New pond and absolutely no idea what to do...

[RocketSurgeon]

....

In the ground, above the ground is your choice.
Good luck.

My choice, is not to dig...but i don't know all the disadvantages to that.

One mentioned I may have more stable temperatures, if in the ground.


As far as a bottom drain, do I need to drill another hole for a true bottom drain, or will the existing drain hole on the side, located near the bottom, be sufficient?

[CarolinaGirl]

the bottom drain that's in there is not suitable for even draining the tank because it's located on the side wall and not the bottom. Get a 2" shower drain from Lowes and install that in the bottom of the tank. It works much better.

[CarolinaGirl]

you can make a nice little goldie and plant pond with what you have. You do need to add a bio filter though. Here's 3 options, in order of my preference and effectivness.

1.See that big flower pot in your photo over to the left side? I made a filter out of a pot like that once and it was really pretty. Set the pot up in the tank on blocks so the bottom of the pot is even with the top of the water. Set the pump up so the pump outlet goes into the drain hole in the bottom of the flower pot and seal it up around the pipe inlet. Add some bio-media such as lava rock and plug in the pump. the water will flow up through the media and over the edges of the flowerpot, making a nice little fountain! It will work but it is hard to clean and it does need to be cleaned several times in a summer at least.

2. To improve on this, add a filter-falls instead. It's a black plastic container made by various manufacturers. It sits outside the pond and spills into the pond by way of a wier. This type of filter falls usually has a drain valve for cleaning.

3. Even better....get a 55 gallon barrel and dig it down so the top of it is even with the top of the tank. Put a 3" pipe through the wall of the tank and put the other end through the wall of the barrel near the top of the barrel. Put the pump in the bottom of the barrel with a return line going to the stock tank. Pack the barrel full of bio-media. Water gravity flows to the barrel, flows down through the media and is pumped back to the pond. Again...make sure the barrel is plumbed so you can clean it out several times during a summer. To make this even better, you know that 2" drain you put in the bottom of the tank? Bring a line from that 2" pipe up and tie it in with the 3" before it goes to the filter. That way the filter will draw from the top part of the pond as well as the bottom.

4. edited the thread to add this one. Use the stock tank as a bio filter for a new, big pond! Be careful...this is an addictive hobby! You'll be digging up your whole yard before you know it.

[RocketSurgeon]

4. ... You'll be digging up your whole yard before you know it.

That my friend, ain't gonna happen! :-)

As far as the shower drain, I can do that. How will I keep the drain from being clogged up?

As far as filtration goes, maybe I can find a couple individuals locally that I can take a look at their filters. Hopefully this will help me visualize exactly what you are talking about.

Thanks.

[CarolinaGirl]

If you are just using the drain for cleaning and not hooking it to the filter, don't bother putting the screen on it....just open the valve and let it dump. If you are putting it on the filter, you will need a screen over it. I bought a plastic-coated wire minnow trap at walmart and inverted half over the drain so that the screen area is now very large, that way the flow is not disrupted.

like this one....Amazon.com: Eagle Claws Coated Wire Minnow Trap: Everything Else

[bighatbulls]

Here is a link to a filter my husband and I built on youtube, it might suit your purpose. We have replaced the pool noodle doughnuts with bioballs since this was filmed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYafHNfsqtk

[RocketSurgeon]

the bottom drain that's in there is not suitable for even draining the tank because it's located on the side wall and not the bottom. Get a 2" shower drain from Lowes and install that in the bottom of the tank. It works much better.

Is this what I'm after?

Shop Oatey 2" PVC Shower Drain at Lowes.com

[CarolinaGirl]

Is this what I'm after?

Shop Oatey 2" PVC Shower Drain at Lowes.com

yep! Just check it when you buy it to make sure the flange is flat. They make two kinds...one for a tapered shower floor and one for a flat shower floor. the tapered one isn't that obviously tapered, but it is tapered enough that you'll never get it to seal on a flat surface. It's easy to tell the difference though. the one you posted looks like the flat one, which has a thicker flange then the tapered one. Forget about using the gasket that comes with it. Get yourself a tube of PL polyurathane roofing sealant. It's black and comes in a yellow caulk tube. Apply a good amount of that sealant on the flange in place of the gasket. It won't leak and it's safe for fish. I use it all the time.

[RocketSurgeon]

Here is a link to a filter my husband and I built on youtube, it might suit your purpose. We have replaced the pool noodle doughnuts with bioballs since this was filmed.

YouTube - Our Do It Yourself Pond Filter.wmv

I've watched this video, along with many others. I have several questions.

It seems several filters have the inlet at the bottom, and others have it at the top. Some, the inlet and outlet are both in the middle. It seems it would be easiest to pour water in the top and let it come out the bottom.

I've read several posts not to pump dirty water , as this allows the particles to become even smaller. If this is the case, how do you get the water to the filter. I must be missing something. Can you tell I'm new to this whole idea?

[CarolinaGirl]

As you have found out, there are a LOT of ways to accomplish the same thing! Here's a site for a filter known as a skippy filter (Building A Bio-Logical Filter). The filter idea is good, but everything else on the site is just crap. Like the part about never needing to clean a filter because fish poop turns into sand. Ignore that part and look at the construction only. This is an up-flow filter. You put a submersible pump in the bottom of the pond and pump water down into the bottom of the filter. Water flows up thru the media and into your pond. As you said...the problem with this filter is that the bio filtration and mechanical filtration are combined into oneIf you buy a prefilter for your pump such as the Matala EZ-bio, it will help a lot. For the small size of your pond, you could use a filter like the skippy and it would work just fine, but make sure you have install a clean out drain. You could use a 55 gallon barrel sitting next to your pond and just install a 3" pipe in the barrel to return the water to the pond.

Or.....you could install a 3" pipe in the wall of your tank and run it over to the filter so that it dumps water at the top of the filter and the water flows down through filter material. the pump is located in the bottom of the barrel and pumped back to the pond. This is known as gravity flow. It's better because only clean water goes through the pump, but since you will be having smaller fish I'd be tempted to just go with the first type of filter. If you are gravity flowing to a filter you have to come up with a good way to let the water flow freely but screen it so little fish don't go in the filter.