In-Ground Aquarium - managing a water garden

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, August, 2001 by Elizabeth Razzi

HOME | Before wading into a WATER GARDEN, know the cost and be ready to manage your own ecosystem.

IT STARTED simply enough. Donna Steele thought a little pond and the soothing sound of trickling water would be just the thing for the backyard of her home near Richmond, Va. So her husband, Richard, obliged by digging out space for a preformed 4- by 6-foot shell. They added water, a little pump, a couple of plants and a few three- to four-inch fish. And for only a little more than $200, they became pond keepers.

Alas, the little fish were koi, or Japanese imperial carp. A year later, each one was more than a foot long, and the gang ate $20 to $30 offish food per week. And by that point, they were pets and needed a larger home.

Five years and three rounds of upgrades later, Richard is tending a two-level, 3,500-gallon pond that's three feet deep. Richard has also become president of the Central Virginia Water Garden Club, and he's into the hobby for roughly $3,000. "I've got more money in one fish than I had in my first pond," he points out. That would be the $300 he spent at auction for a koi that originally sold for $3,000 in Japan. "It might be a little bit past its prime, but it's an absolutely gorgeous fish," he says.

Judging by the statistics, the Steeles' fish tale (fish hooks man, and man does not get away) is an increasingly common one. Spending on ponds is growing even faster than the number of pond owners. Between 1994 and 1999 the number of households doing water gardening--which includes everything from a large pot stocked with fish and lilies to multi-level in-ground ponds connected by waterfalls--grew 40%, reaching seven million households, according to the National Gardening Association, based in South Burlington, Vt. Over the same period, retail sales more than doubled, reaching $806 million in 1999. "People may start with a small pond," says Bruce Butterfield, research director for the association. "But once they get hooked, they spend a lot of money."

Wade in slowly

YOU CAN JUMP into pond-keeping for less than $500 if you keep it small and simple--and you do all the digging yourself. A preformed fiberglass liner that's 4 feet 7 inches by 3 feet 9 inches and 14 inches deep, and holds 65 gallons, will run about $300. Decorate the edges with some rocks and plants, and throw in a couple of goldfish, some water lilies and a submerged plant, such as an anacharis, to absorb nutrients from the water to help keep it clear. Don't forget a $50 pump to move the water around a bit and you've got a little ecosystem ready to spring to life--no lightning bolts required.

Hire a landscaper to do the digging, the rock placement, electrical work and planting, and you're looking at $3,500 to $ 5,000 for the same pond. Move up to a 10- by 15-foot pond, which isn't unusual for an enthusiast's garden, and professional installation can cost about $10,000.

Larger ponds--such as the 10-by-15 example--require the use of thick, flexible plastic pond liner, which costs between 45 cents and $1 per square foot, depending on the thickness and type of material. Although flexible liner can be pierced by the claws of a dog or raccoon angling for your fish, it will otherwise last longer than a rigid liner and allow more flexibility in laying out your pond's shape.

You'll do well to think of your pond as an outdoor aquarium rather than as a landscape feature. The same principles apply. "The people who are more successful from the get-go are the people who've kept an aquarium because they understand the chemistry," says Helen Nash, publisher of Pond & Garden magazine ($20 for six issues per year; 877-569-1881). For example, aquarium keepers know that it's trickier to control water quality in a five-gallon tank than it is in a 30-gallon tank. If you have a small amount of water to play with, stock it with a minimum number of plants and fish. Larger quantities of water will support more life--and give you more room for error when it comes to keeping the water chemistry balanced.

Nash advises beginners to start simply and inexpensively. "The main thing is don't overstock with fish," she says. "The fish are going to multiply anyway." If you start off with too many, they'll throw off the balance of the pond, forcing you to add more life support (such as a $500 or $600 biofilter to remove ammonia generated by fish waste). "Keep it simple and it's not going to be expensive," says Nash, who maintains 13 acres of ponds on her property in Zionsville, Ind.

And here's an important rule of thumb. "Stay away from koi," Nash warns. "Koi get huge--two or three feet long." They're tricky to keep healthy--and expensive. A single five-inch koi can cost $20. A foot-long fish can hit $90; special fish--such as the past-its-prime Japanese specimen that Steele bought at auction--can cost even more. Also, "once they hit ten inches or more, they start to look upon your aquatic plants as a growing salad bar," says Charles Thomas, author of several books on pond-keeping and the retired owner of Lilypons Water Gardens (www.lilypons.com), a major supplier with operations in Maryland and Texas. Save your koi pond for a later experiment in advanced pond-keeping.