JohnnyCustom Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 Serious plans for a 1500-2000gl ground level pond are in the works. Just looking for some people's suggestions on equipment/location. Plans for a filter/pump house are in the works as well. Anyone's suggestions from experience welcome. One thing I've learned is to listen to others and be able to take advice when offered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 Are you talking indoor or outdoor? If outdoor, it's not hard at all. Unless you want to get city permits and build a new fence, keep it 24" deep or less. I've built a few in the size range you're looking at, and the most complex piece of machinery I used was a wheelbarrow - or maybe a lazer level. First move is to make the One Call first - find out exactly where all your lines are burried. You may need to call phone companies separate, but One Call should be able to find everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 You probably have already done this, but look at pictures - as many pictures of as many different ponds and styles as possible. Find which style you prefer, and how it may fit into the layout of your yard. Draw pictures and diagrams to get a good idea. I find the equipment varies according to need: fish stock levels, waterfalls, etc. I love a complex waterfall that divides and merges, while leaving spots for plants in pots, and several shallow areas for birds to bathe. When I finally build my pond, I am going to cheat and use one of those plastic watering troughs from UFA - I don't trust the liner to hold up to the local wildlife (a neighbor's liner was shredded by a black bear that was passing through and decided to go fishing...). There used to be a farmer with a pond in his yard not far from me - it was originally a water storage tank of some kind, 20 feet across and 12 feet deep... Looked great in his 2 acre front yard, but I don't think it would even fit in mine. The edge was raised about 3 feet above the ground level. He went swimming with his koi... His 3yr old daughter would hang onto the biggest koi (about 3.5' long), and it would calmly and slowly drag her around the tank. He had some sort of beams criss-crossed inside the tank, some he could stand on at about 5' deep; and others higher at about 2', which he put plant pots on. Unfortunately, they moved and the new owners didn't want the pond so they tore it up. :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyCustom Posted May 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 It's gonna be an outside pond. Building codes for the area allow up to 48" depth. The area in question, after being checked, has no lines whatsoever(sweet). Gonna be removing the current 220gl pond and moving the fence on one side back 8 ft. Pond area will have 2 lockable fullsize gates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northranger Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 As mentioned by earlier poster, Alberta Building Code 2006 requires a permit (roughly $200) for any pond or pool more than 24 inches deep in Alberta. Apparently getting the permit after the fact is more expensive than getting one first, if you plan to go deeper than 24 inches. There are a whole bunch of regs. in the code regarding the pond and the required fencing... (i.e. 6 ft tall, inside locks on all gates, locks located at least 5 ft off the ground, etc. etc.) In Calgary we also need a City Development Permit if pond exceeds 600mm. Good luck with your project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Would the 24 inch pond freeze solid?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Moving water doesn't freeze. I have a few people who keep their fish (even koi!) in ponds all year that are just 24" deep. (null) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMAX Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Moving water sure can freeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Not @ the temps we're talking about around here. More than one example around here regarding flowing water not freezing. A warm and fuzzy example would be @ the calgary zoo. They keep a couple pumps going in a pond all winter long to make sure the (cannot remember what creature it was) has open water even @ the lowest winter temps. I think the issue would be, it needs to be agitated enough for it not to freeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprucegruve Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 If someone really wanted to test if moving water freezes then plug in a power head in a 5 gallon pail and put it in the freezer over night,it won't freeze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremoose Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Moving water can and does freeze, it happens all the time in nature and will happen in your pond unless it is sufficiently agitated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMAX Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 I keep my fish in my pond year round with my 4280gph dual head pump blasting to the surface to keep a hole open. Even with that amount of flow agitating the surface and in the dead of winter last year (-30 and lower) it did totally freeze over a couple of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted May 29, 2012 Report Share Posted May 29, 2012 Agitation will cool the entire pond by quite a bit. At -50C I am pretty sure it would freeze over, no matter what agitation is available. It has been quite a few years since I have seen it hit -60C, but I have seen it happen. Some years the ice on the lakes and rivers gets almost 4 feet thick, our ice auger almost wasn't long enough. I would make some plans for a greenhouse dome-like cover to help keep the air above the pond warmer. I thought I read somewhere that supercooled water (from extreme agitation in cold weather) could cause ice crystals in the fishes blood or flesh... I have no idea if it is true or not. My fish get to overwinter in a 6' round UFA poly tank in the basement (a cattle trough). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMAX Posted May 30, 2012 Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 Agitation will cool the entire pond by quite a bit. At -50C I am pretty sure it would freeze over, no matter what agitation is available. It has been quite a few years since I have seen it hit -60C, but I have seen it happen. Some years the ice on the lakes and rivers gets almost 4 feet thick, our ice auger almost wasn't long enough. I would make some plans for a greenhouse dome-like cover to help keep the air above the pond warmer. I thought I read somewhere that supercooled water (from extreme agitation in cold weather) could cause ice crystals in the fishes blood or flesh... I have no idea if it is true or not. My fish get to overwinter in a 6' round UFA poly tank in the basement (a cattle trough). It's called frazil ice. They are needle shaped ice crystals caused by supercooled water that sometmes can get lodged in the fishes gills. Caused by extremely cold air temperature that cools the water below 32 degrees F. This usually happens in high altitude trout streams--where I've heard of it before. I guess it could possibly happen in a pond but probably not very likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyCustom Posted June 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 (edited) The fish that are getting a pond upgrade have been housed in the same 220gl above ground pond for over 12yrs. A small power head and a horse trough heater is all that is needed to keep the water from freezing. Mind you, a bit of ice does form around the outermost edges, which is expected. On a funny side note: A friend a few years back built a new house and transported his 4 koi in a 5 gl pail to be put back in the indoor pond. He forgot about them and left them in the unheated garage. When he did remember about them he found them completely frozen in a block of ice. Sad. His son wanted to bury them so he put the pail in the pantry to let it thaw. 1/2 day later he heard splashing, looked in the bucket and found all 4 alive. Crazy! Edited June 4, 2012 by JohnnyCustom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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