does anyone know how to setup a small pond

[relaxandreflect]

i have 2 ducks and need to setup a small pond for them. should i get a shell instead of pvc mat? what type of pump and filter should i get? it will need to filter a lot cause they make a mess in the kiddie pool i have now. preferably about 1 ft deep and maybe 4x6. will i have to run a power cable for the pump and bury it, or is there another way? any sites to show how?

 

[jpeyton]

Ask a Home Depot orange-apron. They helped me out with my pond.

 

[Gunslinger08]

We have 2 set up in our back yard. The shells are a lot easier and nicer looking than just mats. Filtering shouldn't be a huge issue. Eheim makes the best small pond pumps. You'll have to run a power cord to it from one of your outdoor outlets and bury it.

You may want to pick up a few water plants and fish too, just to give it a nicer look.

 

[relaxandreflect]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
We have 2 set up in our back yard. The shells are a lot easier and nicer looking than just mats. Filtering shouldn't be a huge issue. Eheim makes the best small pond pumps. You'll have to run a power cord to it from one of your outdoor outlets and bury it.

You may want to pick up a few water plants and fish too, just to give it a nicer look.

what types would you recommend? would they work well with the ducks?

 

[Howard]

Ducks are cool!

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: relaxandreflect

Originally posted by: joshsquall
We have 2 set up in our back yard. The shells are a lot easier and nicer looking than just mats. Filtering shouldn't be a huge issue. Eheim makes the best small pond pumps. You'll have to run a power cord to it from one of your outdoor outlets and bury it.

You may want to pick up a few water plants and fish too, just to give it a nicer look.

what types would you recommend? would they work well with the ducks?

Yep, ducks are fine with most fish and plants. I got the fish at Walmart.. not sure what kind they are. Just visit your local one and talk to someone about it. You can get the water plants at Lowe's or possibly even Walmart. They should have about 5 or 6 different choices in the water plant section.

 

[911paramedic]

Where are you going to set up the blind??

 

[Squisher]

With ducks the fish won't be there very long.

Duck poop could be an issue with causing green water.


Most people with ponds don't want birds around to eat the fish and foul the pond.

I've gotten most of my info from the newsgroup rec.ponds

Get a mag drive pump if you don't want to push the water too high (like a big waterfall). They last forever beacuse don't have any seals that'll leak and are the most cost effective.

Aqua Mart is a good online store.

 

[fatbaby]

Take a metal trashcan. Saw it in half (vertically). Bend the edges so that it isn't a circle anymore. Dig hole. Put metal trashcan in. Place rocks around edges. Add fish.

 

[Pliablemoose]

With the added organic material from duck poop, you should consider a large pond.

 

[Okimoto]

Here's pictures of my pond

http://www.thecrayonbox.org/~mike/pond/

It's a pvc mat on top of a concrete shell. I used the wrong concrete, it was porous, so i bought the liner.

I'm using a filter made from a tupperware container that has a hole on the bottom and a filter membrane (old clothing) on top of the hole.

the pump was a K-mart special, from an evaporative cooler.

The hose was ordinary garden hose, I cut some from some old crap I had.

and I kept the pump above water level by using bricks.

The plants are water hyacinths, they were a buck each at the local nursery

The fish are feeders, 50 for a few dollars.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
With the added organic material from duck poop, you should consider a large pond.

I was going to say the same thing.... I've got 2 ducks (this week anyhow... the female is currently sitting on 15 fertile eggs), The bottom tends to get kinda mucky from the duck sh!t. Personally, I'd go deeper than 1 foot... probably at least 2 or 2 1/2 feet. Consider a submersible sump pump instead of a specialty pump made for ponds.... the submersible pumps start at about $50; compare the gallons per hour flow for each type and see for yourself how much cheaper they usually are.
For pond plants, you can pick them up dirt cheap on ebay this time of year. Water hyacinths spread quite quickly, are dirt cheap, and have fairly nice flowers. You'll want to keep about 1/2 of the water surface covered with some sort of plant to help control algae.

IMHO, freeform ponds (using a black rubber lining) are a little more satisfying to build. I don't see any need for a concrete liner... simply dig out a hole of any shape you choose. If your soil is fairly compact, you can make the sides nearly vertical. It's best to leave a relatively level ledge about a foot wide and a foot deep around the perimeter of the pond. This is for potted water plants. Then, taper the bottom of it toward one end... this helps when you do the annual pond draining and bailing out of duck sh!t. Line the hole with newspaper (2 or 3 sections thick, more if there are sharp rocks), then carefully spread the liner over the hole. For the liner, you can get it at garden specialty places, or you can get the rubber roofing (not the torch down stuff) from a hardware store... it's pretty much the exact same stuff. Then, start filling the pond with water, occasionally pulling the liner tight to minimize wrinkles. You don't have to worry about the top edge of the pond being perfectly level yet.... Once the water is a few inches from the anticipated top of the pond, it's time to start working around the edge of the pond with small hand garden tools.... either remove dirt or add some dirt until everything look really level... you can fine tune it further when the water is up all the way. Good luck! I've done quite a few ponds already. Only one of them was a preformed plastic liner. Personally, that was work, versus a pleasurable experience in creating something nice in the yard.

 

[DrPizza]

oh, btw, the water hyacinths have a pretty good root system under them that helps to filter the water... I've never needed a filter. If you make the pond large enough (for 2 ducks, I'd guess 100 sq feet minimum), and have the surface about half covered with water plants, it should take care of the filtering itself. I drain my ponds in the spring, scoop out the sediment that builds up in the bottom, and add it to the garden.

 

[relaxandreflect]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
oh, btw, the water hyacinths have a pretty good root system under them that helps to filter the water... I've never needed a filter. If you make the pond large enough (for 2 ducks, I'd guess 100 sq feet minimum), and have the surface about half covered with water plants, it should take care of the filtering itself. I drain my ponds in the spring, scoop out the sediment that builds up in the bottom, and add it to the garden.

wow, thanks. the only thing with a liner i was wondering is if the duck's nails would rip it. thanks for a very informative response. so are you saying that i won't need a filter? if i didn't, would i still need a pump?

 

[Grey]

Water hyacinths are invasive as hell and banned in most states good luck find them. If you do get them do your enviroment a favor and don't toss them into natural waterways.

Ducks are messy get a good filter system going.

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: Howard
Ducks are cool!

yea, ducks are delicious.. ermm.. i mean, cool...

 

[cavemanmoron]

they will probably leave in about a month for the winter,won't they?

I was working on my Snowplow lights on my pickup today,and changed the thermostat in it,getting ready,i have seen it snow here on October 4th 1987, when we got about 6.5 inches of heavy wet snow.

 

[relaxandreflect]

nah, they are pets. not that old. we'll bring them into the garage in winter. ours aren't that bad in nc

 

[relaxandreflect]

bump for more input

 

[iamwiz82]

my father did a freeform pond in his backyard using black plastic liner, very thick stuff. It is strong enough to protect against his dog from ripping everything up with it's nails. It is roughly 10ft by 8ft by 3ft. This is deep enough for the fish to stay in there all winter(Michigan) and survive. He uses two pumps, one if for a small fountain and the other is one that can either run a waterfall or pump out the water when he is cleaning the sides and bottom

Putting ducks in a small pond with fish is pretty much a death sentence for the fish. Be sure to put alot of rocks or plants in the water to give the fish a place to hide and stay out of the sun.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

[duck]AFLAC[/duck]

 

[Bryophyte]

I was thinking of just dropping a livestock tank halfway into the ground when we get some ducks next year. We'll put them in the chicken pen.

 

[notfred]

Ducks are really messy, unless you build a pretty large pond, the whole thing is just going to be a muddy mess.