My plan of building a pond in my backyard (Florida)

So I live in Florida and I thought to myself it would be a waste to not take advantage of the weather in Florida that is as ideal as it will get for having a pond in a backyard. I assessed my backyard and found a perfect spot to dig a pond on my property. The pond would be right near a water supply and also there's a perfect area to put a canister filter nearby. The pond would be 2-3 feet deep and there would be pond lining covering all of the ground of the pond. I would then place flagstone tiles down to cover the bottom with a nice surface and then fill in the area between the flagstone with pea pebbles from Home Depot. After all that's done I would add plants and cycle the pond until its non toxic and ready for fish. That's my plan but then I had a thought about the pond getting too hot during the summer and a heater wouldn't help with that. Either I would have to find a way to cool the pond during the summer or I would have to select fish that can handle these temperatures. This isn't going to be a koi pond or anything like that, I would put lots and lots of small fish like guppies and danios. Guppies (I think danios also) love mosquito larvae and that would solve a mosquito issue which is common with ponds. I have't decided on just guppy's and danios but i'm open to livestock suggestions. I would also put mosquito fish in the pond just because why not. So what i'm wondering is would these fish be fine during the hottest times of the year here in Florida? I already have tons of guppies in various fry tanks so the guppies are all at hand when ready to be placed in the pond and I will continue to select breed the fancy and endler guppies until I have a beautiful selection for my future pond. I also own a common pleco that I think would do better in a bigger body of water. I may add him to the pond also and if someone can tell me if plecos do well in ponds that would be great. During the "winter" (which isn't really a winter, maybe 68 to 74 degrees fahrenheit) I would have a heater to take care of that no problem. My only concern is during the summer, which we haven't had too hot of a summer in a long time here in Florida. I do have raccoons come around sometimes and i've seen them pick at containers full of tadpoles. I also own an outdoor cat which could potentially be interested in the ponds livestock. These are some other concerns I have. My thought for this is to get a metal cage like top to slide over the pond at night time or whenever I need to. I don't know where to get something like this but i'm certain it would work well. That would keep raccoons out for sure and then I can just keep an eye on my cat and make sure it never eats up any fish. Who knows, maybe my cat just won't be interested in the pond ever and then I don't have to worry about it. So yeah that's my plan and the reason I am posting it on here is so that if there are an flaws in my pond plan, then someone can let me know before I get started. I have never built a pond before and have no experience with ponds so i'm sure someone here knows better than I do. Please no high-tech suggestions for this pond, I want it to be simple and easy to maintain. Also, livestock suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Most fish will probably adapt to the temperatures fine so long since it comes on gradually. My upstairs 10 gallon tank, for example, can get up to 90+ in the peak of summer and we haven't had any losses from it.

Oxygenation would be a bigger issue since the hotter the water gets, the less oxygen it can hold. Putting in a simple fountain spray wouldn't be very expensive and would help to lower the temperature a little and to aerate.

 

So I live in Florida and I thought to myself it would be a waste to not take advantage of the weather in Florida that is as ideal as it will get for having a pond in a backyard. I assessed my backyard and found a perfect spot to dig a pond on my property. The pond would be right near a water supply and also there's a perfect area to put a canister filter nearby. The pond would be 2-3 feet deep and there would be pond lining covering all of the ground of the pond. I would then place flagstone tiles down to cover the bottom with a nice surface and then fill in the area between the flagstone with pea pebbles from Home Depot. After all that's done I would add plants and cycle the pond until its non toxic and ready for fish. That's my plan but then I had a thought about the pond getting too hot during the summer and a heater wouldn't help with that. Either I would have to find a way to cool the pond during the summer or I would have to select fish that can handle these temperatures. This isn't going to be a koi pond or anything like that, I would put lots and lots of small fish like guppies and danios. Guppies (I think danios also) love mosquito larvae and that would solve a mosquito issue which is common with ponds. I have't decided on just guppy's and danios but i'm open to livestock suggestions. I would also put mosquito fish in the pond just because why not. So what i'm wondering is would these fish be fine during the hottest times of the year here in Florida? I already have tons of guppies in various fry tanks so the guppies are all at hand when ready to be placed in the pond and I will continue to select breed the fancy and endler guppies until I have a beautiful selection for my future pond. I also own a common pleco that I think would do better in a bigger body of water. I may add him to the pond also and if someone can tell me if plecos do well in ponds that would be great. During the "winter" (which isn't really a winter, maybe 68 to 74 degrees fahrenheit) I would have a heater to take care of that no problem. My only concern is during the summer, which we haven't had too hot of a summer in a long time here in Florida. I do have raccoons come around sometimes and i've seen them pick at containers full of tadpoles. I also own an outdoor cat which could potentially be interested in the ponds livestock. These are some other concerns I have. My thought for this is to get a metal cage like top to slide over the pond at night time or whenever I need to. I don't know where to get something like this but i'm certain it would work well. That would keep raccoons out for sure and then I can just keep an eye on my cat and make sure it never eats up any fish. Who knows, maybe my cat just won't be interested in the pond ever and then I don't have to worry about it. So yeah that's my plan and the reason I am posting it on here is so that if there are an flaws in my pond plan, then someone can let me know before I get started. I have never built a pond before and have no experience with ponds so i'm sure someone here knows better than I do. Please no high-tech suggestions for this pond, I want it to be simple and easy to maintain. Also, livestock suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

have you considered a built up pond ? Will save yourself a lot of digging and it’s a lot safer if you have kids . I built a really nice one from railway sleepers.you can get them from the hardware store there not expensive.

 

Don’t do a built up pond if temperature is your concern. I was going to suggest going deeper. In Florida the soil is sandy and easy to dig. I live in NYS and the soil is hard clay. I dug by hand a pond to 51” deep. I’d go 3-4’ deep. The depth should help keep the pond warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
as for the cats and raccoons they usually aren’t a concern or cause too much trouble. Birds are usually more of a concern especially if tour near water. Also don’t forget you could end up with a gator in there and the gator could poke a hole in the liner.

 

Don’t do a built up pond if temperature is your concern. I was going to suggest going deeper. In Florida the soil is sandy and easy to dig. I live in NYS and the soil is hard clay. I dug by hand a pond to 51” deep. I’d go 3-4’ deep. The depth should help keep the pond warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
as for the cats and raccoons they usually aren’t a concern or cause too much trouble. Birds are usually more of a concern especially if tour near water. Also don’t forget you could end up with a gator in there and the gator could poke a hole in the liner.

Yeah, these are all true. I'll try and dig as deep as I can. Theres no way I'll end up with a gator in my pond. I live in a residential neighborhood near the beach. The everglades are miles an miles away.

 

Yeah, these are all true. I'll try and dig as deep as I can. Theres no way I'll end up with a gator in my pond. I live in a residential neighborhood near the beach. The everglades are miles an miles away.

That’s good. I had no idea where you were obviously. Gator would wake you up in the morning.
Just make sure you don’t go below the water table level or you could run into trouble with the sides caving in if you have sandy soil. You could always shore it up with boards if need be. Take your time and make sure the sides are level and build a shelf on the edges to hide the liner. So basically you will double stack the rocks on the edges in an offset pattern to hide the liner. I also only go about a foot or so on the edges for the liner but with sandy soil you might want to do closer to the two foot overhang so your liner doesn’t slip.
Ponds are fun and I get all sorts of critters at mine.

 

That’s good. I had no idea where you were obviously. Gator would wake you up in the morning.
Just make sure you don’t go below the water table level or you could run into trouble with the sides caving in if you have sandy soil. You could always shore it up with boards if need be. Take your time and make sure the sides are level and build a shelf on the edges to hide the liner. So basically you will double stack the rocks on the edges in an offset pattern to hide the liner. I also only go about a foot or so on the edges for the liner but with sandy soil you might want to do closer to the two foot overhang so your liner doesn’t slip.
Ponds are fun and I get all sorts of critters at mine.

It should work out good. Is only one sheet of pond liner needed? I saw a youtube video and it seemed like they laid one liner after the other. I was thinking to myself what is all this for? It seemed unnecessary.

 

I did the pond underlayment then the EPDM rubber liner.
You may or may not need the liner depending on your soil. If it’s pretty Rock and tree root free you’ll could likely get away without the underlayment. It’s pretty cheap and in the grand scheme of things I’d just use it.

 

I have a pond about 1500g. I have some suggestions andin the end depends on what you want to accomplish but, mine are:

- what size you think you want then double it
- 3-4' deep mine is only 2
- wetland filtration (bog) very simple and your water will be crystal clear and no other filter. Use a skimmer to feed the simple plastic pipe under gravel and fill it with plants.
- not under a tree and preferably where it gets shade

Like this forum many on ponds where I learned and suggest you study the above. Here is mine and you see very simple bog and water clear always 0 0 0

 

I have a pond about 1500g. I have some suggestions andin the end depends on what you want to accomplish but, mine are:

- what size you think you want then double it
- 3-4' deep mine is only 2
- wetland filtration (bog) very simple and your water will be crystal clear and no other filter. Use a skimmer to feed the simple plastic pipe under gravel and fill it with plants.
- not under a tree and preferably where it gets shade

Like this forum many on ponds where I learned and suggest you study the above. Here is mine and you see very simple bog and water clear always 0 0 0

That's one of the nicest ponds i've ever seen. What state are you in? Also great advice, appreciate it.

 

I built a pond once. Here’s the thread. Constructing my 7000 gallon koi pond | Pond Photos 162702

Here’s another. My official pond photo thread | Pond Photos 165620

And one more. My pond developed a leak! | Ponds 165072

 

That's one of the nicest ponds i've ever seen. What state are you in? Also great advice, appreciate it.

Hey thanks, and I am in Canada in the 3rd coldest city in the world. I stopped digging because I hit solid ice you have no excuses lol,

 

Hey thanks, and I am in Canada in the 3rd coldest city in the world. I stopped digging because I hit solid ice you have no excuses lol,

Dang, how do you control temperature?

Dang, how do you control temperature?

In the pond of course

Hey thanks, and I am in Canada in the 3rd coldest city in the world. I stopped digging because I hit solid ice you have no excuses lol,

I have a question that maybe you can help me with. Would a 3/4 tubing for a canister filter work with this submersible air pump?

 

Hey thanks, and I am in Canada in the 3rd coldest city in the world. I stopped digging because I hit solid ice you have no excuses lol,

Neither do you. Rent a backhoe. Just kidding. That’s crazy. How far did you get down?

Dang, how do you control temperature?


In the pond of course


I have a question that maybe you can help me with. Would a 3/4 tubing for a canister filter work with this submersible air pump?

Yes on the pump. Comes with a 0.74” outlet.

 

We used a backhoe for our pond. But we dug 5 feet down. It made it a lot easier!

 

Neither do you. Rent a backhoe. Just kidding. That’s crazy. How far did you get down?


Yes on the pump. Comes with a 0.74” outlet.

Thanks!