Brand new, with some questions:

[Lilbitsoulshine]

Hi all. New here, and new to ponds.
I am in the middle of construction on my backyard pond/waterfall.got the idea from pintrest and started watching YouTube videos on diy backyard ponds and waterfalls....
It's all being done by myself, and I have used as much upcycled/recycled materials as possible. My underliner and liner is/was an old tent, tarps, scrap carpet and a pool cover along with a purchased roll of plastic. All the rocks were from a very small pondless waterfall I made last year and from rocks and stones I've gathered from family and "ISO boards on Facebook) I've only bought a pump, roll of plastic, and 2 cans of waterfall foam so far. But will be buying a few large flat sandstone slabs i will need for the top and bottom of waterfall. I Started digging back in May, got sidelined by an unexpected foot surgery in June and just this week have been able to start working on it again. The pond itself is dug, the underliner and liner is in. Filled the pond to check for leaks let it sit filled for few weeks (no leaks, yay me!! lol) drained it and I began cutting the cascades into the waterfall (huge hill of dirt from the pond) on Monday and will be adding the liner to that tomorrow. I purchased the pump for the waterfall from harbor freight its pretty awesome.
I do have a couple questions for ya;
Do I need a filter for this pond?
The pond is aprox 6 ft long aprox 5 ft wide and at deepest end (waterfall end) is 24" deep no idea at all how many gallons of water it holds.
I got the waterfall part from a gal on Facebook, its like the "biofalls" I have seen on YouTube videos from aquascapes. I noticed inside Thiers is some "foam looking inserts"? Wondering if that's the filter part?! My neighbor gave me his old pool filter to use, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use that or not. didn't seem to want to work right....
Do I need to use a filter? And do I need a skimmer?
The waterfall pump moves 2150 gph and waterfall will be on 24/7 if that matters at all to have a filter or not.
I appreciate any info, and look forward to learning from ya'll and sharing my photos of b4, during and after with you all. My friends and family think I'm crazy for doing all this, but I am really enjoying it, its been alot of work but I love knowing I've built this.
I've always loved being by the water, now I will be able to be near the water all the time.
I'm not going to be adding fish.
Thank you in advance for any help, info and ideas.
Linda
Aka: Lilbitsoulshine

 

[mgmine]

What you have is probably a filter but without seeing a picture it is hard to say and if it is big enough is hard to say. I wouldn't use the pool filter they just aren't what a pond needs. If you have room to hide a Skippy filter somewhere then that is what I would do. A skimmer is a nice thing to have, it not only keeps the top clear but also gives you a place to put your pump. As far as how much water your pond holds next time you fill it time how long it takes to fill a five gallon bucket. Then time how long it takes to fill the pond. Since you will know how long it takes to put five gallons out you can do the math and figure out many gallons and hour you are putting into the pond and how many hours it took to fill your pond.

 

[tbendl]

Pictures will help. And will you have fish? Also welcome to the forum!

 

[Lilbitsoulshine]

What you have is probably a filter but without seeing a picture it is hard to say and if it is big enough is hard to say. I wouldn't use the pool filter they just aren't what a pond needs. If you have room to hide a Skippy filter somewhere then that is what I would do. A skimmer is a nice thing to have, it not only keeps the top clear but also gives you a place to put your pump. As far as how much water your pond holds next time you fill it time how long it takes to fill a five gallon bucket. Then time how long it takes to fill the pond. Since you will know how long it takes to put five gallons out you can do the math and figure out many gallons and hour you are putting into the pond and how many hours it took to fill your pond.

Thank you so much!! I will be posting pics tomorrow

 

[Lilbitsoulshine]

Pictures will help. And will you have fish? Also welcome to the forum!

Thank you
I will post some pics tomorrow..
I'm not planning on having any fish, but I hear it's better to plan for having them bcuz people usually end up getting them lol