Outdoor pond water changes

[Lebeeze]

Okay this might be a dumb question, but to the people who have outdoor ponds, do you need to worry about water changes or just let nature figure it out? I'm thinking about getting one of those outdoor totes for an outdoor "pond" build and it made me think about the water changes. All I want are goldfish so it will require no heater and I'm going to build my own filter system using a pond pump.

 

[JB92668]

thats a good question it is done the same way u would a tank with a gravel cleaner to remove dirt and water then re fill with buckets of water that u have added prime or simmler its that easy

 

[ghostdawg]

Lebeeze, how will you handle it during winter months? How do people with outdoor ponds handle other animals from coming around trying to catch the fish? Someone brought these questions to my attention lately!

 

[Lebeeze]

Lebeeze, how will you handle it during winter months? How do people with outdoor ponds handle other animals from coming around trying to catch the fish? Someone brought these questions to my attention lately!

Ive actually ditched the tote idea and next spring I'm going to be digging a pond in my back yard. I will make it about 4 feet deep so the winters will be fine as the fish will just "hibernate" under the ice. As for raccoons and such coming to eat the fish, I'm going to put up a fence surrounding the pond and with it being 4 feet deep the fish will be fine.

 

[JB92668]

u can all so put a wair meash over the top to stop other creatures stealing the fish

 

[Kaity]

Stock lightly and nature helps but when temps are warm, there is excess light and nutrient (mid summer around me) expect to do some water changes based on need and aesthetics...

 

[Sofiafish17]

It can be a good idea to keep a bunker going in the winter. Just in one spot so that the whole pond doesn’t freeze over. You don’t want that because then the water would not be getting oxygenated and the fish might not have enough oxygen.

 

[MySquishy]

Conventional wisdom is that any pond less than an acre must be maintained like a giant tank. The way most ponds are designed, this is true.
However I found this an interesting read awhile back: Pond pumps are not required in man-made ponds

Apparently it’s not impossible to create a natural ecosystem in a smaller pond. Similar to those folks with healthy tanks they never need to touch I guess.