We are in the process of buying a house, it has a nice backyard and we would like to compliment it with a pond.
I know what I would like to accomplish with the pond, just need some pointers to get there. I would like a sustainable fish farm that my family can eat from.
We live in middle Tennessee so the winters aren't harsh but it does get below freezing most winters and we do get some snow and ice storms. Because of the winters I plan to dig it 5.5-8 ft deep. My original plan was to house tilapia but I don't think they would survive even with a heater. More I am looking at fish indigenous to my area.
I've read that although catfish will thrive they usually don't breed in ponds and that kills out my sustainability thought. Bass tend to cannibalize, do they won't do well either. However I haven't found much on blue gill.
My thoughts on the pond are somewhere in the neighborhood of 10' x 7' and somewhere between 5.5 and 8 feet deep.
How can I estimate the gallons and what would be the best size liner to get for that size?
Most of the liners I've found are for somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5 feet in depth.
Also does anyone know a good place to order a liner from?
Once built I plan to line with rocks and build a waterfall.
Also going in the backyard will be a garden with our most commonly eaten fruits and veggies, a small chicken coupe with 4 chickens for eggs and probably a pair of ducks for eggs and reproduction for food.
I plan to water the garden with pond water and keep the pond full with caught rain water.
Well these are my thoughts and plans. Let me know what you think.
I would not try to go too deep. Wider, longer is better so that there is more surface area to be better aerated.
To figure out pond liner is simple math.
If the pond is rectangular then start thinking along these lines:
Start at one side. Allow at least a foot to lay flat on the ground.
Then go down the side. (How deep is the pond? Lets use 4' as the number) so you are up to 5'+
Now go across the bottom. 7' plus the 5 from before = 12'
Now up the other side 4' and some to lay flat on the ground, 1'. Add to the 12' and that makes it 17' long.
Do the same in the other direction.
1' + 4' + 10' + 4' + 1' = 20'
So you need a piece 17' x 20'. If you want to go deeper, then substitute your numbers in that formula going both ways.
If you will have a sump, water fall or other thing get a bigger piece.
Hint: if the whole pond is level and the waterfall comes in from over the side the liner does not have to be connected to the rest of the pond. It can simply overlap where the water falls in. That might make a slightly smaller piece.
Shop on line and check out feed stores, pond stores and anywhere else that might sell it. Remember to add shipping, pond liner is HEAVY.
You might see Xavan listed as pond liner, as thinner, but just as strong (it seems to be) and more flexible because it is thinner. (It is not).
Unless there is a big savings I would not bother to get Xavan over the 40 mil EPDM that is more commonly sold for this purpose.
DO NOT plan on skimping and patching together pieces. Buy enough to do the job with one piece.
You should contact your State Wildlife Service; they may provide you with
what types of fish will work in your area. They may even have a stocking program for new ponds. My sister just completed a 3 acre farm pond and
the State stocked it for her.
10'x7' isn't going to be quite big enough to be a sustainable food fish source. However, it would be great for plants and goldfish or pretty good for Koi. You want to keep in mind that it's not just winters in our neck of the woods that can be tough. Arguably, our winters aren't that big of a deal for coldwater ornamentals. Summers are no picnic, however. A deeper pond will help provide cooler water and at least give a little respite from the heat.
For a pond large enough to provide foodfish,I would think a quarter of an acre is going to be the minimum. I have been wrong before, however.
I don't know if you found an answer, but here is a link to the Tennessee State Extension office. I don't know what county you're in, so ... choose yours and you can go from there. You might also spend some time poking around their website. They usually have great information.
The depth in the first post is suggested as 5.5-8'.
I suggested that was a bit too deep, that a larger surface area would be better, and 4' was a reasonable depth. Deep enough to be cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and still have good oxygen levels.
Still, the formula is the same:
Measure in feet:
L x W x D then multiply by 7.5 to get gallons.
One way to increase the yield is to look into aquaculture. Link the pond filtration with hydroponic gardening. Use 2-4 vats for the fish, depending on age (size) so they won't eat each other. 1 vat for fry, 1 vat for fingerlings and 2 vats for grow out.
Hi I'm in Tn would like to help you out with some of this before you start your pond do this you need to know some other things about a pond like how are you going to keep it clean . how big you need to raise the fish you want for eatting, tilapia catfish both can be raise for food here and can be ready to eat in 6 to 7 mo. if you feed them right. would add bottom drain to pond a most and settling tank to run drain in to that you can clean out .And a fall at one end will help you to .I'd make pond from to 2' to 5' middle and would try 12' round cause death.You can go on koiphen.com and fine lots of help with this they have lots dys for pond. And the T.W.R. sight has good info on raise fish for food.
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