Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello, i am building a pond in my back yard and i want to know if anybody on here has built their own pond/pond's for thier animals and what the general opinion of using concrete was? Okay/not okay? due to the release of chemicals into the water? any input on this issue is greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

Have you thought about using a pond liner?

I built a 20' long concrete pond. If you seal the pond with a below grade non toxic paint, leaching of lime is not a issue. You could also render it with a product like thorocoat(a thin plaster that is applied with a brush.)
Link

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-Jake

1.1 juvie L.t. annulata
1.1 adult/subadult L.g. californiae
0.1 mexican double yellowheaded amazon parrot

i dug my own,10' long,6' wide at the widest,3 1/2' wide at the narrowest,and 3' deep at the deepest point.it's got 2 islands for drag out basking,too.i lined it with the thickest flexible liner that i could find,added 2 fountains,and added a pair of eastern painteds and a pair of muds.i throw in crawdads,grass shrimp,minnows,and mosquito fish every week or so.i try to keep plants in it,like bamboo,water lillies,etc;i replant as needed.i live in sc,so the turtles stay in the pond year-round.the only problem that i have is that my wife can't stand the chicken-wire fence i put up to cut down on turtles wandering off.i guess i could have worse problems,though.
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1.1 cb spotted turtles (parker(f),stinky(m))
0.0.1 wc baby stinkpots (dinky)
1.1 wc eastern mud turtles(george & jane)
1.1 cb eastern painted turtles (fred & ethel)
0.0.1 mississippi map(lil' dummy)
1.0 cb albino corn(rusty)

0.0.1 wc halloween crabs
0.1 irritating cats (sassy )
2.0 cb children (sidney,12 & kaelan,4)
0.1 wc wife (danae,age withheld due to fears for personal safety)

I'll try to post pics later of the wall I am building around my pond to keep the turtles in. It looks nice, so the pond will look like a part of the landscape instead of an eyesore. I have an adult female Red ear slider and an adult female Red belly cooter. The cooter stays put without the wall, but the slider wanders off frequently, but hasn't got out of the yard.
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-Jake

1.1 juvie L.t. annulata
1.1 adult/subadult L.g. californiae
0.1 mexican double yellowheaded amazon parrot

It's still a work in progress. I plan on adding more plants and rocks around the border, and a couple of basking rocks in the middle. I also have to build a bigger biofilter/waterfall. As you can see, the uv clarifier and small biofilter isn't quite enough when temps get above 90 degrees here. I plan on making a biofilter out of a 55 gallon barrel. I will fill it 3/4 with media and top it off with floating plants like water hyacinth or frogsbit. The wall is made of partially buried pavers stood on end. They are inclined slightly inward to make it more difficult to climb. The redbelly has never escaped, but the slider can get over if she really wants to. I plan on attatching some 4 inch tiles with caulking along the top so she wont have anything to grab onto.

Link

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-Jake

1.1 juvie L.t. annulata
1.1 adult/subadult L.g. californiae
0.1 mexican double yellowheaded amazon parrot

thats turtle paradise fantastic set up. As you know the green water wont bother them at all but if you dont like it than sure do something to clear it.
Add some small fish to keep it mosquito free real nice pond