reuben.a Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 hi everyone, im hoping to build a pond for an outdoor water dragon enclosure and was wanting to go with concrete as it looks quite natural and it cant be pierced by the water dragons claws etc - also i dont really want a bathtub as im going for a more natural look. anyone have any brief tips on building a diy concrete pond - like chicken mesh under concrete or do you use any sealer under concrete orr....? :dunno: thanks :bggrn: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 we have done our pond in concrete, we just dug the hole to the shape/size we wanted then put a decent thickness of concrete never used chicken mesh. we also never used sealer, but depending on how well you do your concrete mix you might want to concider a sealer, but no it's not nessary .. we never had any problems apart from a leak from under a rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reuben.a Posted February 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 okay thanks heaps for the reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 My pond is concrete with a sealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 i have had customers before with raw concrete ponds and the pH has risen to well over 10 all fish and plants dead etc..... it would be easier to do a pond with crusherdust base and firestone liner imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Even with sealant my pond started off the pH chart well above 8. Goldfish don't seem to care what the pH is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 yeah, but above 10 will kill most things. imo its better to keep a pond pH around 7.0-7.5, best for plants/fish without being overly good to algae. then again had a customer with a major algae problem and their water was perfect.... except for the 30ppm copper reading.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 I have no idea what my pond pH is now. Not sure I have a test kit. The turtle obviously likes it :dnc1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Well thats a thought, I had my fish in the concrete pond for about 1 1/2 years and never had a problem, goldfish do prefer a higher PH, my in-laws also have a concrete pond that has been running for well over 15yrs no problems there either .. being a reptile enclosure will the higher PH effect them, my understanding reptiles will tolerate a range of different water conditions ... my turtle was ok in the concrete pond. We just used the concrete you mix yourself with builders mix then left it for properly about 2 weeks before it's first fill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reuben.a Posted February 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 yeah water dragons wouldnt be bothered i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 You can add a water proofing agent to the concrete. I have made a few concrete ponds and just filled them up after the concrete has just set and change the water a few times befor puting things in there. It slows the drying of the concrete and leaches a lot of the solubles. Then fill with water and allow to go green with algae and add heaps of daphnia, when clear add fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilwis Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 one of the methods of making tank inserts is with concrete over polystyrene and in the tank it raises the ph but only for a while it doesn't always keep raising it from what i understand a few water changes brings the ph down to normal and stops rising so basically i think its older concrete less ph rise i don't know if its feesable for you to do the 5 or more water changes it usually takes but at least you know it wont always stay high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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