The Pond Digger Forums

Hi,

I posted in the wrong spot before My pond is about 12'x15'
I want to have fish in my pond,koi or goldfish and am wondering how deep do I want my pond at minimum?
I live in wisconsin zone 3-4 brrr,lol
Also wondering how deep should the rock layer on the bottom be
and does the size of the rocks matter?
I have ducks that will be spending a couple hours a day in the pond too,not sure if that will make a difference on how deep of a layer to place rocks to keep it clean.
We have been collecting rock for the rest since there is no shortage of rock piles around here

Thanks,Shari

Shari,

Sorry for the late reply, I have been away on a business trip.

Pond Depth......in your area I would suggest a minimum of three foot, deeper is better.


In an eco-system pond I would suggest the rock (or gravel) layer across the bottom of the pond should be just enough to cover the liner and no deeper than two inches.

Water foul sure can be messy! If you have ducks that will be visiting regularly you may even consider a bottom drain because they are so messy and the feature you are doing is not that big.

We are rebuilding an ecosystem pond at a zoo approximatley your size in November that is in a water foul enclosure that is filthy. A Bottom drain will be installed on the project to manage the heavy load of muck created by the birds. I should say this enclosure is home to a couple Pelicans, Ducks and Herons, so the water foul poopulation (pun totally intended) is extreme.

How many ducks and what kind will you have in the pond regularly? If you install a backflushable waterfall filter and the duck visiting is minimal you could possibly get away without a bottom drain.

Tell me more about your expectations of the pond. How many fish do you plan on having? Water plants? Do you have any deciduous trees that will be unloading on you each fall?

Looking forward to your reply.

The Pond Digger