Pond

[Anne Lai]

Hi folks,

I have been givien permission to use a pond for Aquaponics. I need a lot of help from you all. How do I pump the water into the grow beds? Do I do it like I would a normal fish tank or sump tank? Can I do without a sump tank? I would like to make it as simple as I can using bell siphons for the grow bed.

Is there some where I read up on how to pump water out of the pond? I am afraid, the pond bottom might be muddy and all I would be doing is cleaning the pump every single day.Or worst still clog the grow beds with silt and slime. Thank you kindly for any tips you can offer.

[George]

Pond bottom muddy - don't pump from the bottom. 

I think I'd use a timer and standpipes rather than siphons - pump long enough to flood the beds and then off long enough to drain.  The standpipe has a hole in the bottom, large enough to drain the bed in a reasonable amount of time and small enough that the pump can fill the bed in a reasonable amount of time.  If the pump runs a little longer than needed to fill the bed, the water simply overflows the standpipe and drains rapidly back to the pond.  If you pump from high enough off the bottom of the pond and use gravel that is large enough (3/4 inch), maybe you won't have clogging problems in your growbeds.  I would think that clogging the beds would be more of an issue than clogging the pump.  I know that others are doing this so maybe they'll chime in to help you out.  Otherwise, there is is a lot of material to read through here in the forum.  Good luck.

[Anne Lai]

Thank you George. What you have suggested makes sense. I just noticed that they have several Terrapins in the pond. I heard tell that their excretions can cause salmonella poisoning. Now I'm having 2nd thoughts of starting anything there. Should I chance it, I wonder?

[Jim Troyer]

I have a turtle, never had a problem.  I think there is a big difference in handling them and having them nearby.  Be sure to wash your produce as you should always do, and things should probably be okay. 

George had lots of good things to say. 

Does the pond level rise and fall, does it get flooding type flows occasionally?  What is the fish load?

If I was going to use a "wild" community pond; I think I would float a milk crate type basket in the pond with foam and then use a trash pump to charge the system. Use flexible hoses like car radiator hoses to account for movement of the basket.  You may want to filter the water before it enters the grow beds so it is easier to work on the filters as they will need to be cleaned occasionally. 

I would like to see a photo of your work environment before commenting any further

good luck

[TCLynx]

Hum, a large natural pond?  How large?  Now natural?

There is the drawback of contamination from birds and other animals with large ponds so you may want to stick to growing mostly fruiting plants and stuff that will be cooked before eating rather than lettuce from such a system.

Not knowing what the fish load is, it is hard to say if there will be enough nutrients for your aquaponics.  You probably should get a test kit and do some water tests on the pond water to see how nutrient rich it will be.

The idea about using a floating pump basket and doing timed flood and drain are both good recommendations.

[Anne Lai]

The pond isn't big, its probably 20 feet wide. The water is quite murky and contains about 15 Koi and many Terrapins (all hungry poor things).Its going to be a lot of work, I can foresee that, just to clean up the pond. Its gonna be a challenge

[TCLynx]

In that case, adding some filtration and circulation should make the fish much happier, especially if it means they can be fed better without hurting their water quality.

[Anne Lai]

There is a man made water fall of sorts. Trouble is when it rain, the sand and what not gets into the pond which is flush with the grounds. There is much work ahead. But thank you and all who have helped. God bless

[TCLynx]

ohh, time to dig away and do some grading I guess.

[Jim Troyer]

Hi Anne:

Sounds like a ring of rocks (like a campfire) and sand bags around the pond would stop the inflow of silt.  Get that water flowing and things will change in a hurry, then you will know what you have.  May take a couple of weeks but it will be worthwhile and with your location having a year round growing season it will pay off handsomely    enjoy!

[Tommy D]

I fix those things but you're probably too far away. I'm in Colorado.

I'm growng in a small hole. Not really a pond.Ponds are hard to do aquaponics with. Unless you're mother nature. I can't wait until I can get out of the hole and build a real system. I belive that you're on the right track. Can you dig a 2'wide, x 1'deep, x how ever long, river bed like thing lined with maybe some really inexpensive used billboard canvass as a liner. You could fill the bed with pea gravel and pump the pond water through it just like a stream but have your veggies growing in the stream bed. Maybe some how set it up as an ebb and flo with your bell siphon. I'm working on the same ting with my 160 gallon hole.

I would suggest that the expense you're going to incure fixing the pond up would be better spent going towards a real system.

[Tommy D]

I have some experience with ponds.

Just from your questions it seems you're an experienced aquapon but how many gallons is the pond? How is it placed? pics please.

Check out Murray Hallams youtube thingy about using a swiming pool. A pond that is really huge isnt the way to grow.

 

 

 

[Anne Lai]

I hope you are safe from the bush fires? Take care, ya? Message to all who are helping me: Please accept my heart felt thanks. I decided not to go ahead with the Pond Project. Its way too much work for me. Plus my granson's baby sitter quit due to illness and guess who is the new baby sitter now? While I am happy I am a tad down hearted as this means I won't have time for my beloved garden till someone takes over the care of him. The garden has too many mosquitoes and with the dreaded Dengue rearing its ugly head......

I don't know if I am stepping out of line here but please forgive me everyone, especially Mrs Bernstein, anyone who needs help financially, please go to this web site and learn more about FCUSA. Don't be angry with me, I just could not help myself from sharing this with you all? www.freedomclubusa.com

May God bless all of you

[e-mail]

Tom Davis said:

I fix those things but you're probably too far away. I'm in Colorado.

I'm growng in a small hole. Not really a pond.Ponds are hard to do aquaponics with. Unless you're mother nature. I can't wait until I can get out of the hole and build a real system. I belive that you're on the right track. Can you dig a 2'wide, x 1'deep, x how ever long, river bed like thing lined with maybe some really inexpensive used billboard canvass as a liner. You could fill the bed with pea gravel and pump the pond water through it just like a stream but have your veggies growing in the stream bed. Maybe some how set it up as an ebb and flo with your bell siphon. I'm working on the same ting with my 160 gallon hole.

I would suggest that the expense you're going to incure fixing the pond up would be better spent going towards a real system.