Question about ponds

Hi,

I keep wondering whether to get a pond, as my big fish, which has lived in a tank in my living room for years and years, is getting huge, and it seems cruel keeping him there.

Our local Dobbies has a range of pre-formed ponds in various sizes, which look good and would be easy to install, but I would like to know - is it necessary to have a pump and filter? Or could I just set it up and let the rain do the job of keeping the water fresh?

All advice gratefully received, thanks in advance. :thumb:

 

Jenn, I`ll probably be contadicted, but, I would say don`t do it. I don`t think the fish would survive outside after being used to a controlled indoor enviroment.:thumb:

 

What kind of fish are they, Jenn?

 

It is a big goldfish with long fins and tail, like this one. It has grown very big. It's companion has stayed small and normal-sized.

 

Pree formed ponds are imo more difficult to install than liners, the holes need to be dug exactly as oposed to a liner that just fits.

Secondly, for fish a pump and filter is esentil in order to ozegenate the pond, for clear water you may also need a UV filter.

As for the fish, Id concour with what David says.

 

Liners are easy and do a good job ,that is until someone or something pierces it! Having had that problem and lost over a dozen fish the replacement was a rigid one. It does take time to install properly and plenty of sand to infill is ideal. Just make sure it's level!
Our first fish were won at the Fair(Jaws & Albert...Finney:D) and after two years of swimming in never ending circles were liberated to the pond.....the bowl was in, but not under, the pond water for a day before the fish were released...so funny watching them continue to swim within the same confines as the bowl was for a minute or so:dh:
Unless you had a fresh water supply running through your pond then you ought to have at least a pump. I filter mine along a sand bedded stream from a water fall.

Have fun:wink:enjoy planning and designing the surrounding area too.

 

Oh Woo-that`s what`s going in mine next year-comets. Such pretty little things swirling around.

As to the question if it`s a goldfish and it`s deep enough to protect from the cold temperatures and sheltered enough to stop the herons getting it it`ll be fine outside-according to my hubby who does this sort of thing.

 

Jenn it should be no problem transfering your comet goldfish to a pond,firstly if you are buiding or installing a pond and intend to overwinter the fish in it then it needs to be 18-24 inches deep minimum,I agree a liner is easier to fit and a pump filterand u/v would make the maintenance of the pond easier,you would need time for your pond to settle and the water to mature before you move your fish,first of all do it in summer when the pond temperature is warmer get a large ziploc bag fill it with a large volume of tank water +fish and air seal it float it in the pond you can float it for a day in order to ensure the temperature equalizes, open the bag and let some of the pond water to flow in do this very gradually in order that the transfer is smooth as regards temperature and water quality, should be no problem and your fish will be happier.DO ENSURE THE POND IS ADEQUATELY PROTECTED TO PREVENT PREDATORS SUCH AS HERONS AND CATS.

 

Hi Jenn
I tend to agree with Dai about warm to cold transfer (cold to warm is usually easier) but you might be ok if its done very slowly.
The other thing to check if theres a difference in PH between the tank and the pond.
If the pond is different you may need to adjust the tank PH slowly (no more than 0.5 points per day) until its a match and let them get accustomed before transferring them to the pond.
Comets are hardy but with so many changes all in one go you may lose some to stress.
Try to cover all the bases to make the transition as easy on the fish as possible.

 

Jenn, there are lots of sites out there that will tell you how to install a pond, but not many say use a pencil and paper to figure it all out first, since a pencil line is easy to move, a hole in the ground isn't.

Depending on size of pond, size of fish, what plants you are going to put in the pond determines if you need a filter and U.V.

What wiseoldowl says works if the pond is balanced, and that is not easy to do, especialy in a small garden pond, so I would suggest you will want to think about how will you get electricity adjacent to the pond to operate a pump, and U.V.

 

AS above, No point having fish if the whole thing is so murky that you canot see them, all too often with badly maintained or non existent pumps and Uvs this is the case.

 

Thanks, everyone, for all the help and advice. I won't rush into anything, and if I do decide on the pond option I will wait till the weather warms up.

Walnut - I will definitely need to make sure the young cat in my av can't help herself to a free fish supper!!