Do It Yourself Ponds

Just curious how many people have made your own pond out of something not meant to be a pond?
I went out looking for preformed ponds to use on my back deck for a couple of goldfish. All of the places I went to find something nice were sòooo expensive.
So while I was at my local home improvement store looking for plants for my courtyard I saw a wading pool for kids that was only $12.50.
So I went to the tool department and got a measuring tape to figure up the water volume and it holds more water than the preformed ponds that I had been looking at.
When I brought it home and filled it with water and told my wife what I was going to do with it she rolled her eyes and said that's going to look horrible lol.
I bought a simple fountain pump to go in the middle of the pond. It only has a small sponge filter so I knew I would have to have the pond well planted to help with filtration.
After putting some river gravel in the bottom to hold the pump in place where I wanted and a few granite rocks to put plant pots on, I went to get plants for the pond.
I got one water lilly plant which I wasn't sure was a good idea seeing there is a fountain in the middle of the pond. I also got water poppy, yellow flag iris and some grassy reed type plants. After planting them where I wanted I was surprised at how well the water lilly did. As soon as one pad is laid flat it has 2 more growing out.
I also throw all of my clippings from my aquarium plants in the pond. They usually just take root on their own and if they die I just pull them out. I put 2 shubunkins and 2 fantail goldfish in the pond to cycle it and they are growing nicely very fast.
I only feed them once every 2 or 3 days because they have plenty of algae and duck weed to munch on.

 

I used a larfe flexable bucket, dug a hole in the ground and placed the bucket in it!!

 

Nice!


I used a metal water trough.

 

Bruce's and bubbles I was looking for something like your water trough when I first started looking lol. They work out beautifully. We use to keep minnows in one of those when I live in the USA for fishing bait lol. It would keep the minnows alive forever. I don't think we even had a pump in it. Just a bunch of water lettuce and duck weed floating in it. Water always seemed to be clear and cool for the minnows lol.

 

Just curious how many people have made your own pond out of something not meant to be a pond?
I went out looking for preformed ponds to use on my back deck for a couple of goldfish. All of the places I went to find something nice were sòooo expensive.
So while I was at my local home improvement store looking for plants for my courtyard I saw a wading pool for kids that was only $12.50.
So I went to the tool department and got a measuring tape to figure up the water volume and it holds more water than the preformed ponds that I had been looking at.
When I brought it home and filled it with water and told my wife what I was going to do with it she rolled her eyes and said that's going to look horrible lol.
I bought a simple fountain pump to go in the middle of the pond. It only has a small sponge filter so I knew I would have to have the pond well planted to help with filtration.
After putting some river gravel in the bottom to hold the pump in place where I wanted and a few granite rocks to put plant pots on, I went to get plants for the pond.
I got one water lilly plant which I wasn't sure was a good idea seeing there is a fountain in the middle of the pond. I also got water poppy, yellow flag iris and some grassy reed type plants. After planting them where I wanted I was surprised at how well the water lilly did. As soon as one pad is laid flat it has 2 more growing out.
I also throw all of my clippings from my aquarium plants in the pond. They usually just take root on their own and if they die I just pull them out. I put 2 shubunkins and 2 fantail goldfish in the pond to cycle it and they are growing nicely very fast.
I only feed them once every 2 or 3 days because they have plenty of algae and duck weed to munch on.
View attachment 381671

That’s gorgeous....hope your wife apologized...lol

 

She still calls it my redneck pond lol but I'm disabled now and can no longer work due to an autoimmune disorder and severe pain all the time. So I needed something that I could play around with to keep me from getting cabin fever just sitting around the house.
I have a car and I can get around a little bit if I want to get out of the house but it takes a lot of effort to get myself motivated to go out somewhere. So I figured the next best thing was to find something I enjoy doing right here at home. That's when I decided on a few aquariums and the pond.
I think once the plants were put in, it looks really nice. And the goldfish love when I trim the plants in my aquariums because I just throw the clippings into the pond and the goldfish use them for spawning mops lol. There are probably a few baby red cherry shrimp in the plants that make a nice snack for the goldfish also.

 

She trys not to let me see her looking at it enjoying watching the goldfish. I have them really tame now so they eat right out of our hands

 

She still calls it my redneck pond lol but I'm disabled now and can no longer work due to an autoimmune disorder and severe pain all the time. So I needed something that I could play around with to keep me from getting cabin fever just sitting around the house.
I have a car and I can get around a little bit if I want to get out of the house but it takes a lot of effort to get myself motivated to go out somewhere. So I figured the next best thing was to find something I enjoy doing right here at home. That's when I decided on a few aquariums and the pond.
I think once the plants were put in, it looks really nice. And the goldfish love when I trim the plants in my aquariums because I just throw the clippings into the pond and the goldfish use them for spawning mops lol. There are probably a few baby red cherry shrimp in the plants that make a nice snack for the goldfish also.

That’s great! I love hearing stories of fish helping people, it’s a very relaxing hobby that I believe eases the mind sometimes, good for you! Haha. Redneck pond...classic!

 

Before my pain levels got so bad I use to go fishing 3 to 4 nights a week lol. Now I can barely walk to the end of the piers. So if I can't catch fish I can at least look at them lol.

 

Lol!! Love the redneck pond!! I'll be starting one up myself when spring rolls around (I guess we have to go through winter first though :confused I can't hardly wait!! So, yea... looking at all the inspiration I can

Edit: I know how you feel.. I have RA, and it hit me like a 18-wheeler/lorry truck

 

Before my pain levels got so bad I use to go fishing 3 to 4 nights a week lol. Now I can barely walk to the end of the piers. So if I can't catch fish I can at least look at them lol.

I’m sure they’d rather you look at them instead of catching them too! Lol

 

It's summer time here now so I'm thinking bout making a guppy breeding pond also to make a bit of cash lol.

 

It's summer time here now so I'm thinking bout making a guppy breeding pond also to make a bit of cash lol.

Guppies bring in no cash where I live....Pet stores only buy them for a dollar But that means about 300 dollars a months which is not bad since I have no bills and taxes to pay for but discus has real money in it....I might be too hard for you to breed them though

 

I've never tried discus but guppies are just so easy to breed that it's cool proof. I can get at least 60 a month easy from my aquarium. I also have a small aquarium for breeding red cherry shrimp that I just started about 3 or 4 weeks ago and already have about 30 or 40 babies.

 

I've never tried discus but guppies are just so easy to breed that it's cool proof. I can get at least 60 a month easy from my aquarium. I also have a small aquarium for breeding red cherry shrimp that I just started about 3 or 4 weeks ago and already have about 30 or 40 babies.

but they don't get you a profit unless you breeding them on a farm scale

 

Dont know if this counts but I use a kiddie pool meaning I can always take it down, replace it with a different size one, or if something breaks I can just get a new one

 

Dont know if this counts but I use a kiddie pool meaning I can always take it down, replace it with a different size one, or if something breaks I can just get a new one

I am using the same thing lol. I refused to spend the amount of money they want for a preformed decktop pond so I bought a kids wading pool from my local home improvement store for $12.50.

 

Tomcat1972 that looks great!
I would sit down stare at it for hours. I have been thinking about making one at home, but I haven't get to it. Maybe this will motivate me. Thanks for sharing.

 

I ran into a few problems with it as time goes on. One thing was after filling it with water the sides kinda fell in some areas.So it was really uneven and me being a bit OCD I had to fix that lol. That's why I put the wooden garden border around under the edges.
Then once I had the wooden garden border under the edges for a while some of the edges started to raise up and looked like it might cause the plastic to crack. I solved this so far by putting little pan head screws through the plastic into the wooden garden border to hold down the plastic edges.
So far that fix has worked and the pond fills up perfectly even now.

 

I am using the same thing lol. I refused to spend the amount of money they want for a preformed decktop pond so I bought a kids wading pool from my local home improvement store for $12.50.View attachment 382476

Oh wow! I missed that detail in the first post somehow!! but I didn't even notice that was a kiddie pool it was so good!
Mine is plastic vinyl (?) so it can rip but I just patch it up. Mine is about 100 gallons but I was thinking about getting a bigger one next year. I live where it gets cold so I have to take it down every fall ): I think it's called a framed kiddie pool. I paid $20 for it at Krogers but they don't seem to sell them anymore. I don't get to decorate it as much as I would like.
I was thinking about getting a preformed one but only cheap from like craigslist or something
I had a problem with a neighbors cat who came and killed all my goldfish in the pond however so Id be a bit more worried about a preformed pond with those cats

 

If you get a preformed pond you can always plant it really well so the fish have places to hide. Also most of my plants go dormant over winter and will regrow in spring. Or you can always put a sheet of dark colored plastic over it during winter but would have to run a light on a timer for this option which will also add a little heat.
Also depending on how cold it gets. As long as there isn't snow that would cover it up you could always make a solar heater to keep it from getting too cold. All you need is a black beginning from a submersible pump out into a sunny area and back into the pond. I used this trick when I made a pond in Chicago. Use a longer hose depending on how cold it gets to maximise any solar heat.
I use to coil mine on top of my roof so it got maximum sunlight. But I had a really good pump lol. Just be sure to unhook it before hot summer weather comes or you might cook the fish.
As far as plants go, water lilies and water poppies and plants like that can be left over winter and then just dug out and split up the tubers to make more once spring comes. I planted my lilies in a submerged pot this year but I'm thinking about trying some directly in the gravel next year. And my water poppies I have cut clippings from and planted in the gravel already and they are growing beautifully. I even put a clipping from the water poppy in one of my aquariums and it's growing beautifully.

 

Tomcat1972 that looks great!
I would sit down stare at it for hours. I have been thinking about making one at home, but I haven't get to it. Maybe this will motivate me. Thanks for sharing.

I do sit out their for hours. I love it. I play with my goldfish lol. I have them trained to come up and eat out of my hand. They also allow me to pet them and pick them up. They love nibbling on my fingers when I put my hand in the water lol. I think I'm going to try to train them to fetch a floating hoop and bring it to me for treats lol.

 

I do sit out their for hours. I love it. I play with my goldfish lol. I have them trained to come up and eat out of my hand. They also allow me to pet them and pick them up. They love nibbling on my fingers when I put my hand in the water lol. I think I'm going to try to train them to fetch a floating hoop and bring it to me for treats lol.

That'd be awesome!!!

 

I have a couple of small ponds each made from 1/2 of one of those large blue plastic barrels (each 1/2 is a bit over 50cm deep and 50cm diameter so probably around 100L/26g)
Cost about $20 and put them in some 1/2 wine barrels that were here when we moved in.

They have some millfoils and some plants I got from our dam. The wine barrels are a little wider so there are a few normal plants around them.

They have a solar water pump I run through a home made filter setup (basically a pvc pipe stuffed with old polyester pillow filling), one I soldered onto an old transformer so it can run all the time.

Got white clouds in one and goldfish in the other (beginner mistake, they are fine for now but will need to find a new home for them when they grow!). All seem to be happy and well. Love how tame the gold fish get!