How To Build An Indoor Fish Pond – A DIY Guide

Indoor fish pond combines the best feature of aquariums and outdoor garden ponds and provides a great environment for our households.

Building your own indoor fish pond might seem expensive and difficult, but it is not.

If you are a DIY’er and planning to build an indoor fish pond, this article is for you.

How To Build An Indoor Fish Pond

Like the typical outside ponds we build, indoor fish ponds also need designing and some planning considerations.

Now, designing for your indoor fish pond is easy. You can use any software to design your fish pond or use your hand made design. There are also hundreds of designs available on the internet.

Designing provides you a pre-knowledge about the indoor fish pond frame which makes the project much easier to handle. Square shaped indoor fish ponds are the most popular and suitable one.

Planning considerations you will need to follow before building an indoor fish pond –

• The main purpose of building the pond
• The Location of the pond
• The Size of the pond
• Tools and materials to build the pond
• The filtration system of the pond

These considerations depend on how you intend to build your indoor fish pond. Fishes generally need a larger place for living, so a small indoor fish pond is not very ideal.

A standard indoor fish pond size would be 8 feet long, 6 feet wide, 2 feet deep. But if you can’t manage a larger space for your indoor fish pond, then go for a smaller one.

Always be careful choosing materials for building an indoor fish pond because it will ensure your pond’s quality.

Remember that whatever design or size you are considering to build your indoor fish pond, you must be able to reach every corner for proper maintenance.

Indoor fish ponds are mostly made with woods as it’s more suitable for the indoor environment. You can use bricks or concrete to build your indoor fish pond but I’d recommend using plywood and construction grade wood like pine.

Now, I’ll give you basic guidelines to build an indoor fish pond using wood materials.

Things You Will Need To Build An Indoor Fish Pond

• Construction grade boards, 2x4s
• Plywood
• Measuring tools
• Table saw, safety goggles, dust mask, ear protection
• Drill machine or nail gun for nailing
• Screws or nails
• Carpet for pond interior
• Pond liner
• Sand or gravel
• Rocks or bricks
• Hosepipe attached to a water source
• Oxygenating plants, fishes

Choosing The Perfect Location For Placing The pond

Indoor fish ponds are heavy and the floor underneath has to bear the weight of the pond filled with water.

So, you have to place your pond on the lower level of your home such as in the basement so that the flooring collapsing can be prevented.

Indoor fish ponds often face leakage issues. So, you should place your pond on a stable ground such as over a concrete foundation.

Placing the pond on the lower floor of your house also keeps it safe from animals and children. If the pond is in your living area, kids or pets can get easy access to damage the pond or themselves.

Your pond should get adequate sunlight as it is very important for plant growth and fishes to live. Placing the pond by a window side is the best option.

Your pond placement should be closer to some electrical outlets so that you can power any lights or pumps.

Build your pond near a fan to disperse heat and moisture. If you can manage a fan, then install a dehumidifier to remove the extra moisture the pond will release in the air.

Measure The Area Needed For Your pond

Once, you’ve chosen the location, measure out the space available for your pond.

Now, measure the area you’ll use for your pond according to your design and mark it using a dark pencil or marker. It should be big enough for adding plants and fishes.

Square or rectangular-shaped ponds are easiest to construct.

Making The Pond Frame

Now, you have to cut the woods according to your measurements. As we are discussing a square-shaped pond, you have to make the frame to your preferred lengths.

First, cut your 2x4s according to the size of the pond using a table saw wearing safety goggles, dust mask, and ear protection, these will be used to make the base for your pond frame. Make a square ring using the cut woods and place them on your pond location.

Use a drill machine to screw the 2x4s together and screw them well, so that the square “ring” gets enough strength to stay in shape. It will play a vital role to hold the weight of the pond.

Now, you have to make the walls for your pond. For making the walls, take 4 construction grade boards and screw them together to make a square “ring” same size as the base. The wall’s height should be a minimum of 2 feet.

If you want your walls to be higher, then create another square “ring” using the boards and place it on top of the previous frame.

Attaching Plywood & Carpets

You have to install plywood on the inside of the pond. Cut the plywood to size as needed, then screw them to the inside of the pond wall. It will create a protective lining that holds the other boards together.

Now, cut the carpeting to size with a sturdy sharp knife, fit it over the floor and against the walls of your indoor fish pond. Use some carpet glue to fix the carpet against the wood.

Make sure that the carpet rests flat against the walls and floor of your pond. Don’t expose wood parts leaving any gaps.

Attaching Pond Liner

You should get good quality rubber pond liner, measure and cut it to fit inside the pond. Then cut the liner to size and spread it out over your pond’s floor. The pond liner should be big enough to hang over the indoor fish pond’s walls by about 3 inches.

You always have to cut the pond liner a little longer than your pond area so that the ends fold over the top of your pond.

Now, press the pond liner smoothly into your pond to match the shape of the indoor fish pond and flatten the liner as much as possible. Fold the pond liner’s end over the pond wall.

Use clips or nails to fix the liner over the pond wall rim, it will keep the liner in place. You can also use bricks to weigh down the liner.

Check if there is any leakage hole on the liner. If you see any holes, then patch them up with a square of liner or change the entire pond liner.

You can use some boards to cover the top of the wall.

Preparing The Floor Of The Pond

Cover the whole pond floor with sand or gravel and make a one or two-inch layer. Be careful putting them on the pond liner because it can damage the liner surface.

Stack some rocks against the side of the pond.

Filling The Pond With Water

Before filling with water, install a filtration box and a pump for introducing fish to your pond.

Now, fill the two-third of the pond with water using a hosepipe attached to a tap or any water sources. Add your aquatic oxygenating plants in your pond. Fill the rest of the pond with water leaving 1-inch free space from the top of the pond wall.

Note: You can install fluorescent light if your pond doesn’t get enough light. Manage an aquarium heater because the pond might get too cold sometimes.

Following all these steps your indoor fish pond building will be done and you can start adding any type of fish you want.

Benefits of Indoor Fish Ponds

Indoor fish ponds have various benefits.

These ponds can be a great source of passing quality time and making a hobby.

Indoor fish pond building is like creating a mini oasis in your home and it adds a new dimension to your interior environment.

Maintenance & Care of Indoor Fish Ponds

These ponds need proper care as they can be sensitive to your interior environment. Children and animals can damage the stability of the pond, as a result, the pond frame might get broken.

Check the water quality often because a bad water environment can reduce the fish’s lifespan. Clear the surface of the water if anything gets stuck on there.

You need to check the filtration box and pump frequently to ensure if it’s working or not. If these are not working properly, it will harm the fishes to live.

In the cold weather, ponds tend to freeze from the bottom. The bottom of the pond is allowed to get frozen but make sure that living things in the pond are not getting frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions About Indoor Fish Ponds

Are Indoor Fish Ponds Costly?

The expense of indoor fish ponds depends on your use and how you want to build it. Generally, it will cost you 50$ – 500$ based on your uses.

Can I Add Koi Fish In An Indoor Fish Pond?

Yes, you can. Koi fishes can live indoor, they grow very quickly and get very large. You’ll need to maintain proper care for using koi fishes in your pond.

Building a pond is always time-worthy and you need to keep patience to go through the whole process.

Read this article carefully and enlighten yourself about an indoor fish pond.