# Is it okay to make a pond out of this?



## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4042568

.....Just curious...I mean it seems like it would be fine....But it's also 2 in the morning....

*EDIT* koi pond


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

kind of an unattractive one.........


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## ZergyMonster (Feb 20, 2012)

I have always seen ponds as a big ol' hole that you dig and line with water tight tarp/plastic and create your own waterscape. I never would think of using an above ground pool. All for aesthetics really.


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## TakoLuLu (Apr 2, 2012)

I had a neighbor that kept goldfish in a pond made of a similar pool. It worked well.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I would not keep koi in this for any length of time. Goldfish, maybe. Koi, no. Koi are much more sensitive to higher temperatures than goldfish are. One of the reasons we put ponds in the ground is insulation against the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer. This pond would get really hot in the summer and probably freeze in the winter. This would make a great quarantine tank for koi, but I wouldn't use it as a koi pond. I also cannot find the volume. Koi need roughly 500 gallons per fish whereas goldfish only need between 100 and 50 gallons in a pond setting. Aesthetics aside, this has my vote for no.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> I would not keep koi in this for any length of time. Goldfish, maybe. Koi, no. Koi are much more sensitive to higher temperatures than goldfish are. One of the reasons we put ponds in the ground is insulation against the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer. This pond would get really hot in the summer and probably freeze in the winter. This would make a great quarantine tank for koi, but I wouldn't use it as a koi pond. I also cannot find the volume. Koi need roughly 500 gallons per fish whereas goldfish only need between 100 and 50 gallons in a pond setting. Aesthetics aside, this has my vote for no.


This pool is 2,000 gallons, and I've had pools about this size and they don't heat up enough in the summer! Especially in the shade. And What if there was like, an industrial heater in there in the winter?


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Where does it say the volume? And even at that volume you could keep 4 koi in there, tops, and that would be pushing it. Understocking is the key to success in a koi pond. 

Heating up for human body temp and heating up for koi are two different things. Our body temp is something like 97F. Anything under 80F is going to feel cool to us because of the large temperature difference. Whereas 80F is rather hot for a koi. My pond is 4000 gallons, completely shaded, and in the ground, and it still gets around 78F in the summer. 

Another problem I have with this, what about a puncture in the sides or the risk of collapse? We've all seen videos of these things collapsing on kids in the backyard. Many of the koi QT tanks that look like this are resistant to UV light which degrades the plastic. What kind of protection does the plastic on this have? I know sometimes we can get away with using things that weren't intended for fish, but I don't think this is the case. 

With the new filter you will have to buy (in a pond this size without any waterfall, you're going to need a pretty strong filer) plus the industrial heater, you're looking at a very expensive experiment that could potentially go really wrong. I hate to be a dream-dasher, but koi and ponds are a whole different level of aquarium keeping. If you really want a pond, I suggest you get in contact with a local pond-builder (they will know things about your area that you wouldn't think of).


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> Where does it say the volume? And even at that volume you could keep 4 koi in there, tops, and that would be pushing it. Understocking is the key to success in a koi pond.
> 
> Heating up for human body temp and heating up for koi are two different things. Our body temp is something like 97F. Anything under 80F is going to feel cool to us because of the large temperature difference. Whereas 80F is rather hot for a koi. My pond is 4000 gallons, completely shaded, and in the ground, and it still gets around 78F in the summer.
> 
> ...


Eh. Well don't worry, I was never planning on having a pond at all. It was just one of those what if things....


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