I was going to install a pond of approx. 6' by 10' with a section that was
around 3' deep. I'm considering scaling that back to be just a so called
"bird pond" that is around 3' by 4' feet and only 6" deep. I want the
sights and sounds of moving water but not a lot of maintenance. I'm going
to incorporate this into some new landscaping/hardscaping around the deck.

My feedback request:
- Can a keep a couple of fish in this size pond over the warm months? I
know it would be too shallow to winter them here in the northeast.
- Is this too small for a good ecosystem to "run" on its own and will
actually require more attention than a larger pond?
- Given that this would be my first pond, how likely is it that I'll want
something larger once I get a taste of having a pond?
- If I keep the surface area dimensions around 3' by 4' but go with more
depth, could I keep a couple of fish in there over the winter?

Thanks in advance.

What most of us have found over the years
is that bigger is more forgiving than smaller.
And that if most of us had to do it over
again we would have built a bigger pond.

That said...
You can take a long view of it and plan for
two ponds. Build a small one and then turn
it into a plant filter for a larger pond down the
road. Take the planning into consideration.

Goldfish are pretty tough and, being how you are
in the NE they probably will do okay in the smaller
pond. Especially if you plan on taking them inside
for the winter. Just of few of them. Or you can try rosie red
fathead minnows if they are available in your state.

Ponds do well balancing if they have few fish to lots
of water and lots of plants. And there are always seasons
to the balancing act. Most of us deal with some kind of
algae bloom in the spring until our lilies start to shade the
water and all our marginal plants get going. Algae is
very efficient at getting going early in the pond season .

kathy :-)
www.blogfromthebog.com

NW wrote:

I was going to install a pond of approx. 6' by 10' with a section that was
around 3' deep. I'm considering scaling that back to be just a so called
"bird pond" that is around 3' by 4' feet and only 6" deep. I want the
sights and sounds of moving water but not a lot of maintenance. I'm going
to incorporate this into some new landscaping/hardscaping around the deck.

My feedback request:
- Can a keep a couple of fish in this size pond over the warm months? I
know it would be too shallow to winter them here in the northeast.

Yes. Goldfish would do fine in that - but make sure there's plenty of shade
(lotus would be nice).
- Is this too small for a good ecosystem to "run" on its own and will
actually require more attention than a larger pond?

It might require more attention, because you can't afford to let the water
level fluctuate much, but it's workable, and it needn't be much more work.

- Given that this would be my first pond, how likely is it that I'll want
something larger once I get a taste of having a pond?

Given that it's your first pond, it's about 100% likely you'll want another
one, soon. It doesn't really matter what size your first is - you always
want something else. I went from a bathtub, to a 200 sq.ft. 5' deep pond,
then to a bog (wet, but not submersed), etc...

- If I keep the surface area dimensions around 3' by 4' but go with more
depth, could I keep a couple of fish in there over the winter?

Most likely. I know of people who've kept goldfish in 18" in Toronto.
Depending whereabouts in the northeast, you shouldn't have a problem.
--
derek