Any "garden pond" specialist on here?

[lftd&pwrstrok'n]

Long story short, Coweta County water sucks. Sometimes the chlorine smell takes your breathe away and it is not good for watering plants. So, I have come up w/ the genius idea of using a couple of troughs to store water and allow the chlorine to evaporate off...

What I am thinking is a having a 150 gallon trough sitting a bit higher and overflowing into a 350 gallon trough. There would be a pump in the 350 gallon to pump water back up into the upper trough. Now, here comes the question: can I hook up the pump (via piping) directly through the bulk head and then into the bulk head on the top trough? Essentially filling the upper trough from the bottom. Primary reason for this is to hide as much of the plumbing as possible.

I will be overloading w/ fish for the benefits of fertilizer, but will have water plants as well for aesthetics.

What do y'all think about this plan?

BTW: other than the fish/plants and fittings for the bulkheads, I have everything needed already.

 

[Hayata]

I have no idea.

But - can you plumb the drains from your gutters into the ponds and avoid city water altogether?

My sister and her husband installed cisterns like that to water their gardens but didn't take care over the winter and the storage tanks developed leaks. I think they got them from Tractor Supply.

Good luck!

 

[William A. Ellis]

I would get a good carbon whole house filter first, which would reduce the chlorine to a level that won't kill your fish. Would also be a good idea to have a filter on the return to the upper tank, to filter out algae, this one could be home made, using a plastic type filter media that can be pulled out and rinsed off. With no chlorine, fish fertilizer, and sunlight, you are going to get an algae bloom.

 

[Treehawk]

back pressure might be a problem. Collected rain water is the answer .

 

[GAGunguy]

They make an additive to nuetralize chlorine for fish ponds, keep the water moving to prevent algae.

 

[lftd&pwrstrok'n]

I have no idea.

But - can you plumb the drains from your gutters into the ponds and avoid city water altogether

Good luck!

Having gutters would make life far too easy. LOL

 

[lftd&pwrstrok'n]

back pressure might be a problem.

Any way to avoid this?

 

[lftd&pwrstrok'n]

They make an additive to nuetralize chlorine for fish ponds, keep the water moving to prevent algae.

If it works, it will be recirculated and kept moving.

 

[Sowega86]

They make an additive to nuetralize chlorine for fish ponds, keep the water moving to prevent algae.

You might consider putting in a floating aerator as too much algae can deplete the dissolved oxygen in the pond stressing the fish. In the heat of the summer, algae blooms can easily happen if the pond level drops due to evaporation and a low inflow of freshwater. When that occurs, a low dissolved oxygen fish kill may result. You might want to sign up for the free technical assistance that DNR Fisheries provides to homeowners for fish ponds.

 

[GeauxLSU]

There is some concern with using runoff from asphalt shingles on plants that produce edibles so I'm not sure I'd use it for (potential expensive) fish. This place is (very expensive) but all knowledgeable when it comes to water gardens. http://randysnursery.com/