Jessie

For those who are interested. Though experimentation, I have come up with this.

I wish I had a picture, but unfortunatly I don't have a camera.

By cutting 16 2x4x8's into 4' boards'
Drilling 3 1'8 inch holes in each board, 2 on one end and 1 on the other
Hammering them together with Rie Bar in a brick like pattern to form a box
Coating the inside with closed cell foam
Shaping a pond liner to the inside and drilling it to the top board

The result is a 300 gallon (roughly) that cost 180 dollars, and 2 days to make.
It's measurements are roughly 4ft square and 3 feet deep.

My Iredescents and other fish are now vastly enjoying there new found space and I am already making plans to make a bigger one. This one was more of a prototype.

Something I thought would be of interest to people looking for a cheaper way to house large fish and not having to worry about it popping.

sirdarksol

I've relocated this to the DIY board because it's an excellent idea that can be used for other fish. It's an idea that I might use at some point for my koi.

TSasaki

I'd be interested in seeing a picture or video of this. I love iridescent sharks, but sadly I had to give mine away.

Shaina

I'm trying to picture how the holes come into play and how this "bricklike pattern" work, and utterly failing :s

Sounds interesting though.

Jessie

The holes are to put the rebar through that holds the walls together.

I'm trying to get my hands on a camera so I can take a picture. so hopefully I'll have something up soon.

sirdarksol

Brick-like pattern is a series of overlapping boards. Working with 4' boards, you start with a row on the ground. You start the next row 2' to the left (and cut one board into 2 2' pieces so you can fill the ends). The next row is made the same as the first. The next is 2' over. Etc...
The holes match up vertically (this requires very careful measuring), and you pound the rebar down through them. I use a similar concept when using landscaping timber.

Jessie

Exactly, thats where I got the idea.

MissMTS

I have been wanting to build an above the ground pond for some time now. Is your pond in the ground or above the ground. Mine will be going on my porch, so I can't exacly dig a hole, lol. What kind of filtration do you have with your pond?

Jessie

It is above ground. In fact it's sitting on my porch.

I got a Laguna filtration system. It's actually intended for a 1500 gallon pond, which I know is three times more water then is actually in it, but this was only supposed to be a proto type. The next one I build I'm planning on making at least 2000 gallons.

Jessie

It has taken me forever but I finally got my hands on a camera so I can show you what it looks like. It's not very good though, because it's winterized right now.

[IMG][/IMG]

TFA101

wow! so if i make something like this would it be a good excuse to safely get a couple ID sharks?

Jessie

Not really.

This was just the proto type, and something for me to keep them in until they were big enough for the one I'm going to have built for them. I wanted to start them out in something smaller so they wouldn't dissappear and I never figure out what happened to them. The one I'm about to build next will be 15000 gallons which is basicly a small swimming pool and will cost me roughly 2000.00$ to build.

But if you want to build something similar, you could use it for almost any type of fish that will fit it. And you can pretty much make it any size and shape you want.

TFA101

so what kind of fish could i use? i dont think i'm ready for Koi yet, and Imight consider fancy goldfish.

Jessie

Depending on what size you make it, there are a lot of options. But if we're talking about a choice between Koi and Goldfish, you want to go with the goldfish. The requemended amount of water per Koi is 300 gallons, thats because they can get between 3 to 4 feet long. The requemended for goldfish is usually around 20 gallons per fish depending on the breed.

catfishlover123

Sounds really cool and cheap. I might make one in the future. . .