any one have an outdoor salt water pond or tank?

[morepunkthanewe]

I live in Miami, and I'm thinking about buying a 100 gallon preformed pond from Home depot for $59.99. I have a pool patio where it would be kept out of direct sunlight all day, but would get some sun through the screen for a few hours. I would also rig it up to keep the rain from pouring in. If I were to do it, I wouldn't do much else other than put a thick layer of sand, plenty of rock (most of it would be dry base rock that I can get around here from landscaping, this is the same stuff most aquaculture rockers use) and then just throw in odds and ends and see what happens. I would use a strong pump for circulation. I could plant mangroves and let xenia and other easy corals grow. This hundred gallon pond looks much larger than a 100 gallon tank, but I bet its just because its shallower. Has anyone done this or tried something similar. My main concern would be keeping it from overheating, but it is in the shade most of the day. In the winter (yes it does get "cold" here) I would use a heater. Pretty much I just want to let it stabilize and sit back to see what happens. What do you think?

 

[davelin315]

Call Sea World and ask them about the dynamics of their outdoor ponds. I think you're biggest problem would be maintaining water quality in a 100 gallon system. Numerous factors could contribute to rapid declines in your ponds health. For instance, a hot day would result in a lot of evaporation, especially from a pond with a large surface area. Losing an inch of water on a really hot day would be much different from losing an inch from a tank, as the volume is much different. Also consider the fact that the mangroves also would be pulling moisture and salt out of your system, especially if they were given sunlight. Also, consider the number of things that could be introduced into your system, such as fertilizer. Don't be discouraged, though, by my concerns. I want to do the same thing as well one day, only in a green house setting. My recommendation would be to go much larger than a 100 gallon system to save yourself some of the headaches associated with a small (and for an outdoor system, I would classify anything under 500 gallons) system.

 

[rayjay]

Check these pictures out of Marine Pond's set up he's building in South Africa.
Bye the way, the rock structures in the pictures are made from cement coating welded frameworks.Henry's Pond

 

[Seawrath]

for evaporation, why not use a float switch system?