{"id":135,"date":"2010-01-29T21:50:53","date_gmt":"2010-01-29T19:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.insitucon.co.za\/?p=135"},"modified":"2023-12-12T16:54:15","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T14:54:15","slug":"green-natural-fiberglass-fishpond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.insitucon.co.za\/?p=135","title":{"rendered":"‘GREEN’ – NATURAL FIBERGLASS FISHPOND"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the projects we had on the list to do was a fishpond. I have always liked the idea of having a couple of fish, but always thought the fish\u00a0fund-i’s go a bit overboard with all the complicated filters, UV sanitisers etc.\u00a0I wanted a pond that would basically look after itself, but support a couple of fish which will get fed\u00a0occasionally.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Another\u00a0hassle\u00a0with ponds is that in our hot and windy climate they always needing refilling due to losses through\u00a0evaporation – sometimes you think you have sprung a sudden leak after a hot and windy day! This means you either need to keep filling it up – or rig up some fancy ball valve arrangement from the mains.<\/span><\/p>\n

So here enters the ‘Green’ pond idea – keep it topped up with rainwater. Now I know what you going to say this has been done before, but I think I have found a novel solution of keeping it neat and\u00a0contemporary. In fact I challenge you to figure out how its done in the next picture:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hidden

Hidden rain filler - pond on the left<\/p><\/div>\n

So here’s what I did – I used the same design as for my <\/span>rainwater tanks<\/span><\/a> and set the level of the grate to the same level as the water level I wanted in the pond. Connected it under the paving with piping and presto you have a pond which is filled each time it rains. Once the level reach’s the top of the grate, it simply overflows like the downpipe would have anyway. I then cut the bottom out of a clay pot and put this over the grate to hide it. Here is a sketch to illustrate:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sketch\"

Sketch<\/p><\/div>\n

The design of the pond is simple\u00a0rectangle \u00a01.2mx1.5m \u00a0– I made it deep so the water level could fluctuate between rainy periods, about 1m. It is constructed of a 220mm 2 layer brick wall with brickforce wire reinforcing every 3rd coarse. It was then plastered and left to cure for a few weeks (mainly because I was putting off the nasty\u00a0fiberglass\u00a0job). Once it was nicely cured and dry, I then gave it a coat of normal resin with a second coat of black\u00a0flow-coat\u00a0to finish off. Those who have\u00a0fiberglassed\u00a0before will be saying but what about the glass matting – well I looked at the pond – there were no cracks and I didn’t have enough matting. So I decided to take a chance and only use the resin – touch wood it seems to be working and as long as it doesn’t crack it should stay that way!<\/span><\/p>\n

To keep the water clean I put a good 4 inch layer of stone at the bottom to act as an\u00a0anaerobic\u00a0zone and then planted it out with some Irises and a water\u00a0Lilly. Finally a\u00a0submersible\u00a0pump\u00a0circulates\u00a0the\u00a0\u00a0water through 3\u00a0nozzles\u00a0in the back wall. I was amazed that with 6 fish – 2 goldfish and 4 Koi that although it did\u00a0initially\u00a0go\u00a0murky,\u00a0after about 4 weeks the water\u00a0stabilized\u00a0was crystal\u00a0clear. It has stayed that way for 2 months now and the only maintenance is I have cleaned the sponge filter on the pump twice. I know the system is healthy as 2 frogs have produced about a million tad poles which seem quite happy as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now for the clincher – we are in the middle of a drought – it is\u00a0in fact\u00a0illegal to fill your fish pond with a hose and to date I haven’t filled it once. Enjoy the pics!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t