# DIY Rabbit Fishing Pond Project



## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

I Have another project that is a work in progress 
It is a hand dug 10,000 + gallon Aquaponic Pond 
The Pond is lined with a patched up re purposed 24 foot above ground pool liner I will be 
using Suspended Rabbits to fertilize the pond / Plants and feed the fish 
I will Post pics and vids 

First Video 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhbTWPDS-no"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhbTWPDS-no[/ame]

second video
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9jh69T8WCA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9jh69T8WCA[/ame]

video 3 Pond project
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8rnhbI5gHA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8rnhbI5gHA[/ame]

another update 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EMw5PNru9w"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EMw5PNru9w[/ame]

Rabbits Suspended over Pond Video
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kaVEES7WhI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kaVEES7WhI[/ame]

My Super Cheap 55 Gallon Pond Filter
Video
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kaVEES7WhI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kaVEES7WhI[/ame]







starting my secret fish pond by PatriotSurvival, on Flickr


P1130675 by PatriotSurvival, on Flickr



P1130676 by PatriotSurvival, on Flickr


pond by PatriotSurvival, on Flickr

P1140658 by PatriotSurvival, on Flickr


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

Amazing! Thx for sharing it w/ us!


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Wow.. you really are a digging fool... Might have to invite you up to dig me a pond as much as you like to dig 

I really like the idea about keeping rabbits over a pond... solves several problems all at once.


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

ldc said:


> Amazing! Thx for sharing it w/ us!


Thanks for checking it out


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

simi-steading said:


> Wow.. you really are a digging fool... Might have to invite you up to dig me a pond as much as you like to dig
> 
> I really like the idea about keeping rabbits over a pond... solves several problems all at once.




Yea lol I do like to dig as long as there are no rocks .


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

nice videos - thank you for sharing them. 

May I ask what the darker material is over the liner around the edges?

Carp may be an easy fish to start off with since they are cheap (goldfish) and can survive in relatively adverse conditions as compared to other types of fish. I started with comets (small goldfish) in a used 12' diameter pool off CL this summer and they grew well with pretty much no supplemental food, aeration or filtering. It worked well to provide me with some higher nutrient water for irrigating the orchard and garden.

I've heard reports that canned carp tastes very similar to canned tuna fish (bones pretty much dissolve)... I'll try it next year.


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

The darker material is Military Tent Flooring strips it is a Thick rubber type flooring for those large military tents.
It helps keep the sun off of the vinyl pool liner and also warms the water temp around the edges where the minnows and fish lay their eggs 
I have Actually Put a few Carp in there I think they are all males though 
I have put a few red ear sunfish in there also 2 or 3 bass 
Lots of frogs 
, I put about 25 minnows in there and they quickly multiplied turning into hundreds 

basically 
I am just throwing in whatever I fish out of the Clean local Ponds around this area






K.B. said:


> nice videos - thank you for sharing them.
> 
> May I ask what the darker material is over the liner around the edges?
> 
> ...


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Thank you. Did you use tires to stabilize the edge?


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

And what will you do with the rabbits for winter? 
Fish cannot be fed in water temps less than 55F.
You will need a mass amount of plants to remove the nitrates? 
And some kind of filter to help turn the insane extra amount of ammonia into nitrites.


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## rabbitgeek (Mar 22, 2008)

Because of their fur coats, rabbits are usually okay in winter as long as they are protected from wind and precipitation. They can handle cold better than heat. 

Have a good day!


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

Yes Tires filled and packed with Clay were used 




K.B. said:


> Thank you. Did you use tires to stabilize the edge?


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Very cool, thanks. I may have to borrow that idea this next spring when we put our graywater system in place. I'm thinking a series of interconnected shallow and deep ponds to treat and reuse the water from the shower, washer and sink...


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

the rabbits dont stay over the pond all the time 
I have a rolling Yard cage that we use and I have a Homemade Tent shelter area that The rabbits can be transferred to to keep them warm 
and I have plans for fully enclosing the entire Pond and surrounding area 
with a Greenhouse type enclosure . It will be a big experiment but I think it will work as needed 






secuono said:


> And what will you do with the rabbits for winter?
> Fish cannot be fed in water temps less than 55F.
> You will need a mass amount of plants to remove the nitrates?
> And some kind of filter to help turn the insane extra amount of ammonia into nitrites.


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

I will be posting some images of the Rabbit Box I made out of a 5 gallon buckets soon


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## Zeet_Cranberry (Jan 11, 2011)

You should look up Pond Boss (if you haven't already). It's magazine and website forum dedicated to ponds. Tons of info on fish, plants, etc. (no offense to people here...)


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

Zeet_Cranberry said:


> You should look up Pond Boss (if you haven't already). It's magazine and website forum dedicated to ponds. Tons of info on fish, plants, etc. (no offense to people here...)


Cool thanks for the tip , there seems to be lots of great info here That will take some time to absorb then I will check em out Im sure


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

K.B. said:


> Very cool, thanks. I may have to borrow that idea this next spring when we put our graywater system in place. I'm thinking a series of interconnected shallow and deep ponds to treat and reuse the water from the shower, washer and sink...



you reminded me I need to disconnect my sinks and showers from my septic


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## CesumPec (May 20, 2011)

great idea with the tires. I've wanted to build a pond for a few ducks and geese but in my sandy soil, a liner is required. Sand filled tires would be just the ticket to stabilize the edge and anchor the liner.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

PatriotSurvival said:


> you reminded me I need to disconnect my sinks and showers from my septic


great way to go if the plumbing is easy to access. will you use it for irrigation or just reducing the load on your septic?


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

K.B. said:


> great way to go if the plumbing is easy to access. will you use it for irrigation or just reducing the load on your septic?



I have plans to run the sinks and showers to my non edible landscape plants to reduce load on the septic 
But I would need a way to redirect it during the winter to keep from freezing some of my plants i think


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

You've probably already seen/read Ludwig's booklet - Creating an Oasis with Greywater... but if not, it has a lot of really good info. i recently read through their Q&A section on their website and found it surprisingly "hard edged" but full of a lot of good details on errors they have encountered. 
Common Greywater Mistakes and Preferred Practices

sorry for the thread drift!


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

K.B. said:


> You've probably already seen/read Ludwig's booklet - Creating an Oasis with Greywater... but if not, it has a lot of really good info. i recently read through their Q&A section on their website and found it surprisingly "hard edged" but full of a lot of good details on errors they have encountered.
> Common Greywater Mistakes and Preferred Practices
> 
> sorry for the thread drift!


Thanks for the info I will check it out 
I hadn't heard of it


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

I have recently acquired a 300 gallon stand up type potable water tank It is the black type with screw on manhole sized lid I am considering using it at the pond project but having trouble deciding on what to use it for there


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

this is the type

any ideas on what i could use it for besides the obvious water storage which i have plenty of


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I don't think I would have the rabbits over the water in case a branch falls on the cable or some other unexpected accident. They could be put on land and just collect and toss the pellets into the pond regularly. Hogs are raised next to ponds in southeast Asia and the waste is flushed into the ponds by hosing off the floor. I've also seen outhouses placed on stilts over ponds.


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## theemon (Jan 14, 2013)

why didn't you use clay instead of that pool liner?


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

theemon said:


> why didn't you use clay instead of that pool liner?



packing clay on a almost vertical pond wall made of sand would of either decreased the depth and size of my pond too much or it would of been near impossible and time consuming and thats alot coming from me lol who usually goes the long route lol or hardest route possible 

The Liner was there , was free , and needed to be used


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

recently I have added a 14 ft round above ground pool to the project 
I am currently scrounging up bog and pond plants to grow in the pool / tank to use it as a Big Bio filter to circulate the ponds water through . i will post photos asap


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## PatriotSurvival (Nov 5, 2012)

My Latest update video on my Pond project 

[YOUTUBE]GFSvaWnfVJo[/YOUTUBE]

Fish are doing great so far water quality is improving and starting to level out 
Ducks have been added to the mix 
WOW those 2 little critters are a hand full and fun to watch


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## Pugnacious (May 17, 2012)

I like it. How hard do you think it would be to start hydroponic plants in? Like say a floating system? In an area that doesn't really freeze? Maybe a couple times per year on a cold year. Maybe use them in your smaller pond? Could you use the 300 gallon tank for a sand filter? Not sure if you need it or not but you could set it up on a gravity feed system like the other filter. Our sumps on our recycling system at work use sand then charcoal filters. The sand is said to do the "hard" work and the charcoal is just to be sure.


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