Building A Pond 101
 

Okay so while my family is renovating the house, they are putting in the pond. It will be 13 feet by 5 feet by 2.5 feet (30 inches deep). The base/bottom will be concrete or something like that because it will be a raised pond so we can sit around the edges.

I would LOVE some information on pond keeping, koi, and goldfish. I have never kept them so I don't really know anything about them other than how big they get. I have googled but I can't seem to find informative websites.

I really need info on things like what fish to get, what filtration system, do I need a heater in the winter, how to protect pond from animals, etc.

Websites are greatly appreciated, so is advice and other useful facts.

Here is some info of the pond location:
Central Texas
Summers get up to 115 F
Winters down to 30 F, sometimes all the way to 25 F
Will be near five dogs and one cat.


Thank you so much!

Anyone?

I don't have a concrete pond however, we have a smaller prefab plastic pond about 8'x6'x 36"deep - filled with plants - it has a waterfall that dumps into a stream about 18" wide 8' long. the depth varies with a little pool under the waterfall (frogs loves the stream) and then we expanded - have another waterfall that falls into a pond that's about 12'x10'. The depth varies. Different plants like different depths of water & I love plants in ponds.
Anyway, to answer some of your questions. In the winter months our Koi hybernate. They like deep water so there is an area that's about 3 feet deep where they all gather and hybernate. We use a de icer in the winter. The water can freeze but it can not freeze over or the fish will die. Same with waking them up - starteling them during hybernation will kill them. I am sure you could also just heat your pond all year round but due to the size of ours, it's not practicle. There are plenty of pond books out there & I do suggest reading one. They are maintainence but worth it! Butterfly Koi are beautiful in my opinion & they do gro fast. We paid 9.99 for Koi that were about 4". Three years later they are 18".
Best suggestion I would give is to do research. See what works in your area. My dogs do keep away the critters with one exception, a Crane. We had to purchase a large plastic Crane which we move to different areas of the pond - Cranes are territorial & if they see one in our yard, they will leave our fish be. (Learned that one the hard way)

Thanks so much! You said your koi like to go to a deep area, do you think 2.5 feet is enough? I will also get a plastic crane or bird. We don't have crane but hopefully it will still keep birds and animals away.

I will go get some books. I didn't even think about doing that lol, too much internet :)

I think you will find with the reading you will be doing that the minimum water depth, not the depth nec of the pond needs to be 3 feet for their safety. Otherwise you may look in the pond in the spring and you will have lost your fish. The whole pond does not have to be that way but if there is ANY risk of freezing then they must have a spot 3 feet deep to survive. Good luck.

Okay well I just got back from two books stores, including barnes in noble. Neither of them had any pond books. Do you guys have any good links to some pond websites?

Not sure if you have a Lowes or a Home Depot in your area but I believe they both have books on ponds. Also you can get ideas from Magazines. They make them specifically for ponds. You can also talk to your local garden center - many have great suggestions for planting, filtration, heating, & fish that will thrive in your area. We went to a few garden centers before we found the one we liked. We spent weekends picking the brain of an employee. He was such a great help, we stopped by The Garden Center, after he got married & gave him a card with a money gift - He was worth every penny! lol

Good luck to you!

Okay I think we have a few places like that. My mom will for sure know of like 20 places lol.