I think "seeding the bio" must have been meant for someone else's question? But it's good interesting information!
LOVE your pond excavation!!!!!! WOW! And your tractor driver is awfully cute!
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LOVE your pond excavation!!!!!! WOW! And your tractor driver is awfully cute!
Or wait -- did I ask about adding fish to get the ammonia cycle going? I'll bet that's what you are talking about! (It's all new to me!)
Uh yes. But I thought you had a biological filter to remove ammonia. Ammonia (fish waste) is food for helpful bacteria. Ammonia converted to nitrates is also needed for your plants. I had no fish for awhile, and put in water hyacinth. The didn't thrive because there were no fish to make nutrients for them.
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Yes -- I forgot I asked about that in this thread.
I have a savio living ponds filter. It has this weird spring stuff that you uncoil into it and that's where the good bacteria colonize. So when you talk about seeding the bio -- that's what you do to get things going, since it will take a while for a couple of little fish to make enough ammonia to feed the good bacteria?
I am getting liner and rocks delivered this week. VERY excited! Your pond is huge and beautiful! Even without water or fish!
Yes -- I forgot I asked about that in this thread.
I have a savio living ponds filter. It has this weird spring stuff that you uncoil into it and that's where the good bacteria colonize. So when you talk about seeding the bio -- that's what you do to get things going, since it will take a while for a couple of little fish to make enough ammonia to feed the good bacteria?
I am getting liner and rocks delivered this week. VERY excited! Your pond is huge and beautiful! Even without water or fish!
I'm new to the whole thing too. But, yes, that is my understanding. Bacterial need food to grow. You can wait until the fish make enough waste, but that may take longer. I did it and it seemed to work. If interested, a link to my pond build:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=SV9qdFd4QjFVdHNscWR5NFl6ZnZnWGN6VVBtaUp3
Oh my gosh!!!!! You have gone all-out! If you are a beginner, holy moly, you are ambitious and impressive! This is so great!
Thanks. I'm not yet a successful ponder though. So keep that it mind. I've only had water since July and fish since September. I had that little "pond" circle thing with the statue in it for about 5 years. No filtration at all. Had some goldies and they lived, but algae got out of control to where it was just an eye-sore mess. Thought I'd make it a bit deeper, add a UV light and skimmer and all would be good. And this is where I ended up. LOL. a far cry from my initial intent.
I know you are excited to get your materials. I'm sure your pond will be very nice and a joy to you for years to come. Be careful handling rocks. They can hurt you!
A word of warning. Folks on these forums will convince you that you need more or different. Some (certainly not all) are down right ruthless when critiquing a design. That is what happened to me to some degree. However, there are plenty of successful ponders that have small, simple pond designs. So, don't let the nay-Sayers discourage you.
Having said that, their experience is invaluable. Just try to read between the lines on what is being suggested and what it offers over your chosen approach. A lot of it has more to do with how much work will be involved in maintaining your pond. I talked to several ponders that don't have bottom drains and they all have to periodically drain and clean their ponds, or use vacuums. And I think that's OK if it's OK with the owner. Same on your filter. You are going to have to take it apart and clean all that media from time to time. A lot of people do this and are good with it. It works for them. A solids prefilter would be helpful to reduce that burden. Many of the "purists", that raise koi for show or sell will advise you to do what is "ideal" for the fish. I had some tell me I should spend $4000 for a rotating drum filter. Is it the "ideal" filter? Probably the best available today, yes. But I wasn't going to drop that kind of cash on one filter. I do love the ultra sieve alternative to the RDF, though. However, these must be set at pond level, which means underground if you don't have a raised pond. That led to my filter pit. And it snow-balled from there. You can see how it gets out of control real quick.
Of all the features I put into my design, the bottom drains were the smartest. My pond bottom stays clean. The bottom debris collects in the sieve and it takes about 30 seconds once a week to hose out the sieve into a bucket. None of that mess makes it to the biofilter. So the biofilter never requires cleaning. And the debris doesn't sit in the bottom for months decaying into toxic chemicals. Gravel filters work great at removing fine solids (sediment) and are an easy DIY project. These are the same as a sand filter, like that used on pools. A pool sand filter, which can be picked up cheap on Craigslist will work as a sediment trap too, and is an easy add-on. Just keep in mind that these require backwashing to remove the sediment.
I did forget to mention that a UV light is an absolute requirement for algae if in even a little sunlight.
Oh me! TMI, I think. I hope I didn't plant a seed of worry into your pond build. It's going to be great! A lot of people will help you out. Just ask questions when not sure.
Your pictures are so fun to see! I didn't have the budget or the space to get that fancy, which is probably a good thing, since I can easily get carried away when I'm excited about a project! I actually went over budget in the end. I thought I could do this thing for about 1,500.00. Then decided I wanted a really good skimmer. Then decided I wanted to go as large as I could in the space that I had. Etc. Etc. I've filled up all the space possible and have spent more than I should have, so I have to stop with what I've got. I'm not having koi, so the filtering needs are a little simpler. My goal is a smallish, sort of natural style pond with a few little goldfish. I'm going to embrace Mother Nature to a degree. If a raccoon or something comes fishin' , I'll just consider him part of the circle of pond life. I made the pond bottom slope down a bit to a deeper end. My waterfall has a bottom drain that will shoot out into the surrounding flowerbed. (I think that will be good for the plants.) Rather than a bottom drain in the pond floor, my hope is that I can just pump out the funk from that lowest bottom point every couple of years. If the skimmer catches the bulk of the debris that falls on the pond surface, and if I can get a good balance going between plants and fish, I'm hoping my cleaning work will be minimal. We will see! I couldn't spend any more than I have, so I tried to think about where I could cut back and where I wanted to splurge. I am soooo excited about it! I've wanted a pond since I was a little kid. I am so excited about my rock delivery tomorrow -- I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight! LOL~
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Love the digging bars on your tractor, I have those also, they work great.
No bottom drain either, but I like a bit of muck for the snails, dragon fly larvae, tads to live off. Never have more than 1/4 inch or so, even after years of not really cleaning it. I do pull out leaves if they happen to fall into the pond.
My pond is pretty simple, large, one skimmer, one pump which operates 5 ponds, one large plant filter.
I do have a separate pump to send water up the hill to the deck and stream ponds, it runs on a timer. 100 plus feet of head pressure.
Not absolute requirement, I don't have one, never have green water. But I do have a huge amount of nutrient sucking plants. And my pond is full full full sun! No shade until the sun sets in the west.
No bottom drain either, but I like a bit of muck for the snails, dragon fly larvae, tads to live off. Never have more than 1/4 inch or so, even after years of not really cleaning it. I do pull out leaves if they happen to fall into the pond.
My pond is pretty simple, large, one skimmer, one pump which operates 5 ponds, one large plant filter.
I do have a separate pump to send water up the hill to the deck and stream ponds, it runs on a timer. 100 plus feet of head pressure.
Same here - no bottom drain, no UV and never have green water. So there's a bit more conflicting information for you to sort through! Different strokes!
Like @addy1 I have a pond full of plants and a "bog" filter. Very little debris in the bottom and we rarely scoop the pond - once or twice in the spring to remove leaves that blow in over winter. We don't have any big trees nearby, so we don't have issues with leaf drop.
Like @addy1 I have a pond full of plants and a "bog" filter. Very little debris in the bottom and we rarely scoop the pond - once or twice in the spring to remove leaves that blow in over winter. We don't have any big trees nearby, so we don't have issues with leaf drop.
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I have two apple trees one huge maple tree right next to the pond, BUT the wonderful predominate wind sends the leaves away from the pond most of the time.
Yeah, as I understand it bogs and heavy planting can control algae. Eventually, I'll have a lot of marginal plants that will help me out too, I hope. But, given that my pond turned to green pea soup right away before I turned on the UV, I don't think I'd have crystal clear water without it. I'm afraid to even try it again without the UV for fear that the algae will take over quickly.
Yeah I get the cost thing. $1500 is about what my expectations were. I think I went over that many times
. I was able to save by scrounging Craigslist and forum classifieds. I saved about $2000 on pump, skimmer, and accessories by finding exactly what I needed new from private seller on CL. I also got my sieve from a lady in Alabama who never used it for about half price. I even found a tractor trailer load of rock for free on CL, and some other bargain boulders on there. Of course, I had to haul them, making several trips. I still had to purchase another trailer load plus 2 more pallets. I love rock, but am sick of moving them at this point.
Yep, there are many ways to design, build, and maintain a successful pond. Or at least that is what I've been seeing. Still holding out that mine will be successful in the coming years.
sissy
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I am lucky in a way because my pond is near my septic tank and gets heat from that .Poor Addy no one wanted a hole , how terrible is that Gittyup that is a really neat hole .Looks like you are a perfectionist when it comes to holes .I was going to rent one to redo the pond in 2014 but there is only one rental place here and the people did not return it ,because they needed it longer .I have rebuilt my pond more than I cared too .But I saved water from my old pond and used anything I could from the old pond that had good muck on it .
Gittyup that is a really neat hole .Looks like you are a perfectionist when it comes to holes .I was going to rent one to redo the pond in 2014 but there is only one rental place here and the people did not return it ,because they needed it longer .I have rebuilt my pond more than I cared too .But I saved water from my old pond and used anything I could from the old pond that had good muck on it .