OT ponds

[Capt_Cully]

Revisiting this. I know Some of you guys have experience with this. I had A layout but the wife squashed it. So now we've reconfigured into a standard design. 20-30" waterfall into approx 8x10' pond. Hoping to get depth to 30-36".

Recommendations on spillway/waterfall and skimmer/filter/pumps? I know From this hobby good stuff ain't cheap and cheap stuff ain't good. Appreciate it.

 

[prose]

Dude come over and look at ours lol


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Capt_Cully]

Seen it many times. Going smaller. WAY smaller.

Looking at different brands for spill ways & skimmers. Not sure if the higher end stuff is worth it. Helix, aquascspes, etc.

 

[gmneil]

aquascape has some pretty nice ponds on their youtube videos there products look pretty good,, I even used some of their black silicone on a tank before lol

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

new dock owner here!

new dock owner here!

just wait until you see it's POND :fun4:

 

[Spartan]

Cully, what do you plan on keeping in the pond? That should determine what you want to do. Some greater depth may also be advisable.
Keep in mind that that at some point you may want to clean it out. That can be an enormous task. A lot of larger ponds put in bottom drains which eliminate muck building up on the bottom etc, which save you from that chore.
I went the heavy filtration route to avoid all that - bead filter, skimmer, sieve, uv clarifier, but depends on budget and what result you want in the end.

 

[Capt_Cully]

I dont Really have anywhere to House the heavy duty equipment. I do Have a habit of going overboard but I was Trying to keep this one simple. I was planning a sterilizer. Possibly an iongen but I’d have to read up more on their efficacy. I dont Plan on being able to keep true koi but their smaller cousins. Other than that some aquatic and bog type plants.

 

[Spartan]

Have a look at:
http://www.savioeng.com/

I use their skimmer (which has ports for 2 UV lights) and works very well. I cant vouch for the other stuff but they do have basic complete kits.
A few other things- I'd really push to set up a pump (that can handle debris)at the bottom and run that up to the filter or the bottom drain system I mentioned earlier. Its a pita but you will thank me later.
Do NOT build a shelf around the inner perimeter; better to have a shear drop (think of Herons using that to wade in).
Do slope the bottom (not the walls) assuming you set up a bottom drain or pump.
Do build in some type of step(s) out - if someone falls in it's harder to get out than youd think when the liner gets algae covered.

 

[Spartan]

If you get more into it, I'll pass along a great website for construction ideas, just pm me

 

[saltyscotsman]

I put in a bog garden which handles most of the filtration and a sponge filter, I don have bottom drain and never have a problem with sludge with two water falls one from the bog garden and one from the sponge filter and depth of 40" 25' by 15' with about 15 koi the bigger the pond the better good luck

 

[block head]

Ding dang carp. They can live in anything.

 

[Spartan]

They can live in anything.

Perhaps but that is not going to give you very good results.

 

[CuseReefer84]

Check out Aqua Scape The Pond Guy on YouTube. His ponds are all done with biological filters and need little to no maintenance. I want one myself!

 

[Capt_Cully]

Yeah their stuff is pretty sweet. Still working through my plumbing. I’d love a bottom drain but I just Don’t think it’s in the cards. By my estimation the pond is about 1000 gallons. Ditch dug. Think I’m going with waterfall, skimmer, and pressure filter with UV. From what I’ve read this is the simplest but may not be the best. This is essentially a glorified water garden. Going to order supplies soon. Then finish out the landscape. I’ve been dragging giant stones home from my hunting property. Almost gave myself a hernia on Wednesday carrying a boulder out of the woods with nothing but mettle, braun, and the pythons. I used To be much stronger. Almost had to turn my .380 on myself as a mercy killing. #gluefactory

 

[CuseReefer84]

No Bio balls?

 

[Capt_Cully]

They’re in the pressure filters.

 

[CuseReefer84]

Nice. They have another filter that uses plants to filter the water, I think it's called a bog filter. You can have that and the ones your using.

 

[CuseReefer84]

Oh, lol, someone already mentioned it.

 

[Spartan]

Feel your pain with the grunt work. Post some pics!

 

[johno4]

Pics please. I am hoping to put in a pond next summer...