Aboveground Koi Pond

Step 1: took 12 colors of stained glass and pieces of broken plates & cups, used Liquid Nails to attach them to 2"x8"x 4' boards...
Step 2: attached boards at corners with 90 degree corner irons to make open-bottomed box...
Step 3: cover edges of corner metal with duct tape, build up corners inside box with peat moss...

Step 4: we used a piece of foam-backed rug to line bottom of box...
Step 5: line entire inside of box with pond liner (30 mil) and tack to top edge of box, use strip of wood over liner at the top so liner doesn't tear...
Step 6: at the wonderful Construction Junction in Pittsburgh, we found an un-drilled bathroom sink to use as an overflow fountain with a rock over the hole to regulate the splashing sound of the water...

Step 7: use Liquid Nails to attach 4"x6" slate tiles around top edge of box...
Step 8: hung backing boards with glass tiles behind box...
Step 9: attached grounded electric source to outside of box...

Step 10: filled it up, added tunnels for fish to hide, using bricks piled 2 high and 10 inches apart topped with a piece of slate...
Step 11: place plants, wait a week for acid in water to neutralize...
Step 12: add fish (we bought "Ugly" Koi)...

As an after thought we put in an underwater light...
This pond has lasted 3 years solidly so far, even through the 21 inch snow storm last year..
Using a floating heater, we're able to leave the koi in the pond to hibernate all winter...they're about 9" long now...

Comments

[craftycat721]

That is really cool! how many gallons do you think that is? How much did it cost to make that? And how easy do you think it was to make it, i have almost no experience. Sorry i have a lot of questions. One last thing. We have stray cats in our neighborhood. So how do you suppose i modify it so that cats can't get to it?

[Yomamakaren]

Yo! Craftycat~

It's around 200 gallons...

That biggest costs were the filter ($100 on Ebay), the liner ($60 from the pond store) and the wood (around $50)...the rest was hodgepodge...

Totally easy...it's a box without a bottom, tack the liner on and stick stuff in...

Re: cats (and freakin' racoons)...we made a couple of caves for the fish to hide in and we haven't lost one yet...a couple of bricks on top of each other to support a flat slab of slate and then a pot of water plants to keep animals from knocking it apart...

Good luck!
--Karen--

[gtyler-cox]

Wow. That is beautiful. Thank you for the tips! My husband will LOVE this!

[cloudifornia]

Great idea! I'm the first to rate this and I rated it 5 stars and it only shows a rating of 4.09. Thats strange.=(