my newest addition

[Roop]

an outdoor tropical pond... or atleased that's what it will be. close to 5' long, 20" deep and 2' wide, it holds about 125g of water.

the construction was very simple and cheap. i re-used many bits of material around the house. it's a 4x4 frame with 1/4" plywood to hold the liner up. i was going to re-inforce the plywood with 2x4's but it did not bow at all. i used 8" nails for most of the constrution so it's really sturdy.

i'm going to insulate the sides. the bottom is already insulated with styrofoam under the liner. i also plan on making a coldframe for it so it's more like a greenhouse. this should keep it going long into fall. i'll add a heater or two and a decent filtration system... after i pretty it up. it's just the basics right now but i hope to make it something more than that.

no, i'm not putting african cichilids in there :p

[Aiglos]

Nice Roop;

IF you have an aproximate cost  / time of construction that would be GREAT.  

Before I build my pond I am going to make sure I have an indoor holding area done first to quarenteen and over winter fish.  

What are you insulating with ?  Do you think its possible to put a bottom drain in a setup like that?

thanks

[Roop]

Aiglos!

time: i have been thinking about doing this all week and some of the week before. i worked out the numbers last night with my computer.

planning time on pc: 2 hours (i used the whole piece of liner i had, my calculations were bang on)
labour time: 2-3 hours

cost: much of the material i used was around the house. the majority of wood, nails and even the liner were hanging around.

cost of items i already had: $100
cost of items i purchased today: $48 and change.

i had to buy some 4" screws, some more plywood and one piece of 10foot 4x4. i also bought some 2x4 which went unused. those cost $3 each so you can remove them from my purchase today.

if you were building this from scratch, this is what you would need:

(all prices are from home depot)

4x4, 5 pieces of 10ft lenghts at $12 each, $60 total (i used a total of 32 feet of 4x4, based on the fact they come in 10ft lenghts, you may not be able to completly utilize the wood and there will be some waste)
liner 100" x 68" $50-60 total (expect less, i didn't check today)
plywood sheets, 2 pieces of 4ft x 4ft at $13-15 each
4" screws, 50 pack: $8
3" nails, 50 pack: $3

4" screws were counter-sunk and used to hold the 4x4 together along with used 6-8" nails, i'm unsure of the cost of these 6-8" nails but belive they are about a dollar each. 3" aluminum nails were used to tack the liner in place. this totals $146 plus tax brand new. of course, this is hardly finished but would be at a functional stage.

tools needed:

circular saw for plywood (i used a handsaw)
mitre saw for 4x4 (lol, no way i'm doing that by hand)
drill (use a corded one, 4" screws will kill your batteries)


i was absolutly planning on using this as a quarantine tank if my goldfish got sick. if i bring the new tropical pond inside in the winter, it would be a perfect winter home for them.

insulation: i was reading a pond magazine and they used this bagged stuff. label said "?onlite brand hermiculite - masonary insulation". it was in granules the size of fertilizer. it came in big bags. my guess is that this stuff will be very cheap in large quantities. it's either that or expanding foam. maybe fibre glass but not rigid polystyrene, unless they make it in the same thickness as 4x4... if they did, it's polystyrene all the way. i think however the granular stuff or expanding foam will be cheapest.


bottom drain - i though about this immediatley AFTER i filled it. it would be very easy. mine is about 1" off the ground. you could add the drain and plumb it below the 4x4 which are slightly raised off the ground.

my last consideration is that it doesn't look too good at this stage. it really needs an exterior. that's next weekend after i get paid and i imagine it will cost a bit. i'm going to make something that looks like the siding on a house and top it off with either flat limestone to match my pond or some nice wood - not preasure treated though as it could leach into the pond.

i'm going to be posting the article where i saw more instructions form in a sec.

[Roop]

this is from the 2004 print of "better home and garding - special intrest publications - simply perfect water gardens". doesn't say who wrote it but it's on page 106 and 107, photgraphs by pete krumhardt.

if you're serious about doing this, the following two pages should help you out. if i were doing this from scratch i would make it much bigger... since i was using what i had around the house, primarily limited to the 100" x 68" liner i built the rest to fit it.

[NjOyRiD]

roop, i just love your work good job!

[Aiglos]

Yeah that is excellent work roop;

Good links and very informative posts.  I see that in the article they used a preformed which was also very cool,  would make a nice centerpice in a lawn.  wow I have so much decisions with soo little lawnspace haha.  

Can't wait to see it when your done with finnishing it.

[Roop]

ok the second stage is complete and the greenhouse is errected. i was planning on making something with plastic wrap like vapour barier and wood.

i was at rona collecting supplies and found these basement window covers. they were the perfect size at $12 each. two put together span the tank perfectly. i needed something high because many of the plants will be growing out of the water.

currently it's held down with clamps but the wood trim will come. this might be a good cat-shield for those with hydrophilic cats.

[Nelson]

ok the second stage is complete and the greenhouse is errected. i was planning on making something with plastic wrap like vapour barier and wood.

i was at rona collecting supplies and found these basement window covers. they were the perfect size at $12 each. two put together span the tank perfectly. i needed something high because many of the plants will be growing out of the water.

currently it's held down with clamps but the wood trim will come. this might be a good cat-shield for those with hydrophilic cats.

What great luck...looks great :!: