I Want A Pond! :)

[MrsM]

hi all, well i inherited a gold fish from the neighbour...anyway to cut a long story short he is currently about 3" big, so he is still tiny he is one of those you win at the fair so i think he is a common goldfish...he was in an un oxygenated or filtered bowl so i rescued him, he is now in a 25 liter fully cycled and oxygenated hexagonal tank (see pic) so he has more space and his tank has 2 PWC per week to keep ontop of nitrates and cleans the poop, but i know he needs a new home...preferably a pond, with some mates...so here it is...i want a pond!

i know its a filtered, oxygenated hole in the ground, but where do i start....questions so far (if you could help) are...
1.does the pond have to be in the shade or in the sun or a bit of both?
2.i think half a dozen goldies at the most is sufficient so how bigger pond will i need?
3.im in the uk, will a common goldfish survive our winter? i know the pond has to have a deeper part, is this to protect from the cold?
4.filter?? pump? im lost here. do i need a filter? someone said have a waterfall/feature to create surface agitation, this will filter the pond...?? :duno: i know it will oxygenate the pond, but filter it too i dont think so....
5.does the pond have to be cycled like a tank?, can i use filter media from the indoor tanks i have to do this?..... ok thats enough questions for now... anyone with any advice please advise thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

1. Mostly shade. A little bit of sun is good, but if it gets more than three or four hours of sun, you'll suffer with green water. That won't affect the fish, but it doesn't look nice! If you have to put the pond in a sunny place, then you can clear up green water with UV filter (that makes the algae clump together, so it gets caught in the filter), but that's more expense and hassle, so shady is better; but not right under a tree where you'll get problems with roots (and leaves, in the autumn).

2. Something along the lines of six foot square would be enough for a half a dozen goldies (or 4'x8', or whatever fits your garden)

3. Yes, common goldfish overwinter fine in the UK, as long as you have at least some of the pond 2.5 or 3 feet deep (the deeper the better) and you don't let the surface completely freeze over for too long. Yes, the depth is to protect from the cold.

4. A lot of people do keep goldies in unfiltered ponds, but it's not ideal. Waterfalls and fountains won't filter on their own, although you can add another, smaller pond at the top of a waterfall and fill it with plants (water cress is great for this) and that works as a 'vegetable filter'. Probably the easiest way is to buy a pond pump and a box filter. You want something that turns over the volume of the pond at least a couple of times an hour.


5. In theory ponds do need cycling, yes, but as goldies are so hardy a lot of people don't bother. Yes, you can use your already cycled media to seed the pond filter.

One other thing. It's too late in the year to think about transferring indoor fish outside; you're going to have to wait until spring now, I'm afraid. I wouldn't want to keep a goldie in a 25l tank for that long, so I would either get a bigger tank for it, or you could keep it in a large plastic storage box, with your cycled filter in it until the weather warms up; March/April time should be ok.

My son built my pond for me last summer, and I absolutely LOVE it! I've always wanted a pond with a waterfall

 

[msasa19]

my godmother has 2 massive ponds in her garden, they are a lot of work and not cheap!

 

[MrsM]

was going to start work in spring....just gathering ideas etc, ill get a bigger tank to house goldie until pond is done....as for it being hard work and not cheap....nor are kids but i got 2 of them and i love them haha

thanks for all that info FLUTTERMOTH much appriciated, as always..i see it as a project that is going to be hard work, fun, but well worth the money and effort!

 

[MrsM]

here is the little fishy in question, cheeky boy

 

[Haveagojoe]

You WILL need a UV filter or you WILL get green water its a fact of life, for the size of pond you are looking at have a look at the Hozelock range of all in one filters in the Easyclear range, they do exactly what they claim to do.

 

[MrsM]

Was contemplating an all in one filter, thanks...were getting xmas and the icy weather out of the way first, then we'll get goldie into a pond...poor thing...will he be ok after being in a house tank for ages? I mean his tank is around 20 degrees, i know we can drop below zero here!! Bit paranoid for the little fish

Oooopsie pics of goldie upside down...

 

[Haveagojoe]

Well I rescured two goldys from my daughters awful 10 ltr tank which was stagnant for most of the time and put them in my pond 3 years ago, they have never looked better, theyve grown and they over winter so well so dont worry about the change from tank to pond, pond is the way to go.

 

[MrsM]

Ive been through a rollercoaster with this fish, saved him from being flushed by the neighbour! Then had him in the 25L tank,fully areated and filtered, thought he was ok in there....but nope! He needs 150L. I cant house him in my home so were gonna have to take this outside. I get excited about a pretty natural looking pond, but ive got 2 very young kids...is this going to be a danger for either of them, fish or child??? Then i thought of ice and snow......poor fish, i now know as long as the pond has a deeper bit/escape route he will be fine.....i now know its going to cost a bit too, i have got a hubby so a pond is physically possible, we can afford it weve got while spring to save up! its just my 3 and 1 year old....i dont want them to fall in the pond or for them to throw things in, ive aso got a cat..... will she go fishing?

Ive recently found out that someone i live close to has a pond.....i really do like this fish, he chases my finger along the glass and if i wipe his glass he looks like a vicious dog trying to bite the cloth haha, ill miss him if i have to give him away.....

I know hes only a fish but he is MY fish.....and i like him....just not sure what to do, im thinking a new indoor tank.........

 

[iantaylor]

My pond is raised i used railway sleepers bolted together its 12 feet by 8 feet also dug into the ground 2.5 feet but above ground 3 feet so quite deep.

I have a uv working to remove the algea

Also a have a fine net covering it to stop the neighbours cat and the local heron fishing

I built it raised so my children when they where younger didn't go swimming and were never left outside on there own

 

[MrsM]

Id never leave my kids unsupervised in the garden, but im still swaying to a tank indoors, ive got a stretch of wall that has a row of toy boxes on it, they can be moved! Haha, either that or the people close by can have him in their pond, they did say theyd take him, its just whether i can give him away.....

 

[Mikey1]

my godmother has 2 massive ponds in her garden, they are a lot of work and not cheap!

agreed!

 

[MrsM]

Ok...indoor tank it is....or rehoming of goldie..... Anyone want a friendly little orange fish?

 

[Mikey1]

Ok...indoor tank it is....or rehoming of goldie..... Anyone want a friendly little orange fish?

im sure my arrowanna would enjoy him

lol j/k

 

[MrsM]

im assuming thats a fish that will eat goldie poor goldie, i wont tell him you said that