Ideas And Tips For An Indoor Pond

[KhaosInc]

The more I've been hanging out here, and reading... The more I really want another clown knife. I had 'ol grumpy' for 10 years and kinda miss him. I have the 300 gal I picked up sitting in the garage waiting for me to build a stand and figure out how I am going to fit 2 300 gallon tanks in my living room, but the more I think about it, the more I don't think the turtles are going to get it.

Which has led me to the idea of an indoor pond for them.

I have a nice spot that isn't suitable for a tank due to large southern facing windows. I was thinking that if I build a wood frame with a sloped edge leading to a basking area, with a convienient spot for a filter. and lined all of it with a pond liner (also just happens to be sitting in the garage) I could easiely have a several hundred gallon pond, natural sunlight (away from the water) and happy turtles..

and as a bonus, I could also do that planted tank and get another clown knife..

So... question.. anyone here done an indoor pond in a living area.. and any tips/tricks/problems etc that might help out..

I was pondering the idea of enclosing the area in plexiglass to keep humidity down, but would it really be any worse than with 400 gallons of fish tanks in this room as it is? My living room really isn't that big, I'm just obsessed, with a limited social life... and not married.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hm, at one point i considered getting an indoor pond before i got my large tanks, in the end though it was these factors that put me off having an indoor pond;
a. Condensation from evaporation from an indoor pond of a couple of hundred gallons can be pretty bad, and can create mold problems in the house.
b. Its more difficult to keep an eye on the health of fish when you can only view them from above, some deseases and parasites can go unnoticed for a long time if you cannot veiw fish like you can in a glass aquarium.
c. It can be more difficult to judge the cleanness of the tank when you can only view it from above, so area's where there is lots of waste building up in the tank may go unnoticed for longer etc.