Outside ponds and filteration

[satans worm]

HI
Am looking a building an outside pond around a meter wide, 1.5meters deep and 3 meters long. It will be half dug in and half built up (double lined brick).
We would rather not have the noise of running water (ie filteration) as we are in a very quite village (pin drop type quite) and would rather not annoy the neighbours, would this be ok or will it silt up too quickly?
Dont mind changing the water and having a good clear out twice a year but not much more!

It will be in a sheltered position, north facing part of the garden, we are not looking at keeping Koi or anything expensive (suggestions please!).
Any tips on all this much appreciated
Thanks

[robinhood21]

I used to have two ponds in my garden, one being about the size that you mention. Never had any filtration and I cleaned it out once a year. Just make sure that you have plenty of surface plant coverage, as without it the water will turn green.

[RJE1966]

Agreed.....plenty of plant life and some goldfish will do the trick, no need to clean too often as you end up creating an unbalanced environment, much better to leave it as long as possible if it's not too green (blanket weed can be a problem, but use a mini starw bale or scoop it out). You've more than enough depth to leave it a good couple of years at least before clearing the bottom sludge.

Good luck, and enjoy, a pond can one of the most relaxing pleasures.

[satans worm]

Thanks for the answers, any suggestions for what type of fish we should keep (hardy and low maintenance!)
Also, should I use a pond liner or is their a rubber paint that can be used? Would like the sides as straight as possible to keep with the look of the pond (contemporary), with a liner I can see that being differcult in the corners?

[Livid]

gold fish are the most hardy, tench, bream < all ugly though

with fish you need aeration, thats where water features come in, although you can get them under the water pumping in bubbles. ( think like in an indoor aquarium), bubbles stream up from the bottom to the top.

personally i love the noise of my waterfall, so soothing, beer and bbq next to the pond in summer, does not get much better than that! personally ive been getting on fine with my Koi and Shubukins (sp), and they are stunning, just throw some food in at the morning and night, easier than keeping a hamster!


edit to add, the look of professional ponds that rubber thing, is actually fiberglass strips that are put around the pond then a rubber/fiberglass paint is painted over, last for years, very strong however alot more expensive than the normal rubber lining

Edited by Livid on Wednesday 14th January 13:46

[satans worm]

Livid said:

gold fish are the most hardy, tench, bream < all ugly though

with fish you need aeration, thats where water features come in, although you can get them under the water pumping in bubbles. ( think like in an indoor aquarium), bubbles stream up from the bottom to the top.

personally i love the noise of my waterfall, so soothing, beer and bbq next to the pond in summer, does not get much better than that! personally ive been getting on fine with my Koi and Shubukins (sp), and they are stunning, just throw some food in at the morning and night, easier than keeping a hamster!


edit to add, the look of professional ponds that rubber thing, is actually fiberglass strips that are put around the pond then a rubber/fiberglass paint is painted over, last for years, very strong however alot more expensive than the normal rubber lining

Edited by Livid on Wednesday 14th January 13:46

I quite like the noise or a waterfall too, unfortunatly my neighbours do not and in fairness I understand it can be annoying when you like peace and quite only to hear other peoples noise pollution, this is especially highlighted in small villages.

So to reduce the chances of them burning me at the stake on a full moon I think it will be non filtered!

Re Shubunkins, would they be ok? ( I know Koi are 'messy' fish requiring filteration)

Are anything other than goldfish hardy enough?

[toppstuff]

I don't think you can get away with not having some filtration.

Fish, poo. Quite a lot.

And their poo can contribute to the pond getting very green and before you know it you have a pond of green muck. Which is not nice.

I am an advocate of having a powerful pump which can recycle the water and filter out much of the crap.

As I understand it, you do not have to have a water feature such as a sprinkler or a waterfall. But you can have a pump unit which sucks water in, filters it and then sends it out again. No reason why it should be noisy.

I have a pond with perhaps 40 fish of varying sizes - it is always crystal clear. I never have to clean it, all I need to do is regularly clean the pump.

Go to an aquatic centre and get some advice would be my tip.

[jeff m]

That size pond with no filtration may support half a fish.

Not really....but it does limit the number of inches of fish you can have.
Its all about balance.

[335man]

I'd echo the comments on green build up from fish poo.

I have a pump and filter but have just added a uv filter as the green build up was significant.

Interestingly the water was completely clear during the cold spell last week but is now back to green again that it is milder.

[RJE1966]

If you are determined to have no filter, then as said, it will limit the no. off fish you can have, depth is irrelevant for this. You can use an air pump and stone, which will help icrease the ponds potential capacity to house fish.

As said above, plenty of vegitation to iclude shade for a good proportion of the waters surface will help limit algae growth, and increase the chanc eof clearer water.

Algae growth feeds on fish poo, and sunlight and th ehigher the water vtemp. the greater its growth. Limit shade, and have plnts that use up the Nitrites produced from fish poo.

Fish? Comet goldfish to start you can then add a few others when the pond is well estatblished. Tench will never be seen, yhey don't keep the pond clean (thats a mith) and Shubunkins won't be happy in a new pond. Koi are ok buT will trash your plants as they love digging around in roots and they love green water (carp).

HTH?

[cardigankid]

1.5 metres deep? I hope you don't have any grandchildren.

[Slinky]

cardigankid said:

1.5 metres deep? I hope you don't have any grandchildren.

Doesn't matter if it's 1.5, 2.5, 0.5 or 0.2, it's still a risk.. Don't panic though folks, I'm not on an H&S mission!

Common sense is all you need when kids and ponds meet, I was found face down in a friends neighbours shallow pool when I was a kid.. It was a ground level pool and I'd crawled through a gap in the fence!

Slinky

[theboyfold]

Could you not just install a more gentle water fall? Something that doesn't make too much noise? I find I can vary the amount of noise mine makes by placing stones in the flow of the water, and how high it falls from.

[Oakey]

satans worm said:

Livid said:

gold fish are the most hardy, tench, bream < all ugly though

with fish you need aeration, thats where water features come in, although you can get them under the water pumping in bubbles. ( think like in an indoor aquarium), bubbles stream up from the bottom to the top.

personally i love the noise of my waterfall, so soothing, beer and bbq next to the pond in summer, does not get much better than that! personally ive been getting on fine with my Koi and Shubukins (sp), and they are stunning, just throw some food in at the morning and night, easier than keeping a hamster!


edit to add, the look of professional ponds that rubber thing, is actually fiberglass strips that are put around the pond then a rubber/fiberglass paint is painted over, last for years, very strong however alot more expensive than the normal rubber lining

Edited by Livid on Wednesday 14th January 13:46

I quite like the noise or a waterfall too, unfortunatly my neighbours do not and in fairness I understand it can be annoying when you like peace and quite only to hear other peoples noise pollution, this is especially highlighted in small villages.

Must really piss them off every time it rains heavily?

[paddyhasneeds]

You can buy canister filters I believe that sit in the water or even if you have to have something that sits outside the pond you'll be able to route the outflow back into the pond via a pipe.

[MrV]

The easy way must be just to have the return pipe from the filter under the water level ,all the benefits of having it filtered and none of the noise.

[RJE1966]

MrV said:

The easy way must be just to have the return pipe from the filter under the water level ,all the benefits of having it filtered and none of the noise.

ETA And there are plenty of good systems around nowadays, have a look at Oase.

Edited by RJE1966 on Wednesday 14th January 18:55

[Livid]

as long as you balance the pond and don't overstock you will be fine! add a few plants, few fish.

the noisy part is the aeration, this is normally done with a waterfall but you can get diffusion aerators

http://www.malibuwater.com/oAirStone.html

that's a heavy duty one for a large body of water, but hopefully that explains what it does. < you can use one of them instead of a waterfall.

[Road Hog]

if you dont have some water movement the water will start to smell, you can put a filteration system in and have the return under the water, thus no noise,

have built quite a few now, best liner is fibreglass ,more expensive but loads better.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Amongst the goldfish, chuck in a couple of grass carp, they do a good job at keeping the blanket weed at bay. (and they don't need fancy filtration etc)