Renovating pond in Slo

[ArcaneWater]

So i will have this topic to post about renovating our pond and to ask you guys about suggestions. So current pond was built by my parents without much info about ponds, then this year i took it over and first thing is that i fixed filter now we have crystal clear water previously was like 10cm visibility. So here are pictures in case you didn't see in other introduction topic

So the current shape is like

(50cm and 90cm is depth)

So few things are currently 100%, that i want to change shape a bit probably because i want bigger pond, i will also change depth to around 150cm at max point. And the third thing is that i WANT waterfall currently we just go to plastic mini "waterfall" after water comes out of filter. Now what would you guys recommend for skimmer here in Europe? As i was looking for helix but not a lot in Eu. And also for water fall your would recommend helix too or any other? I am also looking at putting bottom drain worth it? And for filter i am not yet sure if i should just use this one i made home or ?

 

[Mmathis]

It's a nice pond with lots of gorgeous plants! You'll enjoy renovating -- it's always a lot of work, but the end results are worth the effort. What kind of fish? And what is your climate like -- what kind of seasons do you have?

Oh, and you gave us the depth(s), but what are the length and width; total gallons (or liters --we can convert )?

 

[ArcaneWater]

Currently we have gold fishes, because my parents are not really interested into Koi as they destroy plants? And our climate is oceanic so we have winters around 0'C and summers around 25 'C AVG. Width is around 3,2 meters, and length about 2-2,3.

 

[sissy]

I can say this that is one healthy looking pond .I see you have cactus also

 

[ArcaneWater]

I can say this that is one healthy looking pond .I see you have cactus also

Yeah cactus is crazy, we just tried to plant it and now its growing massively this year there were like 60+ blossoms


So any suggestions, you guys can give? Anything about materials, designs, fishes etc ? Recommended depth...?

 

[Mmathis]

@ArcaneWater I'm sorry, but I wasn't sure how much of a renovation you were talking about (until I just went back and re-read your post). I thought you were just looking for equipment advice.

Let me summarize: you want to change the overall size and shape, including making it deeper? What size are you thinking about? Waterfall advice? Skimmer & filter advice? Bottom drain advice?

First of all, how much room do you have to work with? IOW, do you have the space to expand outward? How much can you afford for a new liner if you change the size/depth? And what is your budget overall (to include new equipment)? Do you have any natural predators there that might go after your fish? Do you want to stay with goldfish, or add koi?

Your climate sounds like heat & cold shouldn't be an issue. But, when you do have the lower temperatures, do you get much freezing there? Something to think about which might tell you how deep to go.

Deeper is always better. Bottom drains are good, but there is extra equipment for that, and you need space for it all.

Koi need more space than goldfish and can be more difficult to care for -- require cleaner water, for example. And you can't have as many in your pond as you can goldfish. Just something to consider when making that decision.

I have no idea about equipment choices. Since you're not getting much response with this thread, maybe start a separate thread, same topic (Pond construction and equipment), but title it "need equipment advice." Post the same basic info again about the size of your pond and what your plans are. You can include a link to this thread. I know there has to be an easier way, but it's all I can think of to get more eyes looking at your questions.

 

[ArcaneWater]

@ArcaneWater I'm sorry, but I wasn't sure how much of a renovation you were talking about (until I just went back and re-read your post). I thought you were just looking for equipment advice.

Let me summarize: you want to change the overall size and shape, including making it deeper? What size are you thinking about? Waterfall advice? Skimmer & filter advice? Bottom drain advice?

First of all, how much room do you have to work with? IOW, do you have the space to expand outward? How much can you afford for a new liner if you change the size/depth? And what is your budget overall (to include new equipment)? Do you have any natural predators there that might go after your fish? Do you want to stay with goldfish, or add koi?

Your climate sounds like heat & cold shouldn't be an issue. But, when you do have the lower temperatures, do you get much freezing there? Something to think about which might tell you how deep to go.

Deeper is always better. Bottom drains are good, but there is extra equipment for that, and you need space for it all.

Koi need more space than goldfish and can be more difficult to care for -- require cleaner water, for example. And you can't have as many in your pond as you can goldfish. Just something to consider when making that decision.

I have no idea about equipment choices. Since you're not getting much response with this thread, maybe start a separate thread, same topic (Pond construction and equipment), but title it "need equipment advice." Post the same basic info again about the size of your pond and what your plans are. You can include a link to this thread. I know there has to be an easier way, but it's all I can think of to get more eyes looking at your questions.

Yes i will change size if you look at the upper picture i want waterfall where filter is currently, i am expanding probably about 1 meter at each side. About ice at winter we had around 10cm of ice on pond, about natural predators nothing except cats sometimes are lurking around our pond. I will probably go about 1.50cm depth, and just keep the goldfishes i think

 

[addy1]

Stick with goldfish, especially if you want to have plants, also goldfish are less water fussy, need less water space.

I don't use bottom drains, if any debris collects I use a swimming pool net to remove it every other year or so.
My only filter is a large bog/upflow pea gravel filter, full of plants, keeps the pond perfect.

You can make your own filter look at the DIY section, a lot of good info on making filters.

My water falls are made with liner and rocks, another is a stock tank pond that waterfalls into the big pond. They do make waterfalls you can buy (the water collection box) some are filters, some are just a water fall box. I do not know what is available where you live.

I have a skimmer, swimming pool exterior skimmer, works great.

Your pond is very nice! Enjoy making it larger!

 

[Mmathis]

I'm getting an education, going back and forth with metric conversions! So, you have about 10cm of ice? That's about 4." That's a lot of ice. Ask us later [or follow some current threads] for advice on dealing with winter ice. And you are planning on 1.50cm for depth..... Is that 150cm, which is just under 5 ft? With that much ice, that's a good depth, but remember that you're going to need to be able to clean in there, and that means occasionally getting into the pond. Keep that in mind. @CometKeith has [and I did, too] made a series of steps in his new pond.

As @addy1 said, bottom drains aren't necessary. I don't have one, either, and I also net the crud out. I wish I did have one [they do keep the water cleaner], but I don't want to worry about all the extra equipment, and stuff. I also have a bog filter, though mine is MUCH smaller than the one Addy1 has, and I have a DIY [do it yourself] filter. My filter isn't set up like a waterfall, but it could be done very easily. Like she suggested, look at our DIY section here for ideas. Just search "waterfall." In fact, we have a couple of members now who are making waterfalls. One of those is @tbendl, so maybe check out her latest post regarding her bog. I don't remember who the other member is.....

Also, do you have access to a [European] version of Amazon.com? You can find a lot of the same pond equipment [filters, etc.] from vendors on there -- at least it makes the "shopping" process much easier.

 

[ArcaneWater]

@Mmathis thanks for info, yea we have kind of amazon, amazon germany is close and they ship to our country...

Also now i am planing it, i plan about 1.2m - 1.40m depth (currently 1m). Also i am not sure, i really like the idea of skimmer, currently there is water pump at first level and its pumping around 2000 litres/per hour. Now i am not sure if i have skimmer skimmer have its own filter? Or should i just have skimmer which pump water to filter and then to waterfall or what would you recommend?

 

[ArcaneWater]

So the time has come And renovation is starting, i already removed the near vine and now to remove current pond. One question how you recommend pond shelfs i was thinking first one at 10-15cm second 30-60cm and last 80-90cm?

 

[adavisus]

Make the shelf one depth (easier to do) put different depth plant pots in to suit the planting depth....

 

[cas]

I made different depth shelves which can be used as steps for when I fall into the pond. I haven't had to use them yet. Determine which plants you want to have and that will help you decide on the shelf depths. I only have marginal plants and water lilies so I would have only needed two shelves - 23cm and 60cm.

 

[ArcaneWater]

Here we go Design is here:

Now i dont have the idea yet about the waterfall, as currenly i have a big 300L homemade filter and i want to filter water throught it and go into waterfall. But problem is filtering is from top to bottom like here:

Any tips how to change this to filter water up to the waterfall ?