Andy's Big Pond Build

[Andy41]

Hi Guys,

Addy suggested i start a thread and document my Pond build as i go along, so here we go......

We moved into our new house last June, and i wanted to build the pond as quickly as possible, but other things became more important and somehow we never found the time to move any further forward than digging out the hole and some rough planning.

The original idea was to try and combine a fish pond (my wish) and somewhere to cool off in the summer (her wish ) so we made the pond deep enough to have a quick dip in. I also wanted to build a bog garden (Addy inspired me with her article on here) and also a small waterfall at the other end of the pond from the bog garden that will be made of lose stones and planted up. I'm also going to put a bridge over the middle of the pond.

What i've ended up with is a hole 8m long, 5m wide and 1.8m deep, roughly 50000 liters (13000 gal). To put this in comparison, the last pond i built was a mere 6000 liters

Here's a couple of pics of the layout and the hole.....





The black pipe at the top of the picture is for the electrical cable. The filter enclosure is going to be built there, in a wooden enclosure so it blends in.

The bio filter goes just below the filter on the shallow shelf. I'm going to raise it slightly higher than the main pond by using an old log and a second piece of liner so the water flows over the log back into the pond.

The piece of wood over the pond shows where the bridge will be positioned. The shallow shelf to the left will be reeds to provide some screening from the road, and between there and the bridge on the far side of the pond is where the waterfall is going to go.

Lots of plans, and lots of work, but lots of fun

 

[Andy41]

So, it's been a while since the last post. Things have been going slowly because we had to wait for some pesky planning stuff to be settled first, but that's all over now, so we can move ahead!

So, what has changed? Well, i've ordered the liner - EPDM 9m x 12m, which should be here in the next couple of weeks; and i've been working on the biofilter. It's difficult to source a lot of the parts locally, so i've ordered a lot of it from the 'net. Most of the stuff has turned up, but i'm still waiting on the ball valves, pumps and the Blagdon Electrical remote control switch box.

The basic biofilter design consists of two barrels - The first is the vortex, and the second the biofilter. I've got a tap off the vortex that feeds back into a bog garden, and there'll be a second tap off the biofilter to feed a small water feature, in addition to the main return. The biofilter medium is course grain filter foam that came in sheets 0.5m x 0.5m and 5cm thick.

This is all going to be housed next to the pond in a custom built enclosure which will be hidden by planting afterwards.

I've also installed the overflow for the pond. I've got the luxury here of having a very large stone drain next to the pond, so i've simply drilled a hole in the concrete and pushed a pipe through. The liner will then be cut to go around the pipe, and a collar, and lots of silicone, will seal it all. The pipe can be adjusted to set the height of the pond and will be hidden from sight later by a deck that extends over the pond.



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/1856-filter-2/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/1855-filter-1/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/1854-overflow/



cheers,

Andy.

 

[Andy41]

Hi,

It's been a while since i last posted, and since then quite a bit has happened with the pond.

I was able to source a liner from our local garden centre which cut the cost quite a bit. Some friends then helped me to lay it. We're not allowed to fill it from the mains water here, but the local fire brigade will help out for a couple of crates of beer! All i had to do was borrow a portable water meter from the water company. We were even allowed to connect everything up to the hydrant ourselves. There are definate advantages to living in a small village.


https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2301-image001/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2302-image002/



n the end we put 21000 litres into the pond. Less than i was expecting.

Then, of course, we had the inspection by the cats, and started laying the stones at the edge of the pond. This area is both decorative and for planting.


https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2303-image003/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2304-image004/



The blue pipe at the top of the picture is for a waterfall that needs to be built still..

We got lucky with the plants - friends and neighbours have ponds already that were overgrown, so we were got given a load of plants... a lot of water lillies that have turned out to have fantastic flowers.


https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2307-image007/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2306-image006/



The pipes at the top of the picture are a partial feed from the biofilter. A portion of the water that flow into the biofilter is diverted through these fingers, which will be covered with a gravel bed and lots of plants. I built the small stone wall to seperate the two areas.

This shows the electrics for the filter. On the left is the fuse box. The main supply runs through a relay which is controlled by the float switch in the pond. If the water level drops too low *all* the electrics are switched off, meaning i can't pump the pond dry.


https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2305-image005/



The box on the right is a Blagdon 5 terminal remote control box. At the moment the main pump, waterfall pump, and skimmer are connected. The other two outlets will be used for lighting later. This means i can sit on the deck in the evening and switch the waterfall on and off

And then we added the fish. When i built the last pond about 4 years ago i started off with 3 fish. A white one and two golden ones. In the first year they bred and i now have about 100. It took us 3 hours to catch them all in the old pond to bring them to the new one, but i think it was worth it.


https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2313-image013/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2312-image012/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2311-image011/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2308-image008/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2309-image009/



The fish love to hide under the water lillies and play in the current from the filter return.

There's still a lot to do here, but i'm happy with theresult so far.

cheers,

Andy.

 

[Andy41]

Since the last post i've completed the bog garden, built a waterfall (I still have a leak somewhere, but i'll find it!), installed a 36W UV light, and improved a Vortex filter. I'll post some pics later.

The UV light was necessary because despite the filter and all the planting the water was still turning green. It's been 3 days since i installed the light, and the water has gone from being able to see only a few inches into the water, to being able to see the bottom of the pond (five feet deep). I'm very impressed with the light. This is the one i installed.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blagdon-36W-Clarifier-400L-Pond/dp/B003EGZ2NW

Pics to follow soon.

Cheers,

Andy.

 

[TheFishGuy]

Nice to look through this! And amazing pond you have built, how is it now?

 

[Mmathis]

@TheFishGuy You do realize that this thread is 8 years old? I don’t think the OP has been around at all since.

 

[TheFishGuy]

@TheFishGuy You do realize that this thread is 8 years old? I don’t think the OP has been around at all since.

he was here yesterday at 5:15 AM so I do think he is still around

 

[Lisak1]

@TheFishGuy You do realize that this thread is 8 years old? I don’t think the OP has been around at all since.

He's still looking for that leak in his waterfall!