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Have been mulling over the idea of building some kind of enclosed cement "pond" and am wondering what I should take into consideration? I put "'s on the word pond because its not exactly a pond, it would be some kind of cement enclosed thing, something like 2 meters long, a meter wide maybe. I dont know the term for it and am having difficulty explaining it but I think you follow my drift.

For a bit I thought about putting my thai sharks (pangasius) in there because I need to get them a bigger house but I think controlling the temperature changes (even though we're in the tropics) would be difficult and perhaps the cooling during the night would induce ick.....

I was then thinking of perhaps setting something up with koi or some other kind of oriental fish which wouldnt need a heater....

What things should I be aware if I wanted to build something like it.....Ive never done anything like it, do have plenty of tanks..(MTS) but never anything like this....

Any pointers, recommendations? Anything u can provide is appreciated

Thanks alot.

ETT

How about calling it a water feature

Ick is usally caused by sudden temperature shifts. If the water feature is large enough that may not be a problem. Unless the air temp swings a lot between day and night time, any shifts in the water temp should be minimal. Heaters can be bought but they're usually inefficient and costly to run.

Filtration of course will be your main issue, look around for pond filters, buy the largest you can afford and that will determine the size of your pond.

Cement, if I remember correctly, will raise the PH, you may want to look into building the structure, then lining it with pond liner. It can be bought in hardware stores in the states, not sure where itd be bought or if it's even availabe down there. Its' a special UV safe plastic sheet that wont degrade in the sun and water.

Try doing a google search for DIY Pond, I know you'll come up with a lot of sites.
I'm glad you're trying to find sutible accomidations for your pangasius, good luck with this!

^_^

Babel.
I am concerned about the chemistry of the water if I use cement.

I posted about this topic on a Costa Rican Aquarist forum and a couple guys have given their advice on how to deal with the chemistry problem. The solution does not seem like a simple one however so Im a bit reluctant about this whole thing.

You mention the pond liner, which I see I can buy over the internet. My question is, pond liner seems to be very dark colored. If I place this pond liner inside of my Cement Monster wont it be difficult to see any of the fish in the "pond" ?

I talked to REDPHANTOM about perhaps lining the whole thing with tiles (such as bathroom tiles) but he expressed concern about the 'glue' used to stick them affecting water quality.

I guess my question is, would a pond liner affect the ponde negatively by making it too dark?

You could paint the pondliner and mask it with silicone?
just an idea

-Vincent

Ya that's why I mentioned the pond liner. It's a plastic sheet that would go in then form to the shape of the cement. It'd form a protective barrier to keep the cement from getting damaged and from the cement leeching into the water.

Again, not sure what would be available to you there, the biggest issue is that it's going to have to be able to withstand years of UV and water.

^_^