One of the springs that feeds my ponds is about 40 feet off my back porch. I've never figured out what to do with it because it's impossible to mow. So it's always overgrown. Reading about growing fish in tanks on this forum got me wondering if there would be a way to run water from that spring through a tank. After some experimenting I think I may have a good start. I dug a hole in the spot where it looks like the water first comes to the surface. I had an old trash can that the bottom had rusted out of. I removed the rest of the bottom and pounded nail holes all through it. Then I sunk it in the hole. I also put a smaller bucket in it to try and keep more sand and debris out and to have something to set the pump on. I've had a little submersible pump running in it for 2 days now. The water has cleared up nicely after all the digging. The water is 65 degrees which is quite a bit warmer than the air and than the ponds. It's producing about a gallon a minute. I also dragged a kiddie wading pool down there just to have something to pump the water into. I'm not planning to use it to raise fish. You can see it in the pics.
Obviously I still need to come up with a way to hold the water, but I wanted to make sure I could get it flowing first. Then I need to figure out what kind of fish to grow.
For the tank to hold water some of my ideas are:
1. A water tank like you can buy at tractor supply. I'm watching craigslist for a cheap one. I don't want to spend a lot.
2. A hole in the ground with a liner to seal it.
3. Railroad ties for walls and then a liner to seal it.
For either of the liner options I'm not sure how to drain it. I would like to be able to drain from the bottom to remove solids. But am a little worried about punching a hole in the liner to connect the drain pipe.
As for what kind of fish, I would really like to be able to overwinter Tilapia in it to have a supply every spring for my bass pond. Filleting a few would be nice too. Would this work? I know they won't grow at 65 degrees, but will they stay alive until spring. What kind of fish grow well at 65 degrees? How many can one gallon a minute support?
Another thing I haven't figured out is how to oxygenate the water. I'm assuming it won't have much oxygen coming out of the ground. And it seems like if I run the water through a sprayer it will oxygenate but it will also cool it if the ambient air is cool. This morning when the air was 40 degrees the water in the trash can was still 65 degrees but by the time it made it to the kiddie pool (through the sprayer) it was 61 degrees.
I'm looking for advice. What have I not thought about? Any ideas for the tank, type of fish, or oxygenation issues?
P.S. I know for a fact that I'm getting a pond boss subscription for Christmas.