a 12X12 design.
I've set-up many over the years.
If your lanslord is ok with loosig the grass or your going to re-sod for him, go for it.
Do the normal sand bed underneath (carpet works, but rots).
If your putting rock in, be careful that it doesn't puncture the vinyl. Place peices of pond liner under them and don't stack to heavy (high) without support.
The pool filter that comes with them isn't made for 24/7 use. Use it on a timer as a low level fountain for aeration/degassification.
A 10,000gph-15,000gph pump (2x-3x turnover) to a dyi bio-filter (a smaller pond) is your best cheapest bet.
Set a large (9ft) umbrella (thet're cheap) in the middle of the pond for shade and us ealot of floating plants (hiacynths and duck weed shade well). Put lilies in pots with heavy gravel on top to keep fish from digging in soil.
Oh, and be careful what supply houses call pond plants most are marginals and not to be fully submerged.
Be careful of cats, because their barbs and vinyl don't mix well (now come the masses saying they've never had a problem...I've patched too many holes to hear it
).
Just remember, your only going to see the backs of most fish (that's why koi are popular), so slower moving wide bodied ones are better (cats are good for this except for above problem and if you have dark water that deep you'll never see them).
So go for it, get your kid involved too. And take lots of pix to share here!!!
Keep us posted,
Dr Joe
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If your lanslord is ok with loosig the grass or your going to re-sod for him, go for it.
Do the normal sand bed underneath (carpet works, but rots).
If your putting rock in, be careful that it doesn't puncture the vinyl. Place peices of pond liner under them and don't stack to heavy (high) without support.
The pool filter that comes with them isn't made for 24/7 use. Use it on a timer as a low level fountain for aeration/degassification.
A 10,000gph-15,000gph pump (2x-3x turnover) to a dyi bio-filter (a smaller pond) is your best cheapest bet.
Set a large (9ft) umbrella (thet're cheap) in the middle of the pond for shade and us ealot of floating plants (hiacynths and duck weed shade well). Put lilies in pots with heavy gravel on top to keep fish from digging in soil.
Oh, and be careful what supply houses call pond plants most are marginals and not to be fully submerged.
Be careful of cats, because their barbs and vinyl don't mix well (now come the masses saying they've never had a problem...I've patched too many holes to hear it
).Just remember, your only going to see the backs of most fish (that's why koi are popular), so slower moving wide bodied ones are better (cats are good for this except for above problem and if you have dark water that deep you'll never see them).
So go for it, get your kid involved too. And take lots of pix to share here!!!
Keep us posted,
Dr Joe
.
I would have to say it will probably be going somewhere in the backyard where it has kind of like small rock on it. There is only a little bit of grass and like this red brick thats about 12x12. I was planning on finding a spot out there that the 18 feet will look good at and probably dig down a little bit and sit the pool in side of the hole. Would it be good to line the hole with something before I put the pool inside?? Would it be ok to maybe use tank sealant to hold the rock togeather?? I would love to be able to keep a few cats but would hate to come home and find all that water in the backyard and a bunch of dead fish. What would you recommend to keep in there Dr. Joe?? Also since I do live in AZ would I need to run a heater in the summer since it usually doesnt get below 70 degrees here at night durning the summer and about 100+ during the day. Also I have never kept peacock bass or red tails in the past but would it be ok to keep larger cichlids with them as well?? Will they do ok with the weather? Thanks in advance.
also what would work good to keep down on the algae as i would assume it will grow very rapidly since it will be in the az sun??
Also here is a link of the pool I am planning on purchasing. Hope this helps.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/deta...Index=1&isVariant=false&corpCard=false&type=0
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/deta...Index=1&isVariant=false&corpCard=false&type=0
The only thing I can think of is check the local bylaws regarding how pools should be set up. Some towns are required for artifical body of water to be fenced off.
water takes a long long time to drain out of a pool like that.
so you could do fine with a redtail cat if you made it a point to check the liner everytime you did maintenace.
water has a habit of retaining heat very well. With temps like that the water should stay warm throughout the night.
we have a swimming pool and last summer i went swimming at three in the morning and the temp was 79.
I dont know how your winters are over there but if they are like mine here in Texas, i would probably invest in a pond heater for winterizing. My winters are pretty mild but still get in to the 20s at night.
so you could do fine with a redtail cat if you made it a point to check the liner everytime you did maintenace.
water has a habit of retaining heat very well. With temps like that the water should stay warm throughout the night.
we have a swimming pool and last summer i went swimming at three in the morning and the temp was 79.
I dont know how your winters are over there but if they are like mine here in Texas, i would probably invest in a pond heater for winterizing. My winters are pretty mild but still get in to the 20s at night.
Phnxbndt79;826457; said:
Digging the pond into the ground will help regulate the water temperature, the deeper the better. dig down atleast six inches the add 3-4 inches of construction or play sand and level it out like you would concrete. This will give you a base to protect the bottom from growing grass and punctures when you walk in it for maintenance (and not to chase the fish, no matter how much fun it may be).
Tank sealant is perfect for glueing rocks together, G.E> silicone ! without algaecide (mold suppressant) is the same and is way cheaper that that from a lfs.
I mentioned the problem with the cats to bring it to your attention, the holes they can make are vey small and are bothersome at most. more so for an indoor pond because of mold build-up. As me_we_todded(again too long of names
) said, it would take forever to leak down, the new vinyls don't split from a pinhole.You shouldn't need a heater in the summer, that much water will stabliize the temp pretty well. You can purchase sunshade material from HomeDepot and make a cover down the middle of the pond 6ft wide and it will shade part of the pool all day if the pool is orientated right (east-west for shade in the same spot all day, north-south for moving shade). Floating plant (lilies and even duck weed (some fish love to eat it)) will help with temp control too.
Pbass should be ok but I will defer you to Juan Jamad as the resident expert on them, midnight just put his in his parents pond (they had beat up on each other alot, but were in a relatively small areacompared to yours). Anything you keep with pbass has to be the same size or larger (and keep the fed).
There are a couple of cat experts on here , a name doesn't come to mind right now, just post the question, they'll find you.
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Phnxbndt79;826522; said:
Keep feedings low, good bio-filtration and lots of plant to use up the nutrients left in the water as fast as possible. A UV sterilizer for this size pond is a little pricey but well worth it.
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Phnxbndt79;826547; said:
Nice choice.
Have you tested your tap water (or do you have a well?) to see if added chemicals or other water treatments maybe necessary?
I remember in some communities the fire departmet used to come out for a small fee and fill up pools (faster). Just a thought (@ 5g a minute vs a fire hydrant it's worth a call
).Dr Joe
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