8 foot, ton of questions.

[Hudson Ensz]

Ok i am seriously trying to build a cichlid pond with the bare minimmum never done anything like it before.
Size
8 feet long 30 inches wide 12 inches deep i now its narrow and shallow but would it work thoughts apreciated.roughly 120 gallons.
Filtration
i will try to have a water fall and a internal filter. is their a CHEAP waterfall or fountain pump? in brazil the prices are insane.
Material sealed with cement, how thick should it be?
Maintainence
change thirty gallons every other day.
Ornaments
beech sand, rocks driftwood (the bottom will be light sand so that the fish stand out more.
Location
probably in back yard half under a tree.
Inhabitants wish list.
Gt, oscar, sorubim lima, pike, uara and geophagus. which ones would work best?
thoughts apreciated.

[Dan Woodland]

It's always a quandary what to put in a pond. Do you put a bunch of fry in there for grow out? Do you install a breeding pair of something? Do you want a community pond with a bunch of large fish? Either way is equally pleasing and rewarding. I think your combo would be okay with exception of the GT.

Regarding the pond it's self, just treat it like a fish tank but outside. Remember you'll have the added issues caused by direct sunlight to contend with. I'll be adding a UV unit to my pond this year for algae control. Three days after setup last year I had a huge algae bloom never seeing my fish all summer.

Good luck

[Mike Wise]

The big problem with outdoor ponds is not the pond, but the birds, frogs, snakes, etc. that will want to eat your fish. You need to provide the fish some kind of protection.

[Bas Pels]

Remember you'll have the added issues caused by direct sunlight to contend with. I'll be adding a UV unit to my pond this year for algae control. Three days after setup last year I had a huge algae bloom never seeing my fish all summer.

In my ponds (I got 11, of 600 liter each, I've had both in 2006 and 2007 the same pattern:

I filled them with used water from my tanks - high in nitrates and phosphates. They are in full sun (I even remouved a tree to increase the amount of sun they get)

after 1 week the water was green, very turbid, with a visibilty near zero

after 3 weeks the water turned red - from Daphinas feeding from the algae, and I saw lost of black musquito larvae. Some of these I used to feed fishes, others were eaten by introduced fishes, visibility was over 50 cm (them having 50 cm of water, I can't desire more)

The rest of the summer they stayed this way

So, I intend to do exactly the same this year, I hope for a lot of sun, and good fish food in spring

[Hudson Ensz]

Hi all

In my ponds (I got 11, of 600 liter each, I've had both in 2006 and 2007 the same pattern:

I filled them with used water from my tanks - high in nitrates and phosphates. They are in full sun (I even remouved a tree to increase the amount of sun they get)

after 1 week the water was green, very turbid, with a visibilty near zero

after 3 weeks the water turned red - from Daphinas feeding from the algae, and I saw lost of black musquito larvae. Some of these I used to feed fishes, others were eaten by introduced fishes, visibility was over 50 cm (them having 50 cm of water, I can't desire more)

The rest of the summer they stayed this way

i would do that but i am not even sure they have daphnia in brazil
i really need to watch out for mosquito larvae though, i had dengue (disease transmitted by a certain type of mosquito) and i dont care to have it again. if i put small fish in there to eat the mosquito larvae my big fish would eat the small fish... do cardinals tetra's eat mosquito's?

The big problem with outdoor ponds is not the pond, but the birds, frogs, snakes, etc. that will want to eat your fish. You need to provide the fish some kind of protection. their are no snakes in the yard, plus i want to see a toad try to swallow my oscar they do have big toads here but not that big! there is also no wading birds like that in a city of two million people, or at least very few. We do have a cat but i doubt she could kill a big tankbuster.
would i be able to have a Cr. comprissceps? i love aggresive cichlids and they are so pretty. another thing that is going in the bpond is a turtle would this work?

Do you put a bunch of fry in there for grow out? Do you install a breeding pair of something? Do you want a community pond with a bunch of large fish? Either way is equally pleasing and rewarding. I think your combo would be okay with exception of the GT.

I think i am going to start with fairly large fish many of them i will have to catch .
Thanks a lot! bye

[Hudson Ensz]

We will probably have a tile floor. Wich color would be best? i am leaning towards slate but am afraid it would be too dark. would white be better? i would have white sand so that would help the lighting if i had slate tile. Thoughts?

[Bas Pels]

I'd say take as dark as possible, both on the floor and on the side walls. I have my ponds lined with epoxi (formerly known as eposi ) with black pigment.

The fish will thank you for it. The sand might reduce the darkness

[paracyprichromis]

On my low level ponds; I cover them with deer nettings. This netting is made of a strong plastic materal and is about 1/4 inch squares which is about .635 centimeters squares. (1 inch = ~ 2.54 cent. divided by 4 = .635). This keeps out most big critters, like racoons, possiums, snakes, etc.

I keep cichlids, swordtails, tetras, etc in these ponds. They will eat any mosquitoes etc. I do not filter the ponds but I do add some floating plants to obsorb nutrients or I put in water lilies. One foot high is too low for water lilies. The plants provide shade, consume nutrients, and provide hiding places for fish and fry. I also add small plastic pots weighted down with small rocks to act as caves for the cichlids.

If the water is green, you could filter it with an inline U.V. filter to kill the algae. Once the algae is killed it usually doesn't come back. But it may come back, algae that is, depnding on the fish, numbers of fish and feeding rates.

Go for it! You'll be glad you did! The fish colours will be amazing, death due to fighting will non-existance and they readily reproduce.

ENJOY!
Ken

[Hudson Ensz]

Thanks you all! keep em comin