Fish pond from tractor (or car) tires

There are many Instructables (and other Web pages) on using tires (tyres, but I'll use the other spelling) for gardens, which I have been very motivated by, but here is how I used two tractor front tires to build a fish pond. The original inhabitants were our two surviving bronze goldfish, who after years inside, finally bred in the pond and had three babies.
This pond was built in December 2007 in the earlier days of my turn-the-front-lawn-into-garden project.
The tires came from a park mowing tractor so are wider than normal tractor tires, giving extra height to the pond. You can usually pick these up free, in New Zealand anyway, from large tire repair and supply workshops: mine came from the parks maintenance company I work for - free disposal for them and free supply for me!

Materials:
two tractor tires (one, two, tractor, car - your choice)
large cardboard box, old carpet, etc
sand
newspaper
thick polythene sheet from a local BORG (Big Orange Retail Giant)
flexible drainage coil (I had this lying around)
geotextile (eg weedmat, mudstop, etc) [oh, or you could use old carpet!]
wire mesh
fencing wire
soil, container mix, or compost
water
fish
water plants and land plants
two terracotta pots

Tools:
spade
bucket
hose
clamps
reciprocating saw, jigsaw, hacksaw or even a sharp sturdy knife
short length of 25mm PVC pipe
craft knife
tape measure
stapler

Step 1 Cut sidewalls from tires

I haven't gone into tire cutting detail here, as there are other Instructables that deal with this (eg auntwrenny, who thinks much the same as I do about leaving one sidewall on:  http://www.instructables.com/id/Used-Tired-Raised-Garden-amp-Tree-Ring/). I used a reciprocating saw for this step, but  a sturdy sharp knife would probably do it with a lot more effort. A small amount of frequently applied water helps as a lubricant. Remember the proximity of electricity: if you kill yourself, don't say I didn't warn you.
Cut one sidewall from one tire and both walls from the other, leaving about a 75mm (3 inch) lip. I only cut out the upper wall of the second tire at first, but the polythene would not mould around the convoluted 3D-ness of this arrangement. Unfortunately, I did not take photos of the second try, but you'll get the idea.
Smaller tires can be done with a jigsaw or even a small knife: see the paring knife I used on car tires (thanks for the use Sweetie ... oh, I thought I'd asked you about that?... oh ... er ...).

Comments

[rhino]

A great pond system and a great instructable to boot. Five stars, three cheers, two thumbs up and a round of drinks. I would love to try this, but I do not think I could do that here in Arizona though because of the triple digit temps here and all the black materials used. The water would quickly heat up and it would probably be too hot for the fishies. Maybe I could build a small roof over my tire pond and grow my veggies on the roof?

Can one vacuum the fish poop out of the pond with a wet/dry shop vac instead of emptying it to clean it?

[finton]

Thanks rhino. As for it being too hot in AZ, you could paint the tyres white (see pic), surround them with something (see pic and my step 8), bury them (see pic), or place the pond in shade (eg the north side of your house, or grow somthing on the south side of the pond [see my young banana palms and sugarcane in step 1). Your roof suggestion is a great idea, especially if you make it part of a aquaponics system (plenty of ideas on the Web). You probably could vacuum out the poop using a wet/dry vac, but they only hold a relatively small amount of liquid. You needn't empty the pond anyway - just siphon out some water while making the pipe reach the pond bottom. Aquaponics would take care of this for you.

[Rahdzhillaxxx]

Living in a colder climate (Michigan) We make sure our ponds are deep enough for the fish to survive the winter. I believe it is supposed to be deeper than 18 inches. I think two tires below ground should do the trick, a third to be more certain. A retaining wall of earth (from the hole) forming a raised bed round the bottom might also be a good addition.
My mother kind heartedly allowed the neighbor to bury about 80 -100 tires out back half out of the ground as a "landscape fence" in the back yard to foil the local blight inspector. Its legit but ugly and now that I'm living here I'll have enough of these ponds eventually to consider fish farming LOL. I am going to see if I might be able to connect them under ground via a 4 inch pvc pipe if I can rig up a gasket gizmo that wont leak.
Great way to recycle! Great instructible! Keep up the good work : )

[finton]

Aye, fortunately it doesn't get that cold in Auckland, NZ, even if it is too cold for macmundi's guppies (still: no reason why the pool couldn't be heated). I was thinking of drilling a hole through the bottom tyre and through the plastic liner, then using tank fittings to attach a drain pipe, or in your case a connecting manifold. Having it come up from underneath would only be safe if you drilled through the bottom sidewall and liner, otherwise the liner wouldn't be rigid enough to handle any pipe movement. Thanks for the compliments. Sttach some pics when you've built your pond(s), yeah?

[macmundi]

This is an excellent idea mate!! Let alone not having to pay the throw-away charge for our old tires. To prevent algae growth, I thought of putting a few guppies in it. If the algae grows too fast, put in more!! These fish can live solely on algae and leaves fertilizers for your lilies.

[finton]

Well, it's a year late, but here's my reply! Guppies are a good idea: in Auckland it gets too cold, best as I know, - they're a "tropical" fish here. Where are you macmundi? However it's a good idea, and I'm sure we could get something to cope here.

[oogiemama]

I live in Northern Minnesota, and this looks like a great addition to our garden I am always looking for great recycled projects and this one is a keeper!

[finton]

Thanks for the comment oogiemama. Would you post some pics of your pool when built - or better yet do a short Instructable!

[antonoso]

great backyard proyect i will make in the spring because my nymphs

[finton]

Thanks antonoso! "because [your] nymphs" what? When you make your pool would you post some photos of it, please?

[teslawasRIGHT]

Ive seen a design identical to yours,but with crayfish & blue gills & included soil retainer wall-but with heavy duty shade cloth, & nitrogen loving grape, Roma, & cherry tomato mix, cascaded down the face of the plastic mesh.( They used orange, construction-site barricading material left over from a project!) Vines were tethered to mesh & encouraged to fill in the voids. Plus they thought ahead & ran a 1/2" for water return & oxygen bubbler stone,through the bottom, before partially burying the 3 tier-tire design. A constant drip flow feed to neighboring basil plants (oriented in the ground on north & west sides) which grew quite nicely & complimentary to tomatoes! I believe a simple toilet float valve switch always kept it topped off with fresh H20. I'm thinking strawberries/catfish would be a nice substitution for my little experiment! :-)

[finton]

Thanks teslawasRIGHT . Yeah, typical. And I thought I was the first (well, I might have been: when did you see the other one?). Another case of sychronicity / morphic resonance perhaps (eg motorised aeroplanes*, telephones, etc)? ;] At least I was first on to Instructibles with it, so I get the kudos! (eg as with the patent holders of motorised aeroplanes, telephones, ...).
I had thought about fitting a water return etc, but at the time was more interested in getting the thing built while I had the enthusiasm. After it proved to work, I've subsequently thought about retrofitting all that to the pond but haven't had the inclination as the current system works OK. I would like to try an aquaculture system though...
* first invented in New Zealand by Richard Pearse. First patented by the Wright Bros.

[markhull23]

hi i just wondered how long you've had the fish in there for and have they lasted without filtration and a pump?

[finton]

Since Dec 07 (see Step 6). They lasted well without filtration and pump as I emptied the pond regularly to water the garden (Steps 6 and 8). I got a bit slack last winter - the garden didn't need watering - and the pond got too scummy for the big mother goldfish: she died. The two remaining fish (her babies) are doing fine. I now use a pump to empty the pond (Step 8), but that's not really necessary: I have emptied the pond using a 3m length of hose to syphon the water out - make sure the fish aren't left to suffocate when the pond is empty!

[antling]

Great!!..
As I lived in year-long-summer country, this would be perfect for my yard!

[bigmark]

That is so cool.we wonted a little pond,but we rent.so this would be cool we could just take it with us when we move.do you know how to turn a tire inside out to make a planter??? my mom had two when we were kids.& we have never seen them since.great job.

[finton]

Cool! My first ever Instructables comment! Thanks. A couple of car tyres (to use the correct spelling... ;] ) would do as a small pond. A rule of thumb, I understand, is to have the most water possible per fish, otherwise you'd need filters and aerators, etc. If you did not put the soil around it, you may have to paint it white or shade it in summer (and then you could take the shade away in winter so the tyres warm up and stop the pond from freezing!).
I've seen a lot of those YouTubes, Instructables, etc on turning tyres inside out: if you look closely in photo 1 you can see where I tried this for the top tyre of the planter behind the pond with the banana palms in. Personally I don't do this because: I don't like the look, I don't gain enough in volume to warrant the effort (in fact I'd say I get less, but I haven't quantified that), I always leave the bottom sidewall on to help with water retention during summer (also helps keep the soil in if I have to drag the planter anywhere), and can you even IMAGINE doing that with tractor tyres??!!!
Thanks for your kind comments: I'm glad it inspired you.

[finton]

Better still, look at the banana tyres in the first photo of step 6 for the inside-out tyre. This was easy to twist because I'd cut both sidewalls off. I'd tried the twisty thing with a normal tyre and decided I really couldn't be bothered: not to mention the reasons above.

[l8nite]

I think your referring to a rimless tire in which case I agree, if you leave the rim on then depending on the way you cut the tire you can add the depth of the rim as well (6-8in)in most cases. I never thought about using it as a pond but when filled with soil and plants they are VERY heavy. Full size car tires (15in) are easier to turn inside/out than compact car tires. Radial tires you'll need a metal cutting blade in your saw. I think Im going to have to see what I have available and do a pond version... Im SURE my neighbors will be thrilled ... . . .... .. .

[finton]

Hmmm, good point about the extra height gained from the sidewalls; maybe I'll have another go if I can find an easy way to do it (is there an Instructable? Should we invent a tyre-turner and post an article?) - would save the problem of getting rid of cut-off sidewalls. Mind you, tyres aren't scarce, so the extra height can be recovered by just using more tyres! I don't know about other countries, by NZ radial car tyres only have steel in the tread and beading, not the sidewall; the only tyre I've needed a metal-cutting blade for was the one truck tyre (left foreground in Step 4). Tractor tyres are so low-pressure that they also don't need steel sidewalls. I'd love to see pics of your pond and process when it's done! I'm going to try 9w2xyx's pallet wood barrel idea...

[finton]

"but" NZ radial car tyres

[chamunks]

Wow now I know what to suggest to my mom to do with all of her extra tires kicking around in her garage.

[Sam Cook]

Nice way to find another use for something that weve got way too many of cast off.

[9w2xyz]

Hehe.. I did the same thing. A few differences. 1. I staked rebar through the tires so they wouldnt shift. 2. I banded the tires with wood from pallets so they look like barrels and tied them off with galvnised wire. 3. Creepers were grown where the knots in the wood were knocked out. 4. My base was discarded carpeting. I just wish I had them big tractor tires like you did.......

[finton]

Oooh, I like the barrel-look idea 9w2xyx! Especially from pallets. Would you add some images, please? The carpet was a good idea too, much more eco-fiendly and frugal than buying geotextile from the BORG, and stiffer too so it would stand up under its own weight if used for the soil wall.

[9w2xyz]

err... no can do. They have since gone ashes to ashes in my tropical climate. IN its place I have a teak deck made from recycled 38 year old telephone poles. LOL. SOrry Finton.

[Rokko8652]

Well that is just neat! I don't really like the idea of putting plants into it, because your water looked green and that would... Muck, you could say, my yard. Great idea otherwise!

[finton]

Thanks to you too Rokko. The water is green due to algae rather than the plants (ie I would have been green anyway). This was also before I started using the water for the garden, thus regularly removing most of the algae.
Snails and things have not survived well in my pond for some reason, but they eat algae from the liner.
Growing Azolla, as mentioned in step 6, has virtually eliminated algae growth. You would have the same greeny problem in any untreated, unfiltered pond, but there's no particular reason why one couldn't do all that to this type of pond. Plants help remove ammonia from fish wee, provide shade, food maybe, privacy, protection form predators, place for babies to hide, look pretty (esp. the flowering ones), and help create a more balanced ecosystem type thing.
Being green is not a bad thing: ask Greenpeace - or Kermit!

[l8nite]

thats a really neat way to recycle tires ! Do you syphin the water from the bottom for the garden? Ive done a few of the tire planters in the past, they really aren't that difficult although some muscle is involved. Take a tire and rim (here you have a choice of weither you want a deep metal planter or shallow) For the deep type, lay the tire with the outside of the rim facing up, make your design on the sidewall and using a jigsaw or razorknife cut along your line, (here's where the muscle comes in) now pull the tire inside out and VIOLA a redneck planter! a couple coats of spray paint or even exterior house paint will spruce it up but will need to be redone every couple of yrs

[finton]

Thanks for that l8nite (heh, that's what I did to get the 'able written: into bed about 6am...).
I have thought about syphons and pumps etc, but I used to just use a watering can and scoop the water out. This was OK while the garden was small, but last summer (NZ is now in winter), I got our old swimming pool pump from storage (... NEVER throw anything out ...), bought fittings from the BORG, and started using that. I has the added benefit of sucking out the detritus from the bottom. Earlier on I had to siphon the entire pond out to get the crud and refill it totally. I might get organised next summer and set up an aquaculture system, with the ability to divert the water to a hose for the garden.
For the tyre planters, I know a lot of people turn them inside out, but see my comments to bigmark. Actually, I'll stick 'em in step 8.