Bath tub pond questions

[tallpines]

First, What size pump do I need to circulate the water in an average sized, deep, claw foot bath tub?
In other words, what is the aproximate volume of water such a bath tub will hold?

Second, should I leave it white in color, or would it be better to paint it a darker color?
(Most pond tubs sold commercially are black.)

Third, any other imput or sharing of past experiences would be appreciated.
How about some imput on plants, prevention of algae, and survival of fish.

.

[beaglebiz]

Aw, I wish I had a deep claw foot tub in my house...Thats on my wish list....someday Ill get one!!
we got bullrushes and cattails and a lily in the early spring from a friend's lake for our ornamental pond. Id be afraid to paint it and then put fish in, as the paint could leach out and hurt the fish
I had bad luck with koi (they were expensive and I lost two ), so we just used a $1 bag of common goldfish pet shops sell as feeders. They have grown to six inches long and swim to you when you approach them. Tadpoles are fun, and ruby reds (another feeder fish) eat mosquito larvae, but wont last the winter, so you might want to get a few of those too.
duck weed is a tiny floating plant you can find locally, it will cover the top of the pond, but it will also block out the sun and prevent algae. Water lettuce is a larger floating plant that may work better for you. You can also throw a snail or two in....

[mustangsally17]

No input, but i would sure love to see pics when your finished!!!

[Ed K]

Originally Posted by tallpines

First, What size pump do I need to circulate the water in an average sized, deep, claw foot bath tub?
In other words, what is the aproximate volume of water such a bath tub will hold?

Second, should I leave it white in color, or would it be better to paint it a darker color?
(Most pond tubs sold commercially are black.)

Third, any other imput or sharing of past experiences would be appreciated.
How about some imput on plants, prevention of algae, and survival of fish.

.

I think the reason most pond liners are black is because they are plastic and when you add carbon black to plastic it's a cheap way to add UV resistance. I think the original tub coating would have better adhesion than any coating or paint you might add. I' stick with that

[OkieDavid]

Tip: Don't forget to add a strip of hardware cloth, screen wire or even a stick to allow the "critters" that jump or fall in a way to get out. You'll attract frogs, turtles and in WI I wouldn't be surprised to find salamanders......They'll need a way to get out.

[uncle Will in In.]

Daughter has a backyard plastic pond with qa little pump. She bought gold fish, and a few others to it. When the sun went down the coons came for a fish supper. They wiped out her fish.
I have a friend who done the same thing using an old large TV dish with a little rock falls. Kinda neat.. The algea started turning things green so he put a little bleach in the water. He had some expensive fish in it.. HAD is the key word here..
He turned it into a flower bed. Pretty..
Tallpines, when you take your Sat night bath in the tub, try not to make too much suds. They choke the fish..

My wife just told me that our daughter gets some kind of additive that keeps down the algea and doesn't harm the fish. Also the coons leave the fish alone. Check it out. <>UNK

[AlyCarm]

Be careful of adding any chemical that kills algea if you have live plants in the pond. I learned this bit of advice when I added an algea remover to my 45g planted tank in the house... it killed the algea all right!.... along with _all_ my plants

[jassytoo]

I have one made from a clawfoot tub at the end of one of my decks. It's been there about 10 years now. I put in a water lily and some sedge and an iris plant. Also put in about 10 feeder goldfish ( 10 for a 1$). All I do to it is add more water now and then and I put in a pad of barley straw every summer to keep algae down. There are still 3 of the fish in there, all several inches long now. I don't have a pump in mine. The lily is big now and the sedge is still growing. The iris I took out when it got too big. The fish eat the bugs and mosquitoes and do fine even in the winter when it freezes. I like it, it takes care of itself. I put an old door screen over it in the fall and winter to keep out the leaves, then take it off again in the spring. The inside of mine is dark but my friend who also has one has left hers white. Both ways will work fine, just your choice.

[mooman]

I was going to suggest the barley straw as well. It is an organic method used to prevent algae, but it does not start to work until the barley begins to break down (couple weeks).

If you have treated water be aware that it contains either chlorine or chloramine to kill bacteria (these will also stress or kill the fish). Chlorine will naturally gas off within 24hrs of filling the pond but chloramine does not gas off and must be removed by using a dechlorinator (water conditioner). This is an inexpensive chemical sold in fish stores.

If you want to do it right, you should run some kind of pump or better yet pump/filter in it. The purpose of the filter is three fold. It mixes the water to increase oxygen content and keep the temperature even throughout. It filters out suspended sediments making the water clearer. Finally and MOST IMPORTANTLY is acts as a biological filter to convert the fish waste into less harmful substances.

How it does this: The filter media is designed to have lots of surface area, not so much to trap sediment, but to offer a place for beneficial bacteria to grow. They colonize the media because it has the highest supply of fresh oxygen, but it happens slowly so do not over stock the pond at first. The fish excrete ammonia from their gills the bacteria eats the ammonia and excretes nitrites. Another species of bacteria eats the nitrites and excretes nitrates (Nitrates are not very harmful and are usually removed periodically by partial water changes)

Whoever sells you the filter will try to sell you replacement filter media. YOU DON'T NEED IT. If you change the media in an established filter all at once then you have just removed the vast majority of your beneficial bacteria. Many people have lost entire tanks/ponds of fish by doing this. Simply rinse the sediment out of the media using NON-CHLORINATED WATER. After several years the media may start to break down. Simply stick a new media in the filter for a few weeks and then remove the old media.

Ohh Koi get huge. I would not recommend even one koi in a bathtub pond. Stick with the regular gold fish (they still get big, but not huge)

[Wisconsin Ann]

I found a page with some pictures to give you a few ideas I think it sounds grand. You could even use the victorian type sprayer or faucet that sits up 6" from the tub as a fountain head!

http://home.comcast.net/~brooks.e/ponds.html

[techmik1999]

I had a pond for several years. Actually getting ready to make another one for a friend here soon. I would leave the tub white, believe me in time it will turn dark from algae. Take a guess at tub size lets say it is 5 ft long 2 ft wide and 2 ft deep which is 20 X 6 for oval shape would give you about 120 gallons. Your pump you want to be able to pump at a rate of 60 GPH at least. Half the water every hour at least. I would look for a pump that had a built in biological filter in it. Biological filter contains a filter and a mdeia that allow beneficial bacteria to grow in it which will allow it to control the algae in the tub. You will want at least half of the water surface to be covered with like a lily plant or water lettuce or floating plants so that the water is not in direct sunlight. You can buy bacteria boosters at apond store to help get the bacteria needed in place. You will want some type of oxygenator plant inthe bottom of tub to put oxygen inthe water. I would recommend some water lettuce and water hycinth if allowed in your area. AS far as fish goes koi are very nice but a tub is not really big enough for them plus they tear up the plants. Comets and shunbunkins I would recommend. Very nice fish. Colorful. I also would make or buy like a cave that can be put in the bottom on tub so that the fish will ahve a place to hide if a raccoon or cat were trying to get at them. Hope this helps.

[frogmammy]

Since *you* have the tub and can therefore measure it, why don't you do that and simply plug the numbers into a volume formula?

Great "real life" practice for homeschools, BTW.

Mon

[tallpines]

Ah, yes!
Math was always my favorite subject.
I even won a couple district contests------but it's been 45-50 years since then!

I thought maybe someone (like techmik1999) would be able to offer thoughts on the variables........like the recommended number of exchanges in what recommended time.

Also, is there a need to be exact enough to consider the water that may be, not only inside the pond, but also, that which is flowing through the pump and hoses to and from?

Anyway, thanks for the imput~~~~~I am off to do some shopping!