Building house around indoor pond - thoughts?

oh, the humidity!

I suggest making a large courtyard or atrium OUTSIDE that has windows in all directions. My house is wrapped around a large courtyard and I can see the pond from most windows (but for the pesky fireplace in the way of the best view!)

Fish inside the house are best seen in a large aquarium, like 110 gallon Oceanic or larger.
 
Ah... Humidity... didn't think about that. Good point! Evaporation from a large indoor body of water would need to be a consideration. I wouldn't want to need to replace my roof every 5 years due to the pond.

A courtyard sounds very nice... However, I'm in CT where the yearly temperature can swing from -20 in the winter to 110 degrees in the summer. I'm afraid koi would be fairly miserable (or dead) trying to endure either extreme.

If I had an outdoor pond I would need to bring the fish inside for the winter anyway, and probably have some kind of cover/shade for those ultra-hot summer days.

Like I said before, this house is only in my imagination for now - it is at least a couple years before I start to build my future home, but I want to consider everything (cause its' fun to think about for now). ;)


Can anybody think of creative ways to protect my home from the humidity that an indoor pond might produce? Run dehumidifier(s) all summer? Coat the walls in plastic wrap? (lol) Leave all the windows open when it is hot enough to produce damaging evaporation?

Keep the house at a constant 65 degrees winter or summer?

Ideas?
 
pedzola said:
If I had an outdoor pond I would need to bring the fish inside for the winter anyway, and probably have some kind of cover/shade for those ultra-hot summer days.
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Or build it with a way to put a greenhouse cover over the pond in winter. Shade isn't necessarily difficult and a deep pond would be of benefit in both the summer and winter. Deeper ponds don't get as hot and deeper ponds don't get as cold!
 
atrium

Many years ago there were a lot of homes in my neighborhood built with glassed in atriums in the center. The roof was open, often with coarse covers over to minimize direct sun. Needs a hose bib and drain to remove water, and you need to be careful about how the roof slants so you don't catch a lot of rain water from other rooflines.

These had a single door, tall glass, up to 12' or more, and the entire area was rather small, maybe 10'x10' or so. Ideal for a small Japanese looking garden with small, slightly elevated pond.

If the roof is like a greenhouse, with glass and adjustable vents, the area will take in a lot of heat from sunlight as well as house heat through the glass walls. Sort of like an insulated sun porch, but in the center of the house instead of on the back.

Due to the moisture, windows are sometimes steamy, defeating some of the view. There may be non-fogging glass now-a-days. Also, you need to be wary of termites, as moisture and mulch tends to draw termites.
 
Koi would be fine in an outdoor pond if it six feet deep or more. The bottom of the pond will be between 36-40 degrees. 40 degree water is the most dense water, and will remain at the bottom of the pond, while the colder water will rise toward the surface. The heat will be trapped down there.

I think japan has much worse winters than just about anywhere in the US, and they keep all sorts of koi in ponds there.
 
Winning the lotto also came to mind... thinking that a large pond (indoor or outdoor) might add more significantly to the cost of a house than I had previously thought.

Maybe a nice large aquarium on the order of a couple hundred gallons w/some tropical fish would be better...

I guess I've always had an interest in Koi... they are very cool fish, it's too bad that you need at least 1000 gallons to keep them.
 
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