I'm building a pond - is my plan ok?

Ahhh...

 

AWw good lad

 

Have you checked about bringing the fish in back and forth for the winter regarding survival. Just wondering. And is 6 inches deep, deep enough, for fish??

 

I figured that Armandii. Was just re-reading Clueless first entry to this thread and saw the 6 inches thing in his third paragraph.
Here is a copy of it:
3) The pond is only going to be shallow. Probably 6 inches deep with gravel bottom (I'm going for a minimalist design, with mostly clear pond but with a few lillies or something for the fish to hide under). The idea being it will be safe and fun for kids to play in, under supervision of course. I know the pond should be 2ft deep so that creatures have safe refuge in freezing weather, but I reckon I could bring goldfish in to an indoor tank for winter if need be.

So Clueless be warn, not good for the fish your plan.

 

redstar and ARMANDII,

Just to clarify, the 6 inch depth plan was abandoned as far back as post 13
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/im-building-a-pond-is-my-plan-ok.48810/#post-628893

That's taking on board advice from all the good folks on here

 

Well that is good Clueless. Subject closed.

 

How goes it C1?

 

I use to keep goldfish, shubunkin, golden orf and koi. From my experiences a minimum 2ft of depth is required otherwise there will be lack of oxygen in the hotter days and freezing issues in the winter.

You will need oxygenation so shelves around the sides to accommodate plants which will also be used to keep water clear.

Hope this helps.

 

There is a bit that puzzles me. Everyone keeps telling me that goldfish need 2ft depth of water, but when I was a kid I kept goldfish in a tank indoors. Being a kid at the time, I could only afford whatever I could buy with my paper round wages. That meant I had a plastic tank, with a capacity of probably a gallon, maybe 2 at most. In there I kept about 5 small fish. They thrived and I had them for about 2 years. After that, they continued to do alright as far as I know, but I had to give them away because we moved house and I no longer had room for them so I gave them to my mate.

Nowadays I can afford a little bit more than a cheap plastic tank. To keep the water oxygenated, I plant to use a combination of oxygenating pond plants and a small waterfall. Possibly an air pump too. To keep it clean, I will use a pump and filter.

The fish will have places to hide if the sun gets too much for them or if they see the the shadow of anything that might be intent on eating them.

 

Yes yes, but have you made any progress?