Novice: Need Advice Making Indoor Pond

[shuperkebin]

So this summer im planing on building an indoor pond. I am a complete begginer and know absolutely nothing about ponds. I just want to make a small indoor pond, nothing bid. Maby hold 5 small fishies and some plants. Well my only ideas i have is making a rectangular box and filling it with dirt. Then to put a plastic liner into the box and then an epdm liner into that. I want to make it so the pond will fit into the box with some extra room around it to plant some plants or put rocks into.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=56569-000001569-LP7918&lpage=none
A liner like that is wat im looking to get maby smaller. The reason i want to also get an epdm liner to put into that is just so i can get the shape of the polyethylene liner easily and also that i have read in some places that these liners tend to crack after a few years so it wouldnt matter if i got an epdm liner over it. I may be wrong though so let me know as i said i am a beggineer.

The part i need the most help however is what else do i need to allow the fish to live in it (filter,pump etc...). It would be great if you could give me a list of parts i need and best places to buy them with some advice installing them. I am thinking of a 50-100 gallon pond.


I am trying to make something similar to this. http://www.flickr.com/photos/happysteve/82829589/

Any help is appreciated. THANKS!

 

[bettagurl]

I can't help you out with the pond, but if you are talking about stocking with goldfish, you may only want 2-3 with 100 gallons. With only 50 I wouldn't get a goldfish, Rosey red minnows would do good.
But since it is an indoor pond and so small you could heat it, which means you could get tropical fish.

 

[steelhumm]

the pic you showed looked like a rubbermaid stock tank....go that route and you would not need any dirt or liner! I am using a 150 gallon rubbermaid stock tank in my outdoor little poolside pond I made a few weeks ago and it has worked great!!

 

[shuperkebin]

where did u get ur rubbermaid container at? i tried looking at the rubbermaid site but cant find it really.

 

[nacodeblue]

Here is an indoor pond I just finished for a turtle, it may work for fish as well. Total cost 150.00

I used a 50gal liner from lowes http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...718&lpage=none

I used a 4x6 sheet of mdf and traced the outline of the pond, cut out with a jig saw.

The frame is made of 2x4 16" tall. I then drilled 2 1/2" holes in the side of the liner about an inch from the top for the filter lines.

I covered the top and sides by stapling fabric to them and then screwed it all together.

 

[steelhumm]

where did u get ur rubbermaid container at? i tried looking at the rubbermaid site but cant find it really.

it's on their wesite but was a pita to find. bought it at a local tractor supply company store.

They are used for feeding and watering troughs on farms, so they are very popular

 

[Desertponder]

O.k., take it from someone who has tried an indoor pond in the past.......be VERY, VERY CAREFUL!
One of the biggest issues you will have to deal with indoors is moisture. If you have a fountain, spitter or small fall into the pond, YOU WILL HAVE MOISTURE TRAVELING. You won't see it but its there traveling around the immediate area of your pond. Over time, less than a year in my case, you will notice water damage from this traveling moisture. Mine was sitting near a wood stair railing and the moisture from the pond started the paint peeling from the stair rail. It also started damaging the sheetrock on the wall behind it. No matter how low I turned the water movement down, I still had the problem.
So, if you do this indoors, think carefully about the placement and surrounding and what it could possibly damage.
I would use a preform pond unit or a stock tank rather than building the box and using liner. Mostly because it will be easier to remove if you decide its not working or if you decide you want to move it.
Most any farm/feed type stores will carry stock tanks. Don't go in asking for "Rubbermaid" specifically. Ask for a "poly" stock tank. There are a number of different brands out there and not everyone carries the Rubbermaid. In fact, there is a brand called Tuff Tub that makes a 110 stock tank that is really nice and I prefer them over the Rubbermaids for both ponding and my horses.
Good luck with your project. Don't think I'm discouraging you but just BE CAREFUL indoors.