A Pond for my Goldfish?!

So we are reflecting about the possibility of creating an outdoor pond for our comet goldfish!
we have recently relocated to another property that we own and do believe that we will remain here!
the yard offers much space! which is awesome!
Shell tells me the deeper the better so it seems a backhoe would be in order.....
what about cost?
Others who have outdoor ponds could you tell me please what the tab has looked like? Thanks so much in advance!

I made mine by just digging a BIG hole and using the rubber liner stuff.  It is ten feet by eight feet and three feet deep at the deepest part and holds approximately 1200 - 1300 gallons.  I bought a pre-made waterfall and scaped the area around the liner with moss covered rocks.  I did build a "ledge" a foot down around two sides so I could put submerged plants on the ledge.  
It has been in use for seven or eight years and just this year got the first leak, which I haven't found yet.  
I did winter my Goldie's outside for three winters, using a tank heater and a bubbler to keep a hole open for air exchange, but bring them inside now as one winter most of the water went out of the pond for some unknown reason.  Fortunately the fish survived but it was scary.
I think I spent around $350, and one long weekend making it, most of that was the pump and filter.

ok thank you!
so your goldfish stay outside just in spring to fall and you bring them inside in the winter...what do you house them in throughout the winter months?
do you have alot of goldfish I can't seem to remember?

I have twelve and keep the bigger ones in a 55g and the others in a 29g over the winter. Lots of water changes!

mmm.
thanks so much so much to think about!
the cost you have given certainly sounds extremely reasonable!
I bet you have lots of water changes!
A couple a week? 30-40% would u say?

Yup...usually every Wednesday and Saturday. About 35 -40%. But, my numbers stayed great all winter and the fish looked really good come Spring.
Once we really get into Summer I don't feed them in the pond...they get plenty of natural food out there, and there are way less mosquitoes bugging me and the dogs because they eat the larvae. Right now I am still feeding until the plants all get going well.
I actually do about 25% water changes in the pond as well. it is really easy with the pump there, I just take the tubing from the waterfalls and run it into my flower garden. I also have a hose hooked up at the pond.

WOW a pond build, now were talking

One of the first decisions you will need to make is weather or not you will overwinter the outside or inside. That will be the determining factor as to how deep it will be. Also if you plan on keeping just goldfish or Koi as well. If your thinking of overwintering then you will need to be 4'+ in depth. If not you can get away with 2-3'

A liner for a 1,000G pond is going to run you $2-300 Kent is the best place in your area, they have them on a roll in 10', 15' & 20' widths. Your going to need a pump and filter, which will run you another $2-300.

After that it really depends how you finish it. I prefer to have it somewhat raised so you can sit on the edge. You can have it flush to the ground as well.

As nyleveiam mentioned if you thinking overwintering you will need to consider heaters. Also the plant shelf is a great idea as well. Koi can't take the cold as well as goldfish so I don't recommend overwintering them in our climate, however some people do and are successful with it.

If you don't overwinter them you need to consider where they will spend the winter, something I have never been very good at. The the past three years I have had to build more tanks because I filled up the ones where my pond fish spent the winter the previous year.


Anyway I could go on and on,

Glad you are considering it,

Steve

yes we are !!!!!!!!
A part of me is thinking we would like to go with keeping them in the pond all year through...not certain yet......

Goldfishbettalover, (whew, that is a lot to type), I pretty much stopped over wintering because I was too nervous...my pond was visible from my dog yards BUT it was not accessible once we got snow and I was afraid the heater got unplugged, the pond leaked, etc.  I only ever found one dead in the Spring, but it was a LONG Winter worrying about them!  Plus, I got the four Koi and was told they could not be cold?????
I think my liner was cheaper because it was not off a roll, I bought two already cut and pieced them together.  Also, it was a long time ago and I forget how much but I think both were under $100.  I did price them again this Spring thinking I was going to have to replace mine and they ARE really expensive now!!!
I actually started off with one of those moulded premade ones, but quickly realized it was way, way too small and difficult to keep cycled because I was always having to clean it and messing up the bacteria.  It was a learning experience!!!

Also, the original pump and filter I bought were really inexpensive...that does NOT pay!!! I now use much better ones, an actual sump pump does the pumping with a pressure biofilter and UV light. This year I needed to replace the filter and it was about $150 thru Amazon.

In another thread Steve said, "I kept goldfish outside for probably 15 years or so in a 4' deep pond. It's right next to my house and I used a trough heater to keep a corner open throughout the winter.

Well every year I would loose one or two and then one year the heater packed it in and it was a couple of weeks before I realized it. Unfortunately by the time I figured it out the damage was done and I lost every fish in the pond. Sad

It was at that point I decided that was enough and Was going to start bringing them in each fall. I was just starting to get into Koi and I could no longer risk them outside. Not to mention around here you would only get to enjoy your fish for 7-8 months of the year. "

Steve says it much better than I did, so I took the liberty of copying and pasting it here as it really is the main thing to consider if housing Goldies outside in a smaller pond.

so much to think about!...
thanks everyone!

nyleveiam wrote:Goldfishbettalover, (whew, that is a lot to type),  Plus, I got the four Koi and was told they could not be cold?????

Contrary to popular belief, Koi are Temperate fish, not cold water fish like goldfish.

Once the water gets below 40F they become very uncomfortable and at risk. While some people get away with it, I would never over winter a Koi outside.

Steve

We at least at the moment would not be getting any koi
just for the current comets we have!
who knows though maybe in the future sometime koi will be on our list!
would LOVE that!

As a side note, I don't do water changes in my ponds. The filter comes from the tank inside so it is good to go and once the plants tank over everything is fine. I get my annual algae bloom after the first week or so, but it goes away. I do periodic water tests throughout the summer and top-offs for evaporation if we don't get enough rain. The plants will keep my Nitrates at zero all summer.

However if I didn't have half the water covered in plants that would be another story.

Steve

A pond is great idea. I will be interested to know how this develops for you. Hubby and I have discussed one in the past, but spring and summer are just so crazy busy. At the moment it is on the "Dream list". Good luck with yours.

Mine is small enough so that the water can get really hot so I do periodic water changes to keep it a bit cooler. Mine gets completely covered over by plants as well...that is when my fish start laying eggs in the roots of the water lettuce.
Since that lettuce grows soo fast I have to keep pulling it out and it is amazing how many eggs there are!!

goldfishbetalover - we have TONS of water lettuce now, so we can hook you up once your pond is ready!!!  I'll go to the shop with you to find supplies if you like...just let me know when are ready to start!

It IS lots of fun!!!!  I sit by my pond almost every evening and watch the fish!

Be sure to add a waterfall... those premade ones are easy. I just piled the dirt I dug out on one end and that is where I make my waterfall.

I actually miss having a pond. This was my first & only pond. There were actually several fan tailed gold fish in there. I still have one left and that pond was from 4 years ago, just about. Wish I would have gotten a pic of how it looked after I added a new home made filter to it, the same one that is used on my 130 gallon tank now. It cleaned it up so well!


Water Hyacinth

very cool, love the stone around the edge.

Is that just a plastic liner?

That's actually what I used for the first two years until I could afford a real liner.

Steve

That is actually one of those temporary garage tarps.
I tried to get my hands on an old pool liner that a local store had removed from a pool due to some defect, but it was shredded before I could get it.

As for the stone, our landlords at the time had a lot of it at their house and said we could have all we needed.

There were 2 fountains and 2 foggers along with 3 floating solar night lights.

Yes a fountain or water fall is a must,

There is something relaxing about the sound of moving water, that and it makes you want to go to the bathroom. Oh ya it also helps airate the water.

Steve

Steve, it is also an easy way to tell when your filter needs cleaning!!!

I just collected a bunch of duck weed out of my inside tanks and took it down to the pond fishies and noticed my waterfall was really S L O W. Clean that filter tomorrow first thing!

nyleveiam wrote:Steve, it is also an easy way to tell when your filter needs cleaning!!!

I TRY and take it out once a month and rinse out the sponge. More often then not it's my wife saying "the spillway is getting slow, when was the last time you cleaned the filter?"

In reality I try not to disturb it much during the summer, unless the water slows and I have to clean it. One cycle a season is enough for me, so I try not to trigger one.

Refresh my memory, you have an external filter?

Steve

If you like sitting by the pond at night, foggers are a must as they add a mystique to the pond.
Along with the solar orbs too.
I did have a waterfall, but did not have it built up.