3mtr / 1.5mtr fish pond build

[coobah666]

Want to make a small fish pond and wondering do they have plastic liners or is it better to make a cement liner,do you need a special cement,or is tiling the go, all ideas appreciated. Thanks!

[Rooo]

Moved to do it yourself housing forum.

[meatboy]

we had a 15ft.x12ft.brick walls cemented with a concrete base and tiled allround,nice fountain feature in the middle and 2 spouting fish,all pipe work is under the concrete and the pump is on top of a 3ft deep sump.we had some loverly carp and some nice goldies some lights and it looked rearly impresive people would stop to look.

would i recomend you build the same would i fk,first the algae,then those frogs like car alarms,the cats after the fish,then the emptying and cleaning ours takes 4,000lts.of water,we should have had a drainage pipe laid to the waste pipes but that would have meant the workers digging a trench 4ft deep by 20ft long,the speed they work it would have taken 20days instead of 10.we decided to get shot of the carp as they take a lot of cleaning,with uneaten food and their shit,so we just kept the goldies.this week the pump packed in mind you its lasted a lot longer than most electical items bought here[3yrs] stripped it down this morning shaft drive not turning,so what do we do now,well fill it in and get a small pump for the feature's and transfer the fish to a large lotus bowl.if you still want a pond buy a plastic one small pump and a filter.or some nice lotus bowls.

[bankruatsteve]

^^ Yah. It probably doesn't really matter how you make it water proof. The real problem is keeping fish alive. That should have filtration system, aeration, and some way to keep out critters. Good luck.

[doglover]

I use both types of liners. The plastic actually works ok as long as it is doubled up and the surface it lays on is smooth. For our plastic lined pond it was assembled on a semi-smooth concrete pad (cleaned thoroughly) and the pond walls built from those stackable lego type red bricks. Do not put any sculptures or sizeable rocks in a thin plastic lined feature of course. To clean I just unstack some of the bricks and then the plastic liner drops down and the water flows out. Restack and pleat the liner when finished.

For the concrete lined pond we had the worker add a water sealant to the rendering mix. When he finished, the floor and walls of the pond were very smooth. It has been holding water without leaks for a year now. Not sure what brand he used but I would think it would be easy to describe what one wants to the worker or a hardware store. Had him install a pvc drain pipe in the low end of the pond with a threaded cap for cleaning.

For both ponds I use an out of pond DIY pond filter that pumps water from the opposite end of the pond from the filter into the filter. After flowing through the filter the water drops about a foot into the pond which helps with aeration.

The pictures are of the concrete lined pond. I have no plants in the plastic lined pond as I don't want to cut the plastic.

[Thailaw]

I have a fish pond a bit larger than you are planning. I have about 20 to 25 medium to large koi in it, which is too many for an 8,000 litre pond, but we got a bit carried a way with the fish. Design and filtration are the keys to a successful and low maintenance fish pond. It is no way near as difficult or as problematic to maintain a fish pond as meatboy suggests if it is designed and built correctly (and you have enough sense to not over feed the fish -- my kids will do that if they are not watched and guided). My pond is cement with a chemical added to the cement when wet to make the cement water tight. But it is also tiled for aesthetics, I have a large filter box with a submersible pump that pumps (I think) about 8,000 liters of water each hour. The pump should pump the volume of the pond at least 3 times each day. It is an "organic" filtration system, which cleans the water and uses bacteria to change the harmful nitrites to nitrates. The filter box has four chambers, with large brushes to collect the debris, filter pads, charcoal and ceramic beads, and finally oyster shells to house the bacteria. The brushes require cleaning once each week with a hose. The whole filter box is emptied and cleaned once each year. Once it is established and working, which can take a month or two to build up the bacteria colony, it requires about 30 minutes to 1 hour per week for maintenance. The annual cleaning is a full morning's work. The water is crystal clear -- you can see the individual tiles on the bottom of the pond. Again, the key is proper design and a good and adequately sized filtration system. We have frogs in the pond sometimes, but they don't seem to be much of a problem. I have lost 2 or 3 fish to cats, and that can be a problem, but not what I would call "serious" thus far (5+ years). My pond is very stable and we haven't lost any fish (except to cats) for years. Introducing new fish can be a problem in the early stages, because new fish can bring disease, etc. We really enjoy the pond, and it is a great place to sit in the morning and feed the fish and drink a cup of coffee. PM me if you want more information.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Thailaw

[doglover]

^^^^

Nice pond!

That filter must be working very well to keep the water crystal clear with all those koi.

Did you build the filter yourself?

Pictures and costs would be appreciated.

[coobah666]

I used to breed Cichlids back in Aus and have Bass in a little pond out the front its the stuff they mix with the mortar to make it water proof I need,will have a drive around tomorrow and have a look, thanks all for speedy replies.

[meatboy]

if i remember right its in a yellow or orange container name something like sikla its added to the mix,we did have a small leak 2months ago where the grouting fell off but fixed that with some sista d100.goner get a new pump have someone to make a pergola to cover the pond and look at getting some sort of filter system,but drainage is the problem we do use a pump takes about an hour.as the fourth generation of goldies are enjoying being back in the pond rather than the lotus bowl we are going to persevere.so if anyone reading this from korat who can or know someone that can make a pergola drop us a line.

[Thailaw]

^^^^

Nice pond!

That filter must be working very well to keep the water crystal clear with all those koi.

Did you build the filter yourself?

Pictures and costs would be appreciated.

Here are a few pictures of the fish pond filter. It measures 110 cm long x 62 cm wide x 90 cm deep. It has four chambers -- water flows over the first and third divider and under the second (middle) divider. The filter is gravity fed by one 1" pipe from the side wall of the pond. This is totally inadequate -- there should be at least 3 pipes and one should be at the bottom. The first chamber has 8 brushes hung from a piece of plastic pipe. The second chamber has bags of ceramic beads and charcoal, covered with a heavy plastic filter fabric (about 1" thick). The third chamber has 4 large bags of oyster shells. The last chamber houses the submersible pump that returns the water to the pond via the waterfall in the wall. There is a UV light filter on the back of the wall that kills the algae. They can be purchases for about B1200. The light requires changing once each year -- I just change the whole UV fixture. All of the filter materials are easily available at any good fish pond supply shop. I buy all of mine (and many fish) in the pet area between Chatujak Market and JJ Mall and the soi directly behind. Total cost of all of the filter materials (excluding the UV light) is under B1000. I replace the 4 bags of charcoal each year for B80. The rest looks like it will last forever, but the plastic bags may give way after a few more year. But 5 years is the minimum, as they have already been in the filter that long.

I had the pond built first, and then had the same guys build the wall with the waterfall and the filer box. I paid them B20,000 for the box and the wall and I paid for the tile. The pond was built as part of a much bigger job, so I have not idea what the cost of the pond was alone. There is a pipe in the middle of the pond that I intended to use for a fountain (rather than the waterfall), but I did not like the look of the fountain, so I added the wall, which I like much better. Having both would be possible.

I hope that this helps. My pond and filter system are great, except that the flow of water into the filter is inadequate. And I have no visible wires or pipes or ugly blue barrels into or around my pond. Everything is into and out of the filter box, which is behind the wall. Make sure that you have adequate water flow from the pond into the filter system. Once you have the pond filled with water and fish, changing anything is much more difficult and expensive.

[meatboy]

thanks thailaw i am toying with the idea of fitting an uv.light can you recomend one and where in the pond should it be fitted.i did take some photo's of our pond but havnt got a clue how to post them,i will have to ask my mate.

[Thailaw]

thanks thailaw i am toying with the idea of fitting an uv.light can you recomend one and where in the pond should it be fitted.i did take some photo's of our pond but havnt got a clue how to post them,i will have to ask my mate.

The UV filter is best located on the pipe that returns the water from the filter to the pond. I have extended the pipe that flows into the water fall and just put the UV filter on a "loop" that takes the water from the waterfall through the UV filter and back into the waterfall. You can see it (the black tube with blue pipes running into and out of it) in the first picture at the top of the wall behind the fish pond. You will also need an electric source nearby, as the UV filter is an ultraviolet light with a cord and plug. I have used a JEBO UV-H-36, which is a 36w ultraviolet light. They can be found in most fish/pond supply shops. I rate the JEBO as B-/C+. They last about 1 year and need to be replaced, as the water seals inside start to leak. Perhaps silicone sealant applied at the base of the glass tube in which the UV light is housed inside the filter when first installing it could solve that problem or at least extend the filter's life. I buy them at the fish and pond supply shops in Chatuchak Market for B1,200, and have replaced them each year. The new UV bulb is about B550 (which needs to be replaced once each year even if still "working"), so replacing the whole UV filter is not a big additional cost. Let me know if you need more.

Edited June 16, 2013 by Thailaw

[meatboy]

thanks for that,wf.is off to the shop today to get some de-green so she will check it all,we have electric nearby for the pump and lights so that should be no problem,only problem is getting the wf.to spend some money the pond has already cost us[her] 50,000 so trying to convince her to part with some more is like trying to get cider out of a stone,she got to be up there as the tightest thai mee-a.