14 replies to this topic

[computernerd]

Hi all,

I've been lurking here for several months, sponging all the knowledge I can read on DIY ponds. It's been a learning experience for me, but I'm finally able to post pictures and talk about my experience building my first pond (1500g w/ DIY filtration).

I'm sure I'll have questions as the pond begins to mature, and thanks again for sharing your wisdom!

I'm not able to post a link to my blog article at this time that details the BIG DIG, but hopefully will shortly.

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 
• 

[koiguy1969]

looking pretty good there computergeek, i mean nerd...lol welcome to our humble meeting of the minds.... gotta find a way to cover that exposed liner tho!!

[computernerd]

koiguy1969 said:

gotta find a way to cover that exposed liner tho!!

Hi koi,

Thanks! Any thoughts on covering the liner? (Wife doesn't like seeing it either ;-) Edge-plants can help, but I'm at a loss as to what else others do. I could always lower the liner to wrap over the first lowest stone on the wall, and not the second. Thoughts?

[nc0gnet0]

Quote

gotta find a way to cover that exposed liner tho!!

I had the same problem with my first build, alas no matter how hard you try, getting the bricks exactly level is next to impossible. You always seem to end up with a high side on a retaining wall design and you can't add more water as it will leak out the low side......

I solved my problem by suspending some flagstone over the sides, which looked good, but then again I used the same stone in my waterfall. To do this I glued some 2" sections of pvc to the backside of the stone then ran some stainless steel wire through the PVC and secured it between the cap block and the retaining wall stone.

[koiguy1969]

are your blocks mortared? if not you could dig out some dirt on the highsides and/or add some on the low you would just drain acouple more inches out and measure down to the water line for level. split the difference. would take maybe 2 hours.. my first pond thats how i did it 3 corses high like yours ..i filled it to the maximum with my first corse. then worked the dirt till it was even all the way around then i knew it woud rest up on the next corse evenly then the 3rd corse set on top of the liner like yours. iwas within a 1/2" all the way around..water is always level so its easy to follow.

Edited by koiguy1969, 18 September 2009 - 03:35 PM.

[poodles-ponds and gardens]

If the blocks are not mortared, You could pull the top two layers off, restack your second layer on top of the liner, wrap the liner up and around the second layer, then stack your third layer. You then would have to mound dirt on the outside to hide the liner that is wrapped. This allows the water to come up onto your second layer but remain water proof. You could do this even after what koiguy said about evening the sides.

[computernerd]

All good advice. I should've mentioned that there is still work to be done on the retaining wall.

I still have to purchase flagstone/slate for the waterfall, and the idea was to use some of it to cap the walls with, as you suggested.

It's been raining a lot here in GA lately, and the one flaw in my design is that there is no automatic overflow. I have had to drain the pond a few inches, via my filter's drain valve twice already manually. My fear is that the water would go over the wall, eroding it, creating a Katrina-levy-collapse type of effect.

When the water level is high, the liner isn't clearly visible, so it could be that a combination of a high-water mark plus cap-stones on the wall will mask the liner to a great degree.

[koikeepr]

why can't you add more water to the pond? It seems like you can go higher with more of it. The only dilemma I see (and perhaps why you haven't added more water is because it then raises it higher than your waterfall. In that case, put your waterfall bucket on bricks or cinderblocks to raise it a bit.

They also sell rock on a roll, which you can run around that whole perimeter. I agree, though, that it needs to be fixed to make it look better.

[computernerd]

It's funny how the trained-eye works. When I was done with it, I didn't mind the liner gap, but you guys are making me question it.

I'm afraid to go higher with the water, until I have an automatic overflow "system" in place.

I'm curious what some of you do for water overflow on walled ponds. Thoughts?

[koikeepr]

You need to tell us more about your filtration and the pump you are using before we can offer you advice on overflow. Pictures/Drawings of the mechanicals would help, too. But you should not be afraid to go higher with the water if your filtration is properly designed. You would not need to worry about hiding the liner with anything if you just fill up the pond properly.

A simple swing check valve can be used to prevent any water backing up that can create overflow, for example. Or a pipe that is higher than you return in your waterfall filter can serve as an overflow back into the pond should the water go that hight, and I have a few other ideas.....But, again, I can't help you with a decision on this until I hear/see what you've got in place first.

It appears you've got rocks in the pond from what I can see...if you've read this site, or any other like this, you need to know that rocks in a koi/goldfish pond are a no-no. So, if you can get those out of there, you'd be better off. It's nearly impossible to keep the pond floor clean with rocks in the way.

[DrCase]

Welcome to the forum..
When i look at your pond,,the only thing holding you back is the low water fall,
just like others are thinking.

if you do let it fill all the way up you can use the water to find maximum water line
then build your water fall up above that...

as far as an over flow there will most likely be one spot that the water will spill out first
you can use some extra liner to cover the dirt ,then rock it like a dry creek

[computernerd]

koikeepr said:

You need to tell us more about your filtration and the pump you are using before we can offer you advice on overflow. Pictures/Drawings of the mechanicals would help, too.

I wrote a blog post about the experience (can't post it yet until I reach my 5 posts). The filter is a 40g rubbermaid tote (I couldn't find the ones that Skippy recommends unfortunately). It's designed in much the same way as Skippy suggests... water comes in to the bottom in a swirling motion and then trickles through a layer of lava rock and scrubbies. There is a 1" inlet, and a 2" outflow to the waterfall. I plan to add a bog to the setup next spring for added filtration.

koikeepr said:

But you should not be afraid to go higher with the water if your filtration is properly designed. You would not need to worry about hiding the liner with anything if you just fill up the pond properly.

Understood.

koikeepr said:

A simple swing check valve can be used to prevent any water backing up that can create overflow, for example. Or a pipe that is higher than you return in your waterfall filter can serve as an overflow back into the pond should the water go that hight, ...

Understood on the pipe... wth is a "swing check valve"?

koikeepr said:

It appears you've got rocks in the pond from what I can see...if you've read this site, or any other like this, you need to know that rocks in a koi/goldfish pond are a no-no.So, if you can get those out of there, you'd be better off. It's nearly impossible to keep the pond floor clean with rocks in the way.

Interesting. I have several planted aquariums, and have never had any trouble with rocks... in fact, my cichlid tanks are all rocks. Are you suggesting that the pond floor needs to be vacuumed from time-to-time?

[computernerd]

DrCase said:

Welcome to the forum..
When i look at your pond,,the only thing holding you back is the low water fall,
just like others are thinking.

Agreed. It's already on blocks, but raising it higher is best as everyone suggests.

DrCase said:

as far as an over flow there will most likely be one spot that the water will spill out first
you can use some extra liner to cover the dirt ,then rock it like a dry creek

Funny... I've been obsessing over how I'm going to cut a whole in the liner side with a pipe through it for overflow, and here you come along with a common sense approach that doesn't risk the integrity of the liner. It's perfect, as I have yet to do the landscaping around the pond, and I can incorporate a dry creek with some rock-loving plants in the build-out!

[koiguy1969]

just a little tip on your square cornered filter tub... use black diamond landscape edging to create an oval area on the bottom of the tub so the water swirls and doesnt just hit into dead corners. its flexible yet sturdy and will create a shelve for your bottom media rack to sit on, and you can easily cut it to a lower heigth, its about 6" high . this is some i cut down and am using to convert a tetrapond bf1 filter to an upflow for my fry pond next year. i cut this down to3" high

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

[computernerd]

koiguy1969 said:

just a little tip on your square cornered filter tub... use black diamond landscape edging to create an oval area on the bottom of the tub so the water swirls and doesnt just hit into dead corners.

I used this guy's site http://leisure.prior...io-filter.shtml as a guide on the filter, and he uses planter pots. I could not find a large enough planter pot for this task, so went with this ugly rectangle thing. Your idea is a good one, and a task I will perform in the winter, while at the same time hiding that ugly thing behind a slate or flagstone waterfall.

BTW, here are some early pictures of the pond, and how it was made: http://www.royrusso....build-pond.html

To anyone living in GA, I recommend using equipment to dig. I was foolish in thinking the soil would be workable and ended up breaking my back on layers of rock and hard clay, just because I didn't want to ruin my lawn with equipment on it.