# Forum Home Renovation Pools, Spa & Water Features  Setting up a pond for goldfish - what do I need?

## Spelunx

I have managed to inherit a fibreglass pond, so the basic hole in the ground is covered!  Having never kept fish before, I started looking at various options regarding what else I need.  Pumps seem to vary widely in price, from the $89 Bunnings ones, to $400 specialist ones....  as do opinions on whether you need a filter, let alone what type of filter! 
The pond is 2.1m x 1.2m x 450mm deep, so it holds a bit over 1000 litres.....  I only want to put goldfish in there, and a few plants.  I want it as easy to care for as possible. 
Anyone with any experience can help me? 
What size pump do I need, and do I need a filter? Any other tips people can pass on would be greatly appreciated. 
Cheers 
Jayson

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## johnc

A pump to dribble into the pond helps with oxygenation, basically get in your water plants, wait for some slime to develop, put in some rocks at some point for the fish to hide under then toss in a few fish. They will need some food at first but basically on 1000 litres they should get enough of a feed off the pond slime and wiggly's, feed the blighters once a week on fish flakes until the eco system establishes and Bob's your aunty.

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## phild01

Don't toss your fish in, let them slowly acclimatise.  Some pond lily plants work well too and the fish like to hide under the leaves.  Be wary of birds.

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## Uncle Bob

> Be wary of birds.

  Cats and dog too. Gold fish are pretty hardy and can cope with a lot of stress.

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## Oldsaltoz

So the pool weighs a tonne, so you will a solid fill under it to prevent warping and possible leaks. If it had a drain hole make sure the area under it had plenty of pebbles or the sand will disappear when draning.  
 It's 0.450 deep, check with your local Council, many are restricted 0.300 deep.Yo can add a few rocks and gravel to adjust the depth, it's to prevent toddler drowning. 
I seen the little solar fountains used to aerate the water, and wire mesh to discourage cane toads, cats and other pests. 
The location should be shaded for part of the day for best results. 
Good luck and fair winds.   :Smilie:

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## toooldforthis

some info in this thread re eco cycle: http://www.renovateforum.com/f180/se...eature-110808/

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## Spelunx

Cheers everyone!  I think, for starters, I will go with a cheap pump from Bunnings and see how we go from there.  I can always add a filter if I need one. 
What do people do for drainage?  is it the norm to run an overflow pipe into a soakwell or something?  Bit worried about when it rains....

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## justonething

I've had a few goldfish. They are hardy as long as you have the right environment for them. I don't know how cold it gets in your area, but generally speaking fantails aren't a species that you keep outside. Also don't keep koi and common goldfish together because they are cannibals. The larger koi will always eat the smaller common, with no exceptions. 
Get lots of oxygen weeds because they are ideal plants for goldfish to hide, lay their eggs and evade the prying eyes from seagulls hovering above. Water lilies are good too. If you have rocks, make sure they don't have sharp edges or else fish will get hurt. Put sand or gravel at the bottom. Pebbles are good features. 
I would personally put wire netting or build a  Pergola over the pond to protect the fish from the birds above. I know a lot of people lose fish to seagulls and other birds. They will land on the pond and pick out the fish when no one is around. 
A pump isn't necessary for goldfish, goldfish came from an origin that has lots of stagnant water. So a pump is only for decorative purposes. No filtration is needed either for 1000 litres of water. The only thing I would stress is that water should be de-chorinated, either chemically or leave water standing for a week before introducing the pets. Put oxygen weed and have the pond set up for a week so some bacteria and organism has started up. 
To introduce goldfish into the pond, it is possible just to chuck the fish straight into the pond and they will survive. However, it may be better to condition the fish to the environment they will be in, both in terms of temperature as well as water chemistry. Firstly, leave fish in their plastic bags and let the bags and the fish float on the water in the pond for a couple of hours, so the fish is slowly acclimatised to the outdoor water temperature. Then open the bag and replace 25% of the water in the bag with water directly from the pond. After an hour, replace it with 33% of water from the pond. Then after another 2 hours, release the fish into the pond. 
To me, dedicated drainage isn't necessary because you don't change water from the pond, (in fact, you shouldn't the fish needs the bacteria inside the pond to thrive), you only need to occasionally top up with a hose. And if you need to drain the water, then just pump it out into the garden. Raining isn't a problem unless you have tropical downpour that floods the pond and release the fish, then you will need an overflow pipe with wire mesh that will stop the fish from escaping.

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## Renopa

If you install a pump you will (obviously) need power, so why not a solar powered pump?  I've had one in the past and it was great, but I just bought a cheap chinese one on ebay as a test....very soon I plan to buy a larger one for the current pond.   
Comets (common goldfish) are the hardiest and imho best suited to garden ponds, the biggest of my fish are 11-12 years old, have moved house 4 times and get tossed in a broccoli box lined with a plastic bag which is then hauled into the back of the car.  They cost a whole $1.75 each and were about 25mm body length (without fins), they are now about 300mm long and about the same body depth, who knows what they weigh.  About 2 months ago I dug a hole for a pre-formed black PVC pond which has a fake rock surround for the top edge, so the original fish and their offspring about 35-40 fish in total were moved to their current pond.  While I haven't seen seagulls here there is a persistent Kookaburra who sits on the colorbond fence eyeing off the pond, but I've put some of that plastic trellis mesh, cable tied to bamboo sticks for support, across the pond just at water level.  It was something that was in the shed and does the job...I've got a decoy duck that I plan to use, they usually scare off the birds, unfortunately my duck is still in storage (like a lot of other things). 
When fillint the pond, I left the water for about 4-5 days before adding the fish, just scooped some water in my hand to taste and it was Ok, so in they went!!   I have several waterlillies, dwarf papyrus and water iris but being Winter they aren't too great at the moment, they've been in buckets for well over a year, but come Spring they'll grow/flower/multiply and I guess by the end of Summer I'll need to thin them out, this is how it's worked in the past.   
Before buying fish/plants/pump/filter/etc have a look on my favourite site...Gumtree!!  LOL  Someone will be scaling back or removing their pond, so you might as well save a few $$$s.   
I usually DIY filters....if you've got a largish container (I use a home brew barrel) and fill it with offcuts of shadecloth....onion/orange bags are good too but I had some shadecloth left over when I made a shade sail.   Find a spot beside/behind the pond where you can disguise the black barrel (keep it out of the sun) and fit snap-on garden hose fittings, these make it easier when it comes time to clean.  I bought some irrigation hose as there are various angles/joiners/etc so you can run hoses wherever you want.   
Quite often I've used an old bath tub for a pond and line it with black builder's plastic (2 layers) after sealing the plug with 'aquarium' grade silicone, then once I dig the hole  make sure one end of the tub (or whatever you are using) is lower for controlled overflow.  The last bathtub pond had the lowest point on one corner only, they I carved a 'creek' through the garden to a drain pit in the yard because I had cut a hole in the house guttering and fitted a small spout, so the bathtub was filled and flushed when it rained, and of course having the 'creek' directing overflow to the pit meant there wasn't a boggy area in the garden.  Top edge of the bathtub was disguised with a TP frame, but sometimes I use rocks.   
Every house we've ever owned has had a fishpond of some kind, way back when we used a washing machine motor to power the waterfall, these days submersible pumps make it soooo much quicker and easier.   At the front of the house is a 600mm section of gutter fitted with an spout and recently I put a large terracotta pot under that, mainly for drinking water for the birds, but once the waterlillies multiply one will find it's way out there too.   
Hope some of this helps?  If not, just ask!!  ;-))

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## Spelunx

Wow!  Thanks everyone! 
I think I am over-thinking the whole thing a bit too much! 
Currently looking on Ebay for a cheap solar powered pump, see how that goes.  If the pond does get really sludgy, then I will start to investigate filters, etc. 
Definitely going for the hardier Goldfish now, seems like the logical way to go.  I can then make it look good with some rocks around the outside, plants, etc. 
Cheers

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