tropical lake

[JEAE21]

So I just got news from the country club that I live on...
http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g317/JEAE/?action=view&current=toruru013-1.jpg

That they were gonna destroy Echo Lake(a reservoir for all the ponds on the golfcourse) and actually build a lake on the golfcourse itself..
Now all of us in the neighborhood are pissed(is this word allowed?) because the owner actually told me that he was going to keep echo lake, and proceed in building the lake on the golfcouse.

Well anyways this lake(the size of a football field) is probably going to be finished in a year or 2..maybe more or less.
But I am thinking it would be cool if I can make this a TROPICAL lake! I will be getting my Dad involved in this, so the country club will not be able to stop my actions.(he's a member pretty high up, and he's been making major donations)

If I'm able to persuade the country club into turning the lake in to a tropical lake...How will I heat this huge body of water? in "lake" standards it is small but if you call this a "pond" it is HUGE.(like i said, a football field)
Echo Lake is currently self-filtered by mother nature, but what should I do with this tropical lake?

I am thinking Pirarucus, Arowanas, Iridecenst Sharks, Paroon Sharks, Redtail Catfish, Tiger Shovelnose Catfish, Clown Knifefish, Red-bellied Pacus, Peacock Bass, etc. would be cool in here. And not to forget TURTLES!! Will all of these fish be able to co-exist in a certain temperature and water perameter?

I also want to be able to SEE the fish from the shore and if I'm able to be brave and dive in..
I've seen videos of pirarucu ponds in zoos but they are dirty/murky as hell!
At Echo lake I'm able to see fish from the shore and on the fish cam. even though it doesn't have a filter. This could be because there aren't any 15' fish swimming around..but why do pirarucu ponds get so dirty?
Would I need a filter if I'm gonna keep those adult fish in this tropical lake? If so, do I need it for their health/hygiene or just for my viewing pleasure?


If any of you have tropical ponds wether it's indoors or out please help me out!
Oh I forgot..I live in northern CAlifornia..it gets pretty cold here in the winter. I'm not like you lucky guys in Florida, haha.

 

[rob0521]

I feel sorry for the guy who dives for the golf balls.....

 

[frasertheking]

sorry but unless your dad has donated millions and will keep doing this then i dont think this will happen.

good to dream tho

 

[Mystix212]

Theres pretty much no way (within your wage limit, and dads combined) that you could heat a lake the size of a footy field. So you could have Koi, Goldfish (Boring), Natives, coldwater fish etc. But remember, how would you feed these fish? You cant expect a 3ft Peacock Bass to survive of filamentous algae.

By the way, how come in small lakes and ponds that there is never any ammonia and stuff, like how does mother nature filter it?

 

[JEAE21]

Well I will not be paying if the owner agrees. I just found out that he keeps tropical fish personally and was interested in my idea.
My dad said it was foolish though..haha.

How would I heat it? Actually would a pool heater do?

Well Echo Lake was crystal clear since it had a water flowing to it from a creek. I think the reason the creek was clear is because it went through alot of stages like mud, dirt, sand, etc.(kinda like a canister filter.lol)

 

[frasertheking]

a pool heater could only maintain a couple 1000 gal . it would cost at least a couple 100 grand to heat each year . at least a million for instalation .
maby a giant heat exchanger system with pipes running under the pond . if its real deep then you could only heat like the deepest section then the fish could winter there and come out in summer

 

[Dr Joe]

Well for this hypothetical pond...

Heat it by solar (even dye the water), filter it with a bog and a large fountain to aerate it.

If it's a clay bottom pond (no liner) don't use any digging fish (including plecos).

Ponds that size take 3-10 yrs to establish themselves.

Do you think you can hold interest for that long?

Dr Joe

.

 

[frasertheking]

By the way, how come in small lakes and ponds that there is never any ammonia and stuff, like how does mother nature filter it?

those ponds take years to establish .those water systems are very delicate and well balanced .

 

[JEAE21]

hey dr. joe. How am are they gonna heat it in the winter..with no sun?
Yes, I will be holding interest..What do you mean by establish? their gonna get the water from Echo Lake into the new lake.

well if the owner wants to do this..he'll have enough money to install.literally anything..the guy has millions in his pocket..and plus all of us members pay $50,000 a year for membership.
I will try to post some of his personal fish(native & tropical)

 

[Druu]

hey dr. joe. How am are they gonna heat it in the winter..with no sun?
Yes, I will be holding interest..What do you mean by establish? their gonna get the water from Echo Lake into the new lake.

well if the owner wants to do this..he'll have enough money to install.literally anything..the guy has millions in his pocket..and plus all of us members pay $50,000 a year for membership.
I will try to post some of his personal fish(native & tropical)

The sun will be around in the winter as well, I'm not sure where you heard otherwise. By waiting for a lake to become established, he does not mean the time to fill it. In order to establish a fully functional ecosystem, time is required.