LOL....looks like something I'd make! Why not? I think it was a great idea!

Hey it works for me, though I'd try to raise it up a bit so my view is never blocked.

Your fishies thank you for all your hard work!

I did something like that one summer and it worked well til we had a very gusty day and my "sail" went sailing away!!

Kept a watch on the water temps today. It is already 15 degrees cooler with the shade. I knew shade would help, but even that surprised me.

Hopefully, the wind we usually have in Oklahoma won't get too wild on me. Won't be shocked if the tarp comes up missing though. LOL. I am one that isn't bothered much by hot weather, but I'll admit it been a bit much this year.

That is a great idea. I should do something like that for mine since My lily havent done well this year at all.

Troy

It can't hurt. My plants haven't complained either and the fishes are very happy. Checked water temps again and it was even cooler. All told, it dropped over 20 degrees now.

Great idea! Actual nursery shade cloth would probably be even better though, since most wind will pass through it and not rip it loose. I have a 90% shade cloth on one of my quarantine ponds and so far, the wind has not even budged it.

This is a truly great idea for your pond! Well done. The problem I have here in the Akron Ohio area is when temps skyrocket everyone puts on their AC. The result is power outages. We get frequent power outages after storms too. So I have resigned myself to a very low fish ratio in my pond and lots of floating planters as a generator is out of the question for us.

Your design is so great because it keeps the pond water temp lower and helps protect the fish in regards to power outages, ect. Also keeps the predators from seeing your fish from the air.

hardin- an excellent idea and that's a very nice shaded view of your pretty pond.
those triangular commercial sail cloths that look so classy in the pond magazines are way out of my price range so i do things like this too, and the results are just as reliable.
min

I put 30% shade cloth up. Should have went with 50% or higher --- but the wind doesn't bother it.

I bought several sizes of shade cloth at Menards awhile back for the top of my chicken run. They aren't quite as "shady" as a tarp though......although rain can go through them, and not the tarps.

Shade tarps may be the answer I will need until I get the pergola. I will have to come up with a nicer looking set of poles to attach it, as t-posts aren't as pretty, although it works. Today the air temps rose to 108 degrees. Very hot and made me very glad I put up the tarp. When I started digging the pond last year, I had to cut down a tall tree that was growing just a couple feet behind the t-post you see in the first picture. I miss the tree itself, but do not miss the mess it would have made and I am not running the risk of having the liner punched through by roots. Thanks for all the great posts above and I appreciate the tips.

You could sink some cedar 4x4 posts and put birdfeeders/hummingbird feeders/butterfly feeders on them/grow flowering vines up them, etc......or leave them empty. They would be very strong, and I think they would look nice, especially with something like a clematis growing up them.