Anyone have a garden pond ?

[betursweetbass]

I recently bought a house in Cypress TX, and am thinking about putting in a small garden pond near the front door. Has anyone have any advice or tips on construction and or aquatic life introduction? I'll probably have about 250 gallons of filter'd water running thru it.

[JB]

bet,
I put mine in 5 years ago and do about one a year for others.
I usually make mine about 10 feet in diameter and 4 feet deep for up here in the north, and keep koi fish and multicolored gold fish(orange n red n white)
The best advise I can give ya is to get a rototiller and get the dirt out that way..its def a time/back saver...also its recommended you get about a inch or two of sand on the bottom and edges before you put the liner in.
Up here the maple trees grow like crazy and the roots can puncture the liner.
I go to Lowes and get a thick liner, they have a 14x14 that I like, its about 100 bucks...plus a good pump can be bought at lowes too..
I put a 1900 gallons per hour in my sisters and it works well to keep the algae down, but the 1375 is a nice model , I am going to replace my 375 this year.
I started out with limestone around the edges, i had some left over from a masonary job I did, and used it for years, but 2 years ago my sisters bought me a truckload of flat stones about 1-3 inches thick, I went to the quarry and picked them out, its much nicer that the chunks of limestone, plus lighter...
I top off the ponds with low voltage lighting, you can get a transformer at lowes for 40 bucks, and spotlights for about 9 bucks, all with a timer.
I built a nice water fall from elevating the stones and putting the pump tube within the stacks of rock, and at night we sit out on the deck and listen to it run, its calming like a babbling brook.
Most ponds I have built ran me about 300 bucks for the liners, pump, and low voltage lights.
You can get lotus and other water plants or put them in pots and sink them in the pond, plus the more water you have churning keeps the algae way down, I used to try to keep it clear, but its pretty hard to get away from the pond green water.
And, on the outside edges we have grass's and flowers and iris's that come back each year, plus under the water in the waterfall I have underwater lights.
I always build one side of the pond like stairsteps, in case one of you dogs falls in, they can find a way to step out of it..hope that helps!

[bassintom]

i put one in at my last house.had it about 12 years..do not put it under trees or you will spend a lot of time cleaning it.
as JB said it is relaxing sitting out on the deck at night listening to the water.i'd put one in here but we have too many trees around and i have enough work cutting into my fishing time as it is.

[JB]

ours is under a huge tree, i put that one inch square plastic fencing over the rocks and water during the fall when the leaves fall, plus i use a pool skimmer for the topwater when buds and junk get in it..Ya have to watch out for leaves that fall in, they turn the water black.

[lovinfishin9]

heres an idea that my grandma did, dig a hole in the ground, take one of the old big fiberglass satellite dishesand stick it in the hole. Then you can put a plastic liner in that, and a pump for a fountain or whatever.

[WTL]

They also make premade hard plastic shells up to I think 250 gallons, they make things a good bit easier. The last one I did instead of digging down I used one of the shells, then built a 2 ft high stone wall to totally surround the thing. I then backfilled that with loose dirt and sand. Its an option if you have a yard thats hard to dig in or if you want that look.

[betursweetbass]

Thanks for the tips you guys, I'll get some research done and start this project soon. I'll be happy to share pics with you all from time to time as the project continues. Feel free to share more tips or ideas that may come to mind. I know bassintxlady and myself are really looking forward to doing just what you guys do....sit and relax while listening to the sounds of water trickling down into a pond. Thanks again,
PS...I'm going to dig up ( no pun intended ) a clothing tape measure for the boat....

[JB]

bet,
heres a pic of our pond from last spring
Attachment 318

[1FASTLASER]

JB

Helluva nice job there buddy. Be proud of that. I definatley would like something like that around the house somewhere but I already have my hands full of work. Gotta paint this year and get the Laser done are 2 of my majors jobs. The Laser being my number 1 project of course.

[JB]

Thanks! its mighty piecefull at night with the low voltage spotlites on it..plus it also works as a fishing barometer, when I feed the koi's i can usually tell if the bass will be biting, over the years I've noticed that if they don't come to the top to feed, usually its high pressure and the bass fishing is slower. Other times they are all over the flake/pond/food, and very active, in return that days bass fishing seems to be pretty good.

[bassintxlady]

very gorgeous pond there JB...i can't wait until we get ours started....i love the thrill of the job let alone the finished product too....

[flbassman]

You can trick out a 75 gallon pond shell into a killer fishing machine. I've got one, and I bought a trolling motor for it, looking to get it done in a few months, gonna have n inner tube for stability, a casting seat, rope hook, and whatever else I can find cheap that I want to stick on there.