Another newbie

[sheilav]

I live in Texas with an army of dogs, most of which enjoy water. I decided this year to get away from the shallow, flimsy Walmart wading pools and finally give my dogs some water they can get into. For most readers, this is still small, but for me, I started with a molded (preformed) shell from the local building supply. I think it is about 115 gallons or so. I have set it into a deck which kept me from having to DIG (boo, bad) and as it has no drain (as yet), it also allows me to siphon the water out (for now) and clean it. I am trying now to find a way to 1) fit a drain without ruining it, and 2) set up some sort of filtering and pumping system to help keep the mosquitoes and trash (and dirt) down. I cannot simply put in a submersible pump or anything that the dogs can get to, else it will end up a toy for them. I have an idea of how to get around this, but need some insight and help deciding how to know what size pipe/drain I would need, and some good information about pumps and filters. Where better than a forum of this nature, where others have already done what I am hoping to do? No need to reinvent the wheel. So, thank you all for being here to help other newbies like me.:regular_waving_emot

 

[koidaddy]

Welcome to GPF!:regular_waving_emot Lots of great info here.

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[fishin4cars]

Welcome to the forum, pre-formed has it's advantage in your case, You can drill a hole and install a shower drain with a 2: PVC fitting, pipe it out the side of the deck and install a shut off valve. not hard to do at all but it will require removing the pond long enough to install the shower drain and allow the glue to dry. You can use silicon sealant or roofing flashing sealent to make sure it doesn't leak. either will work fine for what your trying to do.

 

[DrDave]

Beware, the Walmart ponds deteriorate after just over a year. I had one for about 18 months and the plastic started cracking and leaking. Worst part was, they don't sell them in the fall and I was lost without that extra area for my plants and baby Koi. Noe I have a 156 gallon tote and it should last 20 years or more.

 

[j.w]

sheilav

 

[sheilav]

Beware, the Walmart ponds deteriorate after just over a year. I had one for about 18 months and the plastic started cracking and leaking. Worst part was, they don't sell them in the fall and I was lost without that extra area for my plants and baby Koi. Noe I have a 156 gallon tote and it should last 20 years or more.

While I did not get this one at Walmart, Home Depot probably gets theirs from the same source. Thanks for the heads up. I chose the molded one thinking it would stand up to dogs' nails better than a liner, and this one already has the shelving to serve as steps for them to get in/out on. This also allows me to fit it into a deck (minimizing digging !!) I chose to build my support UP from below, which also leaves my form accessible for adding a drain. I had hoped that this would also put a bit of a buffer between the wet dogs and the sand in my yard, but that was a dream. Noticed one come out of the water and go directly to the sandiest part of the yard and promptly roll in it a few times, then head for the door. This may not have been such a great idea afterall. So, if I get a year of more out of it, I will know by then if I need to continue or find some other approach.

 

[addy1]

LOL sheilav, you are a dog lover like me.

Like fishin says the shower drain works great. With a shut off you can drain it easily.

With the pups, if you want a pump, go with external, that way just a pipe would be in the water. Check the diy section for ideas on filters you can build yourself, without a big investment.

and welcome

 

[pond maven]

Welcome to GPF. We have a gaggle of dogs also and with our last pond (which had liner) the girls would get in the pond and we never had a problem with them puncturing the liner. But we had a base of gravel and lots of rocks so I don't think they really got to the liner. They loved to go fishing although they were never fast enough to catch any fish. Our big yellow lab had a holiday one weekend when we were away. Our DIL (daughter-in-law) came over and caught Marzipan deep in the pond. All the plants were tipped over and moved. Everytime DIL came over Marzipan was in the pond. She never got any fish though.

View attachment 5998

THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT DOGS AND LINERS GO TOGETHER!! We just never had any problem and it is almost impossible to keep the girls out of the pond.

 

[j.w]

DIL seems to be a bad influence on Marzipan :lol:

 

[sheilav]

I am a little concerned about adding a drain of any sort simply because there is not completely FLAT area on this thing. It has a lumpy surface although they are not extreme and logic suggests that IF I can get a good gasket and the nut will tighten down enough for a relatively thin wall, it SHOULD work. But I fear that my plumbing skills are pretty lame. I always have to do things two or three times before I get it right. I will be making my attempt this weekend.hitting Home Depot or Lowe's.

I am hoping to attach the drain directly into another container (probably a large square-ish) trash can that I can put a submersible pump into that will be isolated from the dogs. I have some very playful dogs and have learned to be defensive. I had to re-bury my french drain 3 times before I got it to stick. The dogs I had then (also Shephards) knew where I was digging, and as soon as my back was turned, they'd expose the end of the drain pipe, and before I knew it, they'd pulled it out like tugging on a string. I finally had to lock them out of that part of the yard until the grass took over. (Hence my distaste for shovels and digging!) I have to be careful that my shoes don't end up in the water or the pump or anything that extends into the shell don't end up in my house. Can't leave hoses out, tools on a reachable surface or anything out I don't want to replace. So, I am trying to be thorough. But, this is a work in process, and the design is still subject to whimsy and insights.... and what I can find and/or afford.

At this point, I have no plans for fish. Woke up with a dead vole in my bed once. Don't want to find a fish under my pillow. :lol:

 

[addy1]

sounds like your pups would try to go fishing for them!