A few weeks ago, I finished installing my stock tank pond. After an unfortunate incident with the goldfish from the original pond, things are finally looking up. The water lilies are growing and the new goldfish are swimming happily in their home. Here are a few photos from start to finish, over the course of the last month. Pam Penick at Digging was the inspiration for this project. While I have had ponds in my garden for years, I never would have thought to use this stock tank for one. I think it looks splendid in my new garden.
Relocating the pond was messy.
Even though it is late in summer to be repotting the water lilies, I think there is enough time for them to settle in before winter.
I purchased six new goldfish from Petsmart for under $3.00. The only survivor from the pond location is doing fine too.
The new fish are enjoy their pond. I love the orange and white ones. They are so pretty to watch.
They do enjoy poking around inside the water lily pots.
The lone survivor can be seen in the lower right of the photo below. She is a pinkish beige color and has managed to survivor several near death experiences in the past five years.
Pam/Digging says
Thanks for the link love, Jackie. I think your new pond looks wonderful. You have really done a lot with this area in the past several months. It looks like a lovely place to sit and look at water lilies and goldfish.
Miss Daisy says
This is absolutely splendid and inspirational! From the different angles you took the photos, I can see it is much larger than I first anticipated! I love it. What do you do with it in the winter? Cover it? I’m so excited about this that maybe I’ll start one of my own next year. Thanks for the inspiration! Oh, BTW, where did you get the big pond container? You can email me at [email protected]. Look forward to hearing from you.
Catherine says
I love how it’s turned out! I saw the stock tank pond on Digging and just thought it was such a neat look. I love ponds of all styles. That water lily is so pretty, the pads have such cool edges. Good luck with all your new fish. They are fun to watch!
Ken Cummins says
The situation concerning my fish and a galvanized stock tank is a little different from yours, but some people may find my story interesting. This is a review that I wrote for the Tractor Supply website:
I have a small (400-gallon) pond in my back yard, with 7 koi (about 14″ to 18″ long) and 34 goldfish. It was mid-December in Indianapolis, and there was a 2″ layer of ice on the pond, except where the airstone kept a vent hole open. I checked the pond one afternoon, and the water level, looking down into the vent hole, was about 12″ below the ice, and the whole pond is only 24″ deep. I knew that there must be a hole somewhere in the rubber liner. With all the ice and the 20-degree temperatures, I probably couldn’t find the hole and probably couldn’t repair it anyway. My fish would either freeze or run out of water if I didn’t do something fast. I went to the nearest Tractor Supply Store and bought the biggest galvanized stock tank that would fit in the back of my Chevy Trailblazer, 8′ long, 3′ wide, & 2′ high. It worked great. All 41 of my pet fish have survived for a month and a half now in their new “winter home” on our back porch. They will stay there until the weather improves enough for me to dig the pond out a little bit bigger and install a new liner. THANKS, TRACTOR SUPPLY, FOR HAVING WHAT I NEEDED TO SOLVE AN IMMEDIATE PROBLEM.
Connie says
Love your tank pond! I have a 150 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank. I have 11 goldfish that have been in it for a bit over a year now, all doing great and growing. I do have an air bubbler in it, and during winter I use a stock tank heater. I have a huge problem year round with green water. I’m trying to figure out what I can do that will look nice and be functional. I need some kind of filteration system and would love a UV sterilizer, but since my stock tank sits on the ground and not in the ground, I have to have everything on surface. (Surface of ground as opposed to digging down and installing something for tank). Any ideas out there as to what I can do to keep from having green water year round? I appreciate any input! Connie(Live in Zone 7, in SC, tank gets a lot of sun, only shade is from plants in summer and fake lilies floating in winter)
Jacqueline D'Elia says
In my pond, I try to keep at least 60% of the surface area in shade. The leaves of my two waterliliies do a good job of that. Green water can also be a sign of too much fish waste in the water. Are you over feeding them? I also use a recirculating pump with a little fountain in the middle to keep the water moving. Best wishes for clear water this year. 🙂