I have a stupid and awesome Idea.........

[BanZI29]

SO, We will be buying a house soon and I want to do something unique in the back yard.
I wanna build an outdoor pond-style salt water tank.
Yea thats right!! in the ground, saltwater pond, about 150-200 gallon with fish and coral, with the sun for its lighting during the day, and supplement lighting at night if I need it. We live in florida so sun is not a problem I now filtering will be a task but there is stuff made out there so handle what I wanna do I think.

SO anyone else done this? any guidance you willing to give? Think i'm nuts?

 

[wenliu51]

You're nuts!

But that's awesome, post progression pics/blueprints even. And congrats on the house!

 

[Gtinnel]

It sounds like an amazing concept, but I would think that replacing evaporated water would be on your list of challenges that would need to be overcome. I'm also not sure if temperature control would be an issue in such a relatively small body of water that is out in the sun

 

[Lizbeli]

Have to take into consideration rain and salinity. Maybe build a green house with that in the middle instead?

 

[fishgutz]

It sounds like an amazing concept, but I would think that replacing evaporated water would be on your list of challenges that would need to be overcome. I'm also not sure if temperature control would be an issue in such a relatively small body of water that is out in the sun

Evaporation would not concern me so much as freshwater can easily be added similar to how we do in a typical reef tank. My bigger concern would be rain dilution. Not sure how to manage that.

 

[BanZI29]

It sounds like an amazing concept, but I would think that replacing evaporated water would be on your list of challenges that would need to be overcome. I'm also not sure if temperature control would be an issue in such a relatively small body of water that is out in the sun

I was thinking the same thing but thinking about a retractable canopy or something like that when the temps are high.
I also would do an ATO type system hooked up to a RODI whole house system. I was thinking of a canister style filter draining into a fuge then back out the the pond.

 

[sfin52]

Evaporation is just like top off. Keeping salinity stable during heavy rains would be more challenging. I love the idea.

 

[BanZI29]

Evaporation would not concern me so much as freshwater can easily be added similar to how we do in a typical reef tank. My bigger concern would be rain dilution. Not sure how to manage that.

yea rain is gonna be an issue. if you know florida it RAINS in the summer. probably the canopy when it rains too or a drainage system around the pond with the pond a bit elevated.

 

[Crustaceon]

Temp is going to be the big issue. Rainwater will be number two. Possibly attracting herons could be number three depending on where you are.

 

[BanZI29]

Temp is going to be the big issue. Rainwater will be number two. Possibly attracting herons could be number three depending on where you are.

aahh, the birds, forgot about those. as for temp yea gotta think about that one.

 

[GoodKat]

Would only take One large storm...

 

[Gtinnel]

If you go to the work required to make this happen it seems like it would be worth while to make it larger than a couple hundred gallons. The larger amount of water may help keep temps more stable too. Although would require more energy if you had to heat or cool it with equipment

 

[Thales]

Julian Sprung has a similar pond

 

[BanZI29]

If you go to the work required to make this happen it seems like it would be worth while to make it larger than a couple hundred gallons. The larger amount of water may help keep temps more stable too. Although would require more energy if you had to heat or cool it with equipment

yea but not sure how much of the yard i would be able to use. depends on location and sun exposure.

 

[Subtropic Reefer]

SO, We will be buying a house soon and I want to do something unique in the back yard.
I wanna build an outdoor pond-style salt water tank.
Yea thats right!! in the ground, saltwater pond, about 150-200 gallon with fish and coral, with the sun for its lighting during the day, and supplement lighting at night if I need it. We live in florida so sun is not a problem I now filtering will be a task but there is stuff made out there so handle what I wanna do I think.

SO anyone else done this? any guidance you willing to give? Think i'm nuts?

I live in Florida too and have tried that, it failed miserably. The biggest issue is algae! Trust me, there will be tons of it. I tried again, but connected the system to the inter coastal water way, and it still has algae, but that’s just about my only problem. It’s fish only and oysters at the moment. You also have to think about temperature. If your gonna do it, do it without coral and it will give you a lot less stress

 

[laverda]

I know two people in so Ca that have large outdoor reef setups. They have to shade their system as they just get to much light. Neither are in the ground though.
A pond can take advantage of constant ground tempatures if it is deep enough. I think viewing would be the biggest draw back. Viewing from above is great for some corals and clams, but not so good for fish. It can be difficult to see much if you have good surface flow, which I think you want. If I were to do it I would take advantage of both possible view. I think a tank four foot deep and I would have it raised a bit (2’ above grade) , so I could have a glass viewing area with a lower setting area outside that was 2 ‘ below grade. With a 36-40 tall viewing panel.

 

[dennis romano]

I remember back in the late Eighties that a guy built a giant tank in Florida under his carport. He even built a trailer with a container and pump so that he could get water from the Gulf to fill it. It was decorated with Florida stone that he picked up from empty lots. Because it was so large, the temperature was constant

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Interesting idea for sure. I do think rain would be a pain to deal with...especially the kind of storms Florida gets

 

[jda]

I have one in Missouri that I had to bring in/out for the winter. Think larger, though. That small of volume can get impacted by rain, sun, evaporation, etc. Smaller is not impossible, just harder. 1000g might be more like it. If you want to put corals in it, then you will still need to supplement the big three and keep the salinity right. Every thunderstorm will blow gunk into it that you will need to clean out - netting over the top can help, but stuff still gets in. Need some huge mechanical filtration (like every other pond) and some skimmers to help keep it clean). I had to use a larger chiller in Missouri since the sun would heat it up so much.

It is fun, but it is more work since you are in control of so little of the environment. The corals REALLY grow fast in 1500 PPFD of sunlight.

 

[reefgall]

Just be careful. If it rains, you’re screwed!