Advice on fish pond.

[Raverbaby]

Hi, I was wanting to have a smallish pond out my back, anyone any advice on best way to proceed?
I'll be putting an electricity supply out the back in the near future to supply the pump, filter etc.
Does an all in one filter do the job, do I need a UV filter?
Also is a preformed pond the way to go or is a pond lining just as robust.
I'll just be putting a few gold fish in it to begin with, do they survive winter ok ( I'm in central Scotland) or would they need to be brought into the house.
I have kept tropical fish for years so not new to fish keeping but appreciate its a slightly different ball game so any advice, suggestions welcome.
Thanks

[lufbramatt]

Rigid ponds look a bit pants and the size is limited to what you can get in a van. Pond liners are pretty robust if you get a decent one and prepare the area well.

I built a filter system for my father in laws pond, we ran it a year as just bio and mechanical fitration and it kept the pond clean but he was still getting green water and hair algea despite lots of plants and good water stats, we added a UV filter to the pipe that runs to the filter and within a week the water was glass clear, couldn't believe it. I'd go with a UV from the off.

some fish species need heating over winter but some are pretty hardy and will cope with the cold no probs just keep the water aerated and make sure it doesn't freeze over so they can still get oxygen.

[Raverbaby]

lufbramatt said:

Rigid ponds look a bit pants and the size is limited to what you can get in a van. Pond liners are pretty robust if you get a decent one and prepare the area well.

I built a filter system for my father in laws pond, we ran it a year as just bio and mechanical fitration and it kept the pond clean but he was still getting green water and hair algea despite lots of plants and good water stats, we added a UV filter to the pipe that runs to the filter and within a week the water was glass clear, couldn't believe it. I'd go with a UV from the off.

some fish species need heating over winter but some are pretty hardy and will cope with the cold no probs just keep the water aerated and make sure it doesn't freeze over so they can still get oxygen.

Thanks for your help, I know what you mean about the liner being the better option, was just worried incase it was to burst but I guess you get what you pay for.
Cheers.

[Turn7]

Get a high quality liner and use high grade underlay,should last for years....

[C3BER]

Depth is the key for ponds with fish in cold climates. Fish need a constant temp and the depth helps in this variable. You can get some seriously large pre-built ponds now so don't right them off if one is ideal for the area you have. Liners are great if you spend the time fitting them correctly. I had a koi pond which was skimmed in fibre mixed cement and painted in resin. Seriously large filters done the same and a UV built in. Always use a UV in the system and always keep the bulbs upto date.

[ViperDave]

Going against the grain here on filtration. Rather than spend money on a big filter box and UV light with associated on-going costs and maintenance of blocked brushes and sponges, when I designed our pond I went with a more natural approach of a pebble bottomed stream and watercress. Small top pond with about 3-4m of meandering stream, quite fast moving water so a bit of interest but not a waterfall. The pebbles give a massive surface area for the nitrification bacteria to grow on and the watercress acts to export the nitrate out of the pond. Lovely clear water with little effort, just pull out clumps of watercress when it goes mad after the nutrient spike at the end of frogspawn season.

Oh and the other benefit is the birds (feathered variety) love the shallow stream and flock to it for a drink and wash

[C3BER]

What you have is a natural filter over a large expanse of natural biological surface. OP wants a small pond which may negate the use of a natural filter. My koi ponds filter was one third the size of the pool in area and volume. 15x4x8 feet. The pond prior had a natural stream filter which if planned correctly is far more integrating than a huge concrete box system.

[ViperDave]

Yep, but it doesn't have to be in a large pond and take up too much space, this is ours when it was being built, the surrounding area looks very different now with a limestone chip path following the stream to the left and the hose pipes roughly marks out the block paved path with flower boarders in the gaps



Although to be fair 10 years later is all a bit overgrown and needs a full on overhaul

ETA pic from a bit later

Edited by ViperDave on Thursday 11th July 12:30

[lufbramatt]

Viperdave that looks really great, I like your thinking on using the pebbles as bio media, it's like a big version of an aquarium under gravel filter.

Edited by lufbramatt on Thursday 11th July 13:41

[ViperDave]

Yeah I suppose in a way but the water isn't drawn through it the same as an under gravel although it does flow both through the pebble bed and over the top, that was one of my big worries I had that I would just be left with a damp patch of gravel but fortunately there is a good amount of water that runs over the top like the stream its supposed to be. I guess its a mixture of under gravel, Marine berlin method and agile scrubber/mangrove method.

Main thing was though to provide surface area for bacteria and then vigorous plant growth in watercress to use up the nitrates. I'll admit it doesn't have perfect clear water all the time as it can take time for things to settle after the frogspawn in spring when things are also a bit cold, and the stream can build up algae if the temperature isn't best for the watercress, but either way it doesn't clog up or need urgent attention to prevent overflow/low water flow like a commercial filter might, the water just runs a bit higher in the stream.

[Raverbaby]

Thanks for the advice, that really looks good viperdave!

[Ryn36]

Holy thread bump, batman...

Just after a teeny bit of advice from some knowledgeable fishy folk, if you'd be so kind?

We've just bought a house that came with some resident pond fish. The vendor's fishy instructions were, "don't feed them in winter"... would April be the time to start feeding them?

(The fish are still alive, so I presume the moving water from the pump/water trickle and the net to keep birds off are all they really need, bar a daily feed during Summer months?)

[ViperDave]

Feed them when they are active, give them just a little and see of they take it, don't over do it as the filter will take time to ramp up as it comes out of hibernation too with the lower waste load and cold water of winter.

To be honest there will likely be plenty of natural food around anyway, what with weed for greens and tadpoles for protein so I doubt they will starve unless you have lots and lots of fish in a bare pond

[Ryn36]

ViperDave said:

Feed them when they are active, give them just a little and see of they take it, don't over do it as the filter will take time to ramp up as it comes out of hibernation too with the lower waste load and cold water of winter.

To be honest there will likely be plenty of natural food around anyway, what with weed for greens and tadpoles for protein so I doubt they will starve unless you have lots and lots of fish in a bare pond

Thanks!

Five fish in the world's smallest pond. Small, but not bare.

[Asterix]

Dave - is there a fountain at the (bell)end?

[Nightmare]

Asterix said:

Dave - is there a fountain at the (bell)end?

that really shouldnt have made me laugh!

i have to admit I have not bothered with any filtration of any sort.....the massive amount of life in my ponds would suggest this really isn't a problem.