New to ponds, need advice

[BlackOsprey]

I have a 25 gallon round rubber stock tank that I'm considering turning into a small outdoor pond, but I'm not sure where to start. All I know is that I want it to have some plants, and no goldfish/koi.

Is it a good idea to have a relatively small pond outdoors and in the ground or should it be bigger?

Is a filter essential if the pond just has some minnows for mosquito control?

Is it a bad idea to put it in the shade under an oak that drops acorns and leaves?

Should I use this stock tank, or go with a DIY pond kit instead?

What are the most important things to know when starting a pond?

 

[saltwater60]

I’d go as large as you can personally. I do have my pond under a tree and it’s a huge pain in the @$$. I have a waterfall but it plugs it up and makes it overflow. I had nothing but dead grass there so I tossed it there against my better judgement. I figured ah it won’t be that bad. Nope it is. Also oak trees drop there leaves late and turn water acidic.
If you go that small heat will be a serious concern as that water temp will rise quickly.

 

[Islandvic]

You will be limited with a 25g pond.

Is there anywhere it can be placed under a covered area?

Also, there are a ton of YouTube videos with people making very nice above ground ponds out of plastic water troughs and stock tanks. They dress them up by wrapping bamboo mats around them and/or build wood sides with a ledge along the lip of the pond.

Use a couple of large sponge filters for your filtration. Very easy to use in small pond

 

[Mr. Kgnao]

The thing about leaves is they don't drop like a bowling ball. I have a couple of ponds, one right under some trees, one a little ways off, they both fill up with leaves. I guess I'm saying I wouldn't worry too much about it, you'd have to site the pond somewhere there are no trees at all for quite some distance, which wouldn't be a very pleasant place to be, in my opinion, and kind of defeat the whole purpose.

 

[qldmick]

maybe white clouds or pacific blue eyes to help control mosquitoes

 

[Littlebudda]

Not sure how cold you get we get cold enough to get a thin ice forming in the morning, I have white clouds and danios in my pond it is unfiltered and under a tree and I do very little maintenance to it occasionally (every 3-4 months) give it a 50% water change so I can get rid of some of the sludge and decomposed leaves and throw in some food once every week or two, I started with 10 of each of the minnows and danios and now if I randomly swung a net through the pond would get 30 fish no troubles at all. Hope this answers some of your questions. My pond would be around 200gal.

 

[saltwater60]

You could bet the top of the pond to keep most of the leaves out. 1/4” bird netting for fruit trees would work for leaves and acorns.