So I live in Northeast Ohio where it gets pretty cold, typically it stays in the '30s but it can get in the teens. What are your thoughts about keeping above ground insulated plywood pond in my garage?
Can I get your opinion on above ground pound.
- Thread starter Hellothere116
- Start date
All depends on what ur keeping… koi/natives or tropicals. Id run tight fitting twin wall polycarbonate lids either way. Even unheated with full lids and insulation it will retain any heat from ur pumps to help a bit. Lots of cold water and native options to keep. Tropical is still doable. Will just cost alot more to heat it. I ran a heated fish room in a garage bay for a cple yrs. (Also north east ohio)…Ran into mold issues in the winter with open top ponds. About the only down side i can think of. Tight lids are a must for the humidity esp with the drastic temp swings.
I think that the practicality of this idea would hinge upon how or if your garage is insulated and heated now. It might make sense to put a layer of insulation on the walls and ceiling if that's practical.
Otherwise, I personally wouldn't even consider it unless you are going coldwater. I shudder to think of the cost of heating it to tropical temperatures. And maybe it's just me, but...I wouldn't want a pond with a cover. I want to be able to see my fish all the time directly, without the need to open it up.
I have a smallish stock-tank/pond in my basement. I tried heating it and quickly gave up on that idea; it's now always at ambient room temperature in my somewhat-heated garage; maybe 55-60F in winter, 65-75F in summer. Even uncovered, the humidity is easily controlled with a dehumidifier. Right now my basement is around 25-30% humidity, and the de-humidifier never kicks on. In summer, the humidity is maintained between 30 and 40% by the dehumidifier which runs constantly, but would be up around 80-90% without. Mold hasn't been a concern.
An important point is that you would want your pond elevated above the cold concrete floor. Mine stands on a pedestal of concrete blocks placed on end. Not only does this keep it much warmer but it's a much more convenient and comfortable height for observation, and would make draining much easier if you use a siphon.
If you have jumpers, a "wall" made of the clear corrugated plastic used by me and many others as tank lids works well. Cut it into 6-inch strips (or whatever height you want) and then fasten them together to form a circle of the correct size to sit on top of the pond wall and discourage jumps. Stock tanks usually have a deep groove or well running all around the top edge to increase rigidity; the ring stands up perfectly in there, doesn't hinder observation or feeding, and is easily and instantly removable if you need to.
Finally...a quartz or other radiant heater can be set up and pointed directly at the tank or pond, to provide some supplementary heat in extreme periods of cold. These things heat objects rather than the air in between; it's astonishing how effective they can be at adding additional heat when used this way.
Otherwise, I personally wouldn't even consider it unless you are going coldwater. I shudder to think of the cost of heating it to tropical temperatures. And maybe it's just me, but...I wouldn't want a pond with a cover. I want to be able to see my fish all the time directly, without the need to open it up.
I have a smallish stock-tank/pond in my basement. I tried heating it and quickly gave up on that idea; it's now always at ambient room temperature in my somewhat-heated garage; maybe 55-60F in winter, 65-75F in summer. Even uncovered, the humidity is easily controlled with a dehumidifier. Right now my basement is around 25-30% humidity, and the de-humidifier never kicks on. In summer, the humidity is maintained between 30 and 40% by the dehumidifier which runs constantly, but would be up around 80-90% without. Mold hasn't been a concern.
An important point is that you would want your pond elevated above the cold concrete floor. Mine stands on a pedestal of concrete blocks placed on end. Not only does this keep it much warmer but it's a much more convenient and comfortable height for observation, and would make draining much easier if you use a siphon.
If you have jumpers, a "wall" made of the clear corrugated plastic used by me and many others as tank lids works well. Cut it into 6-inch strips (or whatever height you want) and then fasten them together to form a circle of the correct size to sit on top of the pond wall and discourage jumps. Stock tanks usually have a deep groove or well running all around the top edge to increase rigidity; the ring stands up perfectly in there, doesn't hinder observation or feeding, and is easily and instantly removable if you need to.
Finally...a quartz or other radiant heater can be set up and pointed directly at the tank or pond, to provide some supplementary heat in extreme periods of cold. These things heat objects rather than the air in between; it's astonishing how effective they can be at adding additional heat when used this way.
Okay thank you very much both of you for your opinions this will be a mixture of cold water and during the summer clearly it would be more of a tropical tank and The temperature will change from season to season.
This is a little off topic because I'm just starting the build but if either one of you or anyone new could shine their opinion on my question I have I would really appreciate it. The tanks dimensions are 103 in long by 67 wide on 67-in side I put 2x4s 36 in tall and space them every foot. On the longer side I was going to do every foot as well but do you think every 2 ft would be efficient enough?
But going back to insulating the tank and after posting The picture I just posted I do suppose I could insulate the garage wall behind the tank.
This is a little off topic because I'm just starting the build but if either one of you or anyone new could shine their opinion on my question I have I would really appreciate it. The tanks dimensions are 103 in long by 67 wide on 67-in side I put 2x4s 36 in tall and space them every foot. On the longer side I was going to do every foot as well but do you think every 2 ft would be efficient enough?
But going back to insulating the tank and after posting The picture I just posted I do suppose I could insulate the garage wall behind the tank.
I definitely was going to put a brace on the tank just to be safe but I guess I might have worded my last post wrong I meant on the longer sides do you think I could put a 2x4 every 2 ft on the pond wall instead of every foot. But I'm more than likely was going to add a center brace or two separate braces thanks
Sorry, my bad, I always have bracing around the top and, depending upon length, across the top from front to back. That's a given.
What I meant was that I don't know anything about the use of verticals like wall studs on the outside of the plywood. If you reduce your depth to 24 inches, those aren't needed and construction becomes much faster, cheaper and easier...just build a wooden box out of 3/4 plywood with top braces.
IMO, typical wall construction of studs/braces every 16” are “rule of thumb” for this kind of pond construction. I did an 11’x7’x36” and did braces every 12” just to be safe. You would’t want to span 24” on the long ends where theres the most pressure. 16” will be fine tho throughout. I capped the 4 walls with full lengths on 2x4 screwed down into the 4 separate frames/walls then also capped those with 45’s. One center brace was all i used as well.
Have any pics? and thank you I ended up putting the braces 24" apart but i will sneak another brace in-between them!
