I'm in zone 5b/6a, and the location where I would like to site a pond receives four to six hours of sunshine. The pond itself would measure about six feet by eight feet at the maximum. I would like it to feature a small waterfall, and I hope to house water lilies and comet goldfishes.

Could someone here tell me what the depth of the pond must be for the fish to overwinter safely in the pond, or maybe this is an impossible venture. When speaking of water lilies, I understand that you need to overwinter tropical varieties in a protected place, but what about the winter hardy varieties? Can I have a water lily hardy to zone 5 in my pond and just let it be outdoors?

If I need to bring the fish/plants indoors, I'll just install a shallow pool + cascading waterfall in my backyard, but I would really like to have a fish pond. I would appreciate any feedback and all feedback so that I can make a water feature that will suit my backyard.

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It is my story, from thinking about installing my first pond in May to a completed pond in June. I am in love with it and we did it all ourselves (DH, son in law and myself).

My fish are happy, my water is clear and life is good. We also wanted a garden pond with waterfall, lillies and comets.

It is doable.

My pond is a preform 2.5' deep, 160 gals, so it isn't a big one. I would prefer to have it about 3-4' deep and would do that if I were making it with a liner.

I have covered it in different ways over the past 5 years. This past winter my fish died I think because the bubbler stopped working (you have to keep a hole open in the ice for them). This coming winter I think I will use a deicer. I may decide to make a greenhouse type cover for it to use with the deicer.

According to the pond store near here and what I have read otherwise, it is more stressful for the fish to be brought in for the winter. However, I have friends that do that and the fish seem fine, so I don't really know the answer to your question about bringing them in for the winter. My lily stays out all winter just fine. Matter of fact this summer is the best it has ever been.

To be honest, a water feature without a pond is much easier to care for, but then you don't have fish and lilies and they do add an element of fun. In the beginning I was so dubious about everything. I thought things to death!!! Really it is much easier than I thought it would be and I just love it.

Personally I say, "Go for it." Do the pond!!!!

Anne

My pond is a little larger than yours, about 7 X 10 and a little over 2500 gallons when you include my stream; it's sixty feet long. I have two koi and two comets (and about 25 babies this year!) and they have overwintered just fine in 32 inches of water. And, we'll probably never have a winter worse than the one we had last year.

In addition, I've done every possible thing wrong. I tried to sledgehammer the ice one year not knowing how bad that can be for the fish. I let it freeze over that year too, multiple times. I didn't use an airstone one year because I read you didn't really need it. Last year, the water level dropped for some unknown reason and I thought for sure they were goners. You name it, I've screwed it up. The happy ending is that the fish have been fine and thrived. I have since learned the error of my ways, much of it on this board. Read up!

I can't answer your plant questions - not my gig.

Good luck!
-Chris

~dianne

lisa11310: Its good to know that hardy water lilies can overwinter just fine in the pond! I really don't want to bring water plants or fish indoors if I can avoid it.

pcan: Your pond is lovely, and you made it so quickly! It was inspirational. I'll likely go back and reread the thread several times. I'll definitely build my pond myself. I'm actually using this year to design and collect supplies and will commence building next year.

pashta_2006: Anne, I'm mostly zone 6a with the harsh winters being zone 5b. However, it is wonderful to know that the fish and plants survived winters colder than mine! I'll take your advice and build a pond 3 to 4 feet deep. I'm not entirely sure how you would keep a hole open in the pond ice... more research I guess.

chris_in_ct: Chris, you are making me want a trio of koi to populate my pond! It is good to know that pond life is so resilient. I'm not sure what an airstone is... so yay, more research!

gardengimp: Dianne, I do dearly want a waterfall feature, cascading or otherwise. I'll be sure to incorporate it into my pond design. I do want a more formal looking water feature with crisp lines as opposed to the traditional pond with organic borders. Your pond is gorgeous!

The advice everyone gives is good so I can only add that if you can possibly make it larger, do it. You won't regret it. Somehow larger ponds (within reason) are even easier to maintain since problems are magnified and happen faster in really small ponds.

Of course, coming to this forum will make everything easier and more pleasing.

It isn't as hard as you might think, but the hardest part is trying to figure out the language of ponding. What is what, and what is it used for and so on.

As for the airstone question, I am just using 2 airstones from Walmart with a $6 air pump. All I do when the cold weather arrives, is set the airstones with airline tubing in the pond about 6 to 8 inches below the water surface and plug in the little pump, which I have enclosed in a small box to protect from weather. The purpose is to keep a hole open in the ice by using air bubbles and water movement if it freezes. The hole allows gases in the pond to 'escape' which helps the fish get through winter easier.

There are alot of ways to do the same things. I bet everyone has a list of 10 things they would do different if you asked them. Every pond is different and I love mine and love looking at the others for inspiration. I am now in the planning stages of my next pond. It will be awhile before it happens, but the planning is half the fun.