FishProfiles.com Message Forums

my family are build a 30 foot long and 6 foot heigh and 8 foot wide above ground pond made out of bricks and we are putting a a couple of 12mm thick glass by 4 foot long along the front and told to put some red devils 4 osars 2 green terrors 6 red hooks and few other kinds of ciclids and 2 sailfins plecos and 2 common plecos and i am put about 4 300w heaters and pond filer and 3 power filters and we are have ing sand bottom with big hollow tree stump with a few big rocks o and some under water lights. eny suggestions

Last edited by danny at 08-Aug-2005 22:32

Last edited by danny at 08-Aug-2005 22:33

Last edited by danny at 08-Aug-2005 22:35

How cold does it get at the coldest part of the year. those 300wt heaters arn't really gonna do much.

im in queensland it doenst get very cold here

whats the coldest it usually gets

cool idea

15 degres only in a little bit a winter and thats at night


Last edited by danny at 08-Aug-2005 23:45

The tank would be about 10,500 gallons.. With only 1200 watts of heating, the heaters would be pretty useless. Unless the water would be at least 70*F on it's own, the fish would probably get sick really easily and die.

Bricks probably wouldnt be the best support system. Are you planning to use concrete on it? Bricks would absorb water, so the pond would probably leak. The 12mm (1/2 inch) glass by 4 foot long would most likely explode due to the pressure. Even acrylic would bend outwards and most likely come off due to the pressure. 10,500 gallons of water is a HUGE amount of water. Your filtration would have to be a large sump, most likely a DIY.

I think it's a great idea. I would find an engineer to work out exactly what sort of stresses you need to worry about and maybe suggest some materials.

As for filtration, I'd set up a sand filter for a swimming pool and a waterfall that cascades over alot of rocks for a bio-filter.

For heating, try a solar panel. You could put it on a timer or just monitor the temp and turn it on when needed. I had a 20'X 3' panel that heated my 30' X 15' pool from 60 to 85 degrees in a week. If you get the temp up it ought to hold well enough overnight.

Have fun, Mike

For something that large your gonna have to use Im guessing 3in thick glass. Heating something that large will cost hundreds of dollar a year anyway you do it. Concrete would be the best way to go. I would strongly advise against this project unless you can get some better plans. You could get a nice pond liner and make a pond like that but Im afraid your current plans won't work.

in regards to heating such a large amount of water.
well iam not 100% sure but i could find out for you there are heaters for aquariums that are like 1000 watt and higher not sure what the biggest one is but i could find out if you are interested they aren't cheap thou.