The pump and weir came together in a kit so I'm assuming they're well
matched. Perhaps building the small stream would be best to avoid excessive
turbulence in the pond.

"Altum" wrote in message
om...
nobody wrote:
I'm going to put in a small 60 gal. water garden in front of my deck. I
have a preformed shell and a pump/filter/waterfall kit that the
manufacture says can handle up to a 350 gal. pond. I may have the weir
empty in to water course/stream that will run approx. 7' down a gradual
slope to the pond, or I may simply have it empty directly into the pond.
It will get a lot of sun, at least 6 hours a day I know it can be
difficult to establish a good self-sustaining ecosystem with such a
small pond. Any general advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Newbie in PA.

Sounds nice. I have a small pond of barrels connected by spillways. Some
random thoughts...

You'll need to look up whether your pump can handle a 7' head to run the
weir. With no head, you will likely too much current.

Water hyacinth is your friend. :-) It loves sunlight, grows like crazy,
thrives on fish waste, has attractive purple blooms, shades the water to
slow algae, and shelters your fish. Water lettuce is nice too, but mine
gets crispy if it gets too much sun.

If you want goldfish, only get a couple. They grow surprisingly fast
outdoors and 60 gallons isn't a lot of room for adults. Minnows like rosy
reds or gold white clouds (you can see either from above against the black
liner) are great for smaller water gardens.

Your pond will be a magnet for thirsty cats, raccoons, and other
fish-loving critters and your fish will not have enough room to escape
predation. I learned this the hard way. Consider predator netting, a
fence, a scarecrow sprinkler, or some other way to discourage them.

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