Ambitiousevil

The thought came up this weekend about possibly putting a little pond in the backyard of our new house, but I was curious if that would even be possible (or smart) considering I'm in Arizona and the temperature exceeds 110 in the summer months. Would the pond fish be able to sustain under that type of condition?

I'm sure I could work out some type of shade with plants and such but would it be more work that it's worth?

Shawnie

I guess it depends on how much work is too much for you....Im dieing for a pond and thats so in my near future...I just love the look and the fish that go in there....I just have to find a spot for the winter months as I wouldnt want to leave them outside...

In the shade I think would be great...now and then you might have to float some frozen water bottles as your temps are way warmer than the north east LOL...but is that something you are willing to do for the pond? I know I would be because I want one so bad...let us know what you decide!! and of course, we will need pics

Martinismommy

Considering I am in Chandler which makes us neighbors I'd have to say NO way....It is too hot in the summer and I wish that 110 was the high lol....I've lived here for 4 years and seen it reach 118 plus....

How long have you lived here?

sirdarksol

The deeper and better shaded a pond, the better it will handle the heat. Koi and goldfish can survive pretty hot water, anyway, so you should be able to have a pond. The biggest thing is being sure that you can maintain the water level.

Ambitiousevil

I've lived out here for 3.5 yrs, so I've survived the 118 degree days too. Lost my A/C unit during that time too, so I really felt the pain of it, which is why I was concerned about the little ones. I'm thinking it would be possible if I had enough shade. The area of the yard I was thinking about has a 10 ft east wall on one side and the house on the west side, so the only time it would have direct sunlight would be (ironically) in the hottest part of the day, so the need for shading plants or artificial means (canopy) would probably be necessary. Anyone have any experience with this type of scenario or know someone who has?

Oh and martinismommy...where do you normally go for your supplies? the chains or Pets Inc...or do you know of any hidden gems?

sirdarksol

I have not had experience with it, but I've done my research. I live in MN, where our summers can get almost as hot, but are much, much more humid. I plan on having a pond at some point, so I've had to look into these things.

A few things will help.
First of all, as you say, a canopy of some sort will be good. Depending on your soil, a tree might be difficult (though there are a few awesome desert trees. One of the trees that you can get dragon's blood from is reputed to survive well in low-water environment). On the other hand, stretching some of that half-shadowed netting between house and wall, or, if you want green, you could run a trellis between the two and grow a hardy vine (same watering problem as with the tree, of course) up the wall and across the trellis.

Also, floating pond plants will help. If you've got goldfish or koi, you'll have to protect the plants' roots, but they sell stuff specifically for this purpose. Lilly-pad type plants are great for this.

You can also provide shelves under the water that will not only allow the fish to get out from under the sun during the noon time, but also will protect them from incidental predators (a neighbor's cat, for example).

Martinismommy

I get my salt water supplies at Above the Reef in Tempe.....I order my freshwater supplies and some of my Bettas online...I haven't found a good fish store locally ........I go to petsmart when I am desperate...

I lost my air conditioner last August....It took 10 days for them to get the new unit in.....It was **** on earth! I love it here 9 months out of the year but the summers suck!

Good luck with your Koi pond...I know it can be done.....My Vet tech has one and she hasn't had too many problems...I've heard it is quite a bit of maintance though.

sirdarksol

Especially when it gets hot and dry. The pond could lose several inches of water a day if the conditions are right.

JasperII

I live in Las Vegas, NV and we get alittle hot hear too. I've seen many Koi ponds and all have been beautiful. Covering with a Mesquite tree is good. Need water to be deepenough with places to hide for the fish like under rock ledges. Defintely no direct sun. I don't have one but I've dreamed of having one. Star Nursury(a landscaping store with plants)has a nice one set up and I admire it everytime I go. I would think you would want some kind of automatic refilling feature too. Good Luck

Shawnie

I agree!! if you want want bad enough, and are willing to work at keeping it cool/hot/warm, you will...someday again, im going to have one because I think they are just amazing

hockeyref88

Shade and depth are the key in a hot area....Plants are also a big plus for more than one reason. They do shade the water but also help immensely with water quality. If your going to do it, go as deep as you possibly can. If your talking a small pond, anything less than 3ft deep you would probably have trouble with and even that is going to keep you busy trying to keep it cool. To give you an idea I have a 30 inch deep 1000 G pond that is mostly covered by a patio cover in So. Cal and its been running 73 to76 and it has not been really that hot yet.

gremlin

I have lived in Phoenix, AZ my entire life. We have alway had a pond with goldfish. We started out with a hole lined with cement. After 30 years, the waterfall (built against the front of the house) started to leak into the house so we knocked a hole in the bottom and turned it into a flower bed. I missed the pond, so I bought a preformed pond (about 1 and 1/2 feet deep, just over 100 gallons). I set it on the front porch under the overhand and had it there for a while, but with no sun on it I couldn't get any plants to grow in it. When I dropped a rock from the waterfall on one of the shelves and made a hole in it, I had to replace it. I got a larger preformed (about 2 feet deep, 180 gallons or so) and put it where our old original pond was. It is on the east side of the house so it gets full sun until about 2 in the afternoon. The waterlillies are doing quite well, (If you want some, let me know) and I found that thyme and dichondra (yes, the grass) does well planted around the edges. I do not heat it in the winter or cool it in the summer. I have an external pressure filter with a uv light to help control the algae. It has two waterfalls that I built and my Mom and I built a wall around it and backfilled with dirt so it has the insulation of the dirt around to help maintain the water temp. The hottest it has ever gotten in the hot part of the summer days is about 88 degrees farenheit. It drops down to the 60's in the winter. Our old pond used to freeze over in the winter. When I was a kid we would go out and break the ice on the pond so the waterfall would not make the water run off the ice and out of the pond. Every morning we woulod have to check it. I haven't had ice on my pond for many many years. I get most of my supplies from dr foster and smith. Occasionally I will find something good at walmart or petsmart. There's a place called The Ocean Floor that is pretty good too, but a bit pricey.

A few issues, feral cats have gotten some of my fish. I have one that is pretty much healed now from a bite wound. She is a calico shubunkin. All the cat got was a single mouthfull and a face full of water. I saw the splash marks all over the wall when I went out the next morning, that's how I knew what happened to my fishie. occasionally, a stray dog will get in the pond, but not as often now that it is raised (our first pond was ground level). The grackles (big black birds) come to get a drink and will sometimes catch one of my mosquito fish. I have a couple of rock shelves so the fish have a place to hide from the cats and birds. I usually do a fair water change after we get a dust storm blow through. I have a pond vac that works quite well to get the dirt out of the bottom of the pond after one of those storms.

Anyway, there is some maintenance, but all in all, it is not too bad.

Some pics of my pond and my fish right after the cat bite:

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	06-15-08_pond left view.JPG (92.4 KB, 3 views)
	06-15-08_pond right view.JPG (102.5 KB, 6 views)
	06-18-08_pond wall.JPG (90.4 KB, 7 views)
	01-05-08_catbit fish.JPG (55.5 KB, 8 views)

Ambitiousevil

Wow, very nice pictures. We're looking for something around that idea. Probably looking for something about 6x6x2 since we seem to have a little dead space between our patio and the fencewall at our new house. I'm wanting to do a mix of above and underground. I'm thinking of digging it 2 ft deep and then putting 1ft of elevation or vice versa. Definitely will have a waterfall both for the filtering benefits as well as the look/sound. Do you just have Goldfish in yours? I was thinking about including my plecos that have gotten big, but wasn't sure if they would survive in the temps.

JasperII

Your pond is awesome! And your story is inspiring to the point that I want to run out in my 110 degree Las Vegas weather and dig a hole to start. Probably not! But I'm thinking "when can I?". I love yours. I'd like to do something like it. Thanks and I hope you don't mind.

gremlin

I would say to bury about 1 foot of it then you could build a wall with the block around to hold dirt for plants and to sit on. home depot usually has the block, that's where we got ours. It is just dry stacked, no mortar or cement required. the preformed ponds already have plant shelves built in, that is where we set a couple of big flat rocks on brick to make little caves. I have gold fish and mosquito fish in year round. In the late spring I put in a pleco that was about an inch long that my sister gave me. by the end of the summer it was quite large. I wasn't sure if it would survive the winter since I don't have the pond heated, so I gave it to a friend of mine who is a teacher. She had it in a 29 gallon tank. I guess it missed the pond, she came in to the classroom one morning the next March, and the pleco had jumped out of the tank (pushing up the screen cover) and flopped/crawled clear across her classroom floor before it died. She had a nice little funeral for it with her classroom. The two chinese algae eaters that I sent at the same time are still cleaning her tanks. She moves them from tank to tank since there are only two of them and she has 3 tanks. Here are some pics of the pleco and the two cae's just before I sent them to her classroom.

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	07-31-07 pleco to school.JPG (45.6 KB, 0 views)
	08-07-07 2 algae eaters to school.JPG (44.6 KB, 2 views)

gremlin

I don't mind one bit. I did most of the building/modifying in the late fall and winter when it is not so hot out.

JasperII

Sorry to hear about the pleco. That's sad. He really must not have liked what she was teaching. Hehe. And as for the fall/winter time frame; it sounds like a plan. What kind of flat rocks would go in water and not break up?

gremlin

Stay away from sandstone. Most of the slates will work. My brother like to go driving in the desert, so I asked him if he would bring me back a couple of big flat rocks. He brought back several loads of rock for me. If you can't haul any off the desert, you could try going to a landscape rock place. Just about any rock that would do for a walkway would work for the pond. Slate, flagstone, whatever. If you can rub pieces off it, it won't do. Sandstone will dissolve. If you have a good hammer and a chisel, you can break the larger pieces to the sizes you want. If the rock is too thick, you can try to flake off pieces. Look for a place where the layers of the rock are visible and use your chisel to split it much as you would split a log. Of course, rock is rock and sometimes you are just stuck with one the way it is...but that's what makes it fun!