When is a "pond"...actually a pond?

[SilverArowanaBoi]

first you are saying that i am a newbie in fish keeping

then you criticise me for asking a question. i am new to fishkeeping(and you know that) and thus i am asking a question, which makes common sense
if a new aquarist asks you "does nitrate even affect fishes" then will you be like "man he is a idiot"
you experienced guys are always arguing with everyone and spend a lot less time helping others.

Bro, you literally just contradicted your own statement. You are accusing him of calling you a "newbie" (and you are, just like me) like it is a bad thing and then you say "I am new to fishkeeping." Smh...

Most of these guys are good at what they do, and they don't argue with everyone. They genuinely try to help whoever they can. They surely have helped me through all my crazy ideas. I'm honestly surprised they have put up with me this long lol (Btw thank you to those who have helped me).

 

[abominus]

*sigh* AR1@, this isn't an "unimportant" topic; it's quite a deep (pun intended) topic if you think about it, and it is a sensible question, as many people don't know precisely what a pond is (nor do I for that matter). For some people, it could be a 55-gallon fish tank buried into the ground a few feet; for others, it can be a practical swimming pool for humans; it makes sense to talk about it because it determines a lot about outdoor fishkeeping.

Like others have said, if you thought it was unimportant, why did you answer it? It just doesn't compute in my mathematically fishkeeping brain. lol.

I have to say this thread is quite comical, though. Lol.

bro i was just giving my opinion. if you think it was wrong then mistakes happen sometimes

 

[Caveden]

funny how a thread on what is considered a pond became heated

pretty sure it was just a thread to amuse some of us in the forum like jjohnwm or those who are bored, somehow turned into criticising newcomers or saying this thread illogical, totally derailed the thread in the first place from its question of “what makes a pond a pond”….

 

[Andyroo]

a chlorinated reflecting pool = pond?
a chlorinated swimming-pool = pond?
or is a pond a living thing?
... like the modern European pond-pool with biofiltration rather than Chlorine, but still no fish/ducks/lilies? (a la fish-pond, duck-pond, lili-pond)

I'd not call a lili-pond or something with koi a water-feature per se, though I suppose it would be if it was in the foyer.
I also don't call the rusty 55gal garden-watering drum with mozzi-control guppies a pond, nor a water-feature. My wife calls it ugly (and she's right), whereas I call it utilitarian in saving my back while keeping our aging selves in heart-healthy salads.
The lovely old porcelain bathtubs also in the garden have reeds & show-guppies, and they are ponds. Period.

My company makes or adapts pools & water-features into fish/lily ponds here & there. Our competitors in this also do/sell ponds, but as fountains & water-features & usually chlorinated. I expect we'll get the call (for fish) as the competitor's client gets bored, or exhausted by the power-bill & green-water, or annoyed when a buddy who's on the MFK forum won't shut-up about it...
Me, I can't stand the smell of Chlorine & so could likely keep cichlids with the minimal levels in our swimming-pool - nobody's noticing, I'm not telling.

Adding a viewing panel makes it an aquarium no matter how big the tank or small the window (barring chlorinated swimming pool or those silly faux portholes).
If you really want to keep the pond moniker, make a big acrylic box, float it in the middle & get inside with a comfy deckchair - now your pond's got a viewing-punt.

A live pond of less-than 15gal is a puddle.
Peeing cherub & spitting heron fountains make you a bad person.

Helpful to the debate?

 

[jjohnwm]

a chlorinated reflecting pool = pond?
a chlorinated swimming-pool = pond?
or is a pond a living thing?
... like the modern European pond-pool with biofiltration rather than Chlorine, but still no fish/ducks/lilies? (a la fish-pond, duck-pond, lili-pond)

I'd not call a lili-pond or something with koi a water-feature per se, though I suppose it would be if it was in the foyer.
I also don't call the rusty 55gal garden-watering drum with mozzi-control guppies a pond, nor a water-feature. My wife calls it ugly (and she's right), whereas I call it utilitarian in saving my back while keeping our aging selves in heart-healthy salads.
The lovely old porcelain bathtubs also in the garden have reeds & show-guppies, and they are ponds. Period.

My company makes or adapts pools & water-features into fish/lily ponds here & there. Our competitors in this also do/sell ponds, but as fountains & water-features & usually chlorinated. I expect we'll get the call (for fish) as the competitor's client gets bored, or exhausted by the power-bill & green-water, or annoyed when a buddy who's on the MFK forum won't shut-up about it...
Me, I can't stand the smell of Chlorine & so could likely keep cichlids with the minimal levels in our swimming-pool - nobody's noticing, I'm not telling.

Adding a viewing panel makes it an aquarium no matter how big the tank or small the window (barring chlorinated swimming pool or those silly faux portholes).
If you really want to keep the pond moniker, make a big acrylic box, float it in the middle & get inside with a comfy deckchair - now your pond's got a viewing-punt.

A live pond of less-than 15gal is a puddle.
Peeing cherub & spitting heron fountains make you a bad person.

Helpful to the debate?

Well, it's a useless and unimportant thread, so any alternative viewpoint is certainly welcome.

Interesting perspectives. I personally would not ever consider some chlorinated, sterile body of water as a pond; to me, the word definitely implies life. And I didn't know that it was a "thing" in Europe to have a bio-filtered pond that contains no fish or plants or other life. How does the bio-filter function? Without life processes going on in the pond...what function would a bio-filter even serve? And how would such a pond be kept from algae overgrowth?

If I got my hands on an ornate old bathtub it would be installed on my patio in a heartbeat, with a small water lily or two and a few small fish...but, no, I don't think that's a pond at all.

"Water feature"? With apologies to my friend who likes that term...to me that implies a bird-bath.

No peeing cherubs or spitting frogs or pouring maidens for me. No squirting fountains, either. I think that a waterfall or other non-artificial-looking pump-operated gizmo might be okay, but the pond needs to be big enough for that surface disturbance to not interfere with seeing underwater.

My little inground pond didn't even have any fish for the first two summers, and I didn't miss 'em. I love sitting next to the pond and observing the frogs and insects and other aquatic life that found its way into there on its own. But I eventually started putting in some fish for mosquito control, and that was nice too. I purchased a small binocular that is marketed for purposes of bird- and dragonfly-watching, and focuses as close as three feet; it increased my enjoyment of the pond immeasurably. I actually use that little optic even downstairs in my fish room, to make up-close observations from across the room so as to avoid disturbing the object of my attention.

That's enough from me; I don't want to be reprimanded again...

 

[Andyroo]

Rabbit-hole starts: https://www.lowimpact.org/categories/natural-swimming-pools
Apologies, yes, does have plants. Ostracods & amphipods often make you itchy, so i'm not sure how they control-for. In Manitoba you'd get duck-lice also, I expect.

May I ask for a name or link for the viewing binoc, jjohnwm ?

 

[jjohnwm]

The binocular is made by Pentax, called the Papilio model. Mine is a 6.5x21 version, but maybe they have others as well. Focuses down insanely close for me, well below 2 feet, which is almost unheard-of in the binocular world. There are probably other makers with similar models as well. They were marketed mostly in the birding world...and nobody is more demanding of optics than birders!...and specifically aimed at the sub-set of butterfly- and dragonfly-watchers, which has become much more popular in recent years.

They aren't waterproof/fogproof/bombproof like the top-line birding optics...but they aren't priced in the mid four digit range like those optics either. Observing a fish in a tank, or a dragonfly nymph at the bottom of a clear pond, even with a simple 6.5x optic like this is a unique experience.

Thanks for that interesting link above, Andyroo ; that entire idea is news to me.

 

[FINWIN]

"With great amusement I have read this thread. A pond is a containment vessel full of aqueous liquid, plants and various creatures. I myself own a rather large one. It's called the Pacific Ocean, I'm sure you've heard of it. Perhaps those cups of water you have are adequate for a few mosquitofish and a betta. It's painfully clear all ponds aren't equal.. Your pardon. I'm off to the coast now."

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

"With great amusement I have read this thread. A pond is a containment vessel full of aqueous liquid, plants and various creatures. I myself own a rather large one. It's called the Pacific Ocean, I'm sure you've heard of it. Perhaps those cups of water you have are adequate for a few mosquitofish and a betta. It's painfully clear all ponds aren't equal.. Your pardon. I'm off to the coast now."

View attachment 1528545

Its the picture for me...LOL

 

[spotfin]

My fish keeping began many years ago with an old bath tub stocked with fish/crayfish/ and other critters from a lake.
Today, I've scaled back my fish keeping a bit. I installed a preformed pond in our front yard earlier this year. I call it a pond, because I can