9 replies to this topic

[lindsayanng]

I posted a while back about this pond I was building.. it was a SUPER budget job but I got it ALL done for $1000 INCLUDING the rocks for the holding wall and waterfall, liner, pump, UV sterilizer, etc.

So basically I have an 8ft long x 5ft wide pond.. There is a ledge around the entire thing that is 2 feet deep of plants.. almost 1/3 of the front side of the pond (when looking at that picture) is all ledge for feeding and viewing fish.. The center is 4 feet deep though for wintering.

The biggest issue was the waterfall. it is ALMOST done. We have been running it for 48 hours with NO water loss, but it was a PAIN to build> The entire underside has a liner as well as the black foam to seal it off..

My BIGGEST issue rightnow is that the pump is a LOT more powerful thant he guy at the store told me it would be. It was made specifically for those pondless falls kits, a small cheap one. When i bought it the guy said I would be LUCKY if the water even made it to the top of my VERY steep fall.. WELL, not only does it make it to the top, but it SHOOTS out. We added some rocks to the output of the fall to break it up (not shown in picture) but i need to figure out a DIY way to add a second tube with a valve to put som eof the water out into the pond and some up into the tub (does that make sense?)

Anyways.. here's the picture

no the best, i twas taken with my phone..

The waterfall still needs some SHAPING to it. I will build up BOTH sides, and on the right side I have a perfect space for a potted plant (maybe a vine type to crawl up the wall and over the fall) and the right will just be built up.

Then I just have to add rocks around the edge and plants and fish in it!

WHAT DO YOU THINK???

[koiguy1969]

looks like a pondless waterfall pump cage... but very nice work

[lindsayanng]

you mean the top thats popping out?? Yes, it is.. But the pond is not filled in that picture, and when we filled it, the water goes over, and we put a cool flat rock on the top of it and added a potted penny wart plant that will fill out and cover that whole area.

We basically bought the waterless pond kit because it was on sale at the local pet store and was WAY cheaper than trying to buy a fall bucket, pump, etc.. I think it was overall $130 for all of the components, including a small liner which we used to line the fall and got the super good liner for the pond. I think it was 10mil 25 year warranty

We layered the pond's hole with carpeting and then the felt liner and then the vinyl liner. Should be root and rock proof.

[lindsayanng]

i said 10 mil, but I meant to say 45 mil.. dont know where the 10 came from.. probably because when i bought it, i was deciding between one with a 25 year warranty and one with a 10

[mister2driver]

Carpeting??? Is that another thing to use instead of a underliner??

[lindsayanng]

yes, actually. If you can get your hands on carpet remnants (no fiber glass) and use that on the base of the pond, it will SUPER PROOF your liner from rocks migrating and poking holes, and MOST roots from getting through.

Here is a picture of our pond as we were digging it:


we did a layer of felt liner, then carpet, then more felt liner..

My aunt, who has an AWESOME and very successful pond suggested this to me. You can actually get carpet for FREE.. the carpeting companies have to pay to dispose of it, so if they can unload some somewhere along the way, they are happy to do so.

If you live in a rocky area or a place with lots of solid roots (which is what i have) then its definitely a good idea to use it.

[DrCase]

The pond looks good ...all you need to split your flow is a tee and put it in the line to the water fall...I would put a valve on both lines ,to control the flow

[lindsayanng]

that is actually EXACTLY what we did.. Our pond now has a LOT of water flow.. I mean, theres the broken surface from the fall, the intake of the pump, and now the output of the split. We moved it to the other side of the pond to really move the rest of the water..

the thing is, I dont know if all of that water flow will kill the plants

[mister2driver]

Thanks for the tip. There company down the street that builds cat condos, and they have plenty of carpet remnants in their dumpster.



Peace-

[lindsayanng]

oohhh pick me up a cat condo while you are there.. I have 6 cats and their condo is looking a TAD ragged