Backyard Ponds

[Vodin]

Good day to all of ya out there. Are there any home pond creator folk out there?
Short story I made 2 ponds had bout 40 Feeder Goldfish, 5 Koi, 2 turtles and a swarm of crawdads. Life was good for bout 9 years.
The back of our house is against a natural green belt with a small stream. The occupants are Foxes, Coyotes, Raccoons, Hawks, Owls, Rabbits, Snakes, Squirrels and Deer.
Where was I...
Ahh... we have a 6 foot privacy fence since I have a Dobie and Coonhound. (No I dont hunt as of yet)
One morning I went downstairs opened the patio door to be greeted by a massive stench of fish. A raccoon family jumped the fence and killed everything in the ponds. The coons only ate the heads. Later I found out this was due to the fact it takes more energy to process the whole fish. The heads are a complete meal. The coon slashed my pond liner of the large pond.

So for the last 2 years I have been working with the small pond I only have 1 maybe 2 goldfish alive after 11 years. I am now seeking a place to buy LIVE Talapia Fish. Catfish are also a possibility but I dont think they have a fast reproduction cycle. And the pump may not be big enough.
I am also stepping into the field of Hydroponics / Aquaponics

So any information you could provide I would appreciate. Ask me anything if I dont know the answer I will research for the answer.

[helomech]

Where do you live, rules are different in each area for tilapia. I am in Texas and without going through lots of issues Mossie tilapia are the only ones we can get. We just had a bunch hatch out 2 days ago,a dn expecting a lot more hatchings. Here is the link to my aquaponics build. Going to be putting the cinder block retaining wall next month, then the green house over it right after the blocks are in place.

http://www.shtfready.com/f13/aquaponics-system-need-people-critique-my-system-880/

[realist]

You know when you think about it the raccoons were only trying to help, if you had eaten the fish you would have cut off the heads and threw them away anyways.

I our state if you check with some of your Universities you might find they will help you out with you aquaculture. If you contact University of California at Davis they have a great program and may even send you out some of their material. We looked into it several years ago and they were a big help. We have since put it on the back burner. Sorry I don't have a contact person for you. Good luck

[Sniper-T]

Sorry for your misfortune! It sucks to lose fish like that. Due to a pump issue, I lost 200 Rainbow trout from my pond last year.

What kind of liner do you have? It is easy enough to repair most types. But if Racoons got them, it seems to me that you are not deep enough. The fish need to be able to retreat to depth to get away from predators.

Again, to be any help, we need to know roughly where you are, as for me, in the northern climates, Tilapia are not an option. Make sure to check out Helo's thread, Just about anything you need to know about aquaponics has probably been outlined in there.

I just build big outdoor ponds

[Evolver]

I just build big outdoor ponds

Yeah... Some might call them lakes. :)

[Sniper-T]

Wait until you see the next one I am planning!!

mwahahahahaha

[Vodin]

I live in Parker, Colorado. The lot is only what I could afford 40x80 ft approx. My fence is the border tween me and nature though. my 'big' pond was 10'x10' and about 3' deep. My small pond is 4x10 and also ~3' deep( so it wont freeze ) I keep a 1300 gal pump running year round in the summer its a water fall in the winter I set it on the bottom and shoot it up to the surface. The worst it has ever frozen in completely but only a thin layer of ice in the form of a dome over the pump water break point.

Helomech you inspired me to heat the pond in the winter with a solar water heater panel. And to go solar power for the pump to get off the grid. And.... so many more things.

Realist Thank you for that suggestion I don't know enough so I will turn to the more educated folk for Info.


As far as the liner I don't remember the actual number... ran out and looked at the rescued liner it is 20mil thick since we do live in Colorado Sun and Freezing kill liners.

Since I have lived through Coon assault. My next creation will have scattered 3-6" PVC pipes laying around the bottom.

I am luckier than most with my living location. But it can always be better. Parker is/was a farming community but it has exploded with growth. I was at least able to pick out where my house was and am very grateful for that.

This situation that America has evolved into has caught my attn and is now making me prep accordingly. If it results into what I believe it will or if it doesn't I am enjoying making these living adjustments. It is bringing into being an enjoyable / desirable way of living. That is intended in an outcome of less finance wasted on items that you really don't need. So if you look at it that way and SHTF don't happen you will have that much more money to retire with. : )

[helomech]

Helomech you inspired me to heat the pond in the winter with a solar water heater panel. And to go solar power for the pump to get off the grid. And.... so many more things.

I need to expand my solar heater. One of them is not going to be enough even in my mild winters. I am not getting a lot of rise i my water temp, with only one. My plan is to add at least 3 more of these heaters.

[Vodin]

helomech In the last picture I saw the pvc was white and the background was wood. I would assume you have painted ill inside the inclosure black.

[helomech]

That must have been the pics of the build. It has a reflective material on the bottom, that I painted black, and all the pipes are now black.

[Sniper-T]

Did a bit of work on the pond this weekend, hauled in another 5 tons of rocks:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0701121040a.jpg

Notice the height of the hitch ball on my wife's leg. here, the truck is empty:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0701121135b.jpg

Full load:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0701121239a.jpg

The Black section is liner, that needs to be covered with rocks:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0701121328a.jpg

[Sniper-T]

Hand balming rocks into place And a rare peek at Sniper-T:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0701121923a.jpg

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0701121923b.jpg

Tucking into place:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0701121923d.jpg

And repeat:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0701121106a.jpg

[Sniper-T]

It was a warm weekend:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0630121215c.jpg

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0702120925a.jpg

Getting closer:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0702121252b.jpg

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0702122134b.jpg

[Sniper-T]

My wife feeling the heat...

" I like this one, can we take it? Please???"

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0702121125a.jpg

"It's so nice..."

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0702121125b.jpg

"I got my side, go grab the other!"

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0702121125c.jpg

[bacpacker]

The pond is lookin good. Nice to see someone totin around some little stones. :)

The house in the background look nice as well, great setting. Thanks for the pics.

[helomech]

Wow, you moved all those rocks that way?

[Sniper-T]

lol. yep.

160 loads so far, over the last 4 years. With the exception of 7 large ones I used equipment on; every other rock, and sand, has come in in the back of my toyota(s). Hand selected, hand loaded, hand unloaded and hand placed.

With the 'improvements' done to the truck, I haul about 2000 pounds (1 ton) per trip. (I've scaled up to 2500+, but try to keep the weight down to around 2000. That also keeps the front tires on the ground)

I figure another 5 tons ought to do it. Then I'll have some free time to start working on my big pond project :)

[helomech]

Wow, you are the man. I don't know if I could have stuck with that.

[realist]

Nothing like a little project to keep you busy on your weekends........... What are the dimensions going to be when you are done? Have you decided what fish you are going to be putting in the pond? er lake.

[Sniper-T]

dimensions at waterline are 100' x 70' (ish) with a max depth of 18'

I have 200 Rainbow trout in there currently. I put them in as fingerlings this spring, and they are currently between 6-8"

Another month, and it'll be time to start hooking them for the fry-pan/freezer

[Sniper-T]

Got two more loads in this weekend: http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0708121251a.jpg

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/pond/0708121251b.jpg

We can still see a couple patches of liner/hose from the deck, but next weekend should take care of that. Being that we're still without AC, the pond got some good use this weekend, cooling off between work sessions. We also had the neighbours over last night for a few 'pops' and some swimming.

The end is in sight!

:)

[tompnoid]

i gotta get me a few acres somewhere i want a pond so bad

[Vodin]

sigh I could fit my house and plot of land in that pond.... 46x90 feet in size total. sigh...

[Sniper-T]

^
ouch! and yeah, you could and we'd still have enough room to swim!

hmmm... If I built a deck, I could put your house on it, and you could have a house boat!

:)

[Sniper-T]

My trout that is. The ice went off the pond this past Wednesday, so I threw a handfull of food to see what the deal was, and had an instant feeding frenzy!

Woohoo!

Happy Sniper!