First Pond build underway

[BGJ223]

Hey folks!!!

Long story short my mom has wants me to build a pond, so every saturday I will be heading out to her place to work on it. This is what I have gotten done today.

Interior dimensions so far are
63" x 46" 34"

That will change once I get the plywood and the carpet pad in there. At the end I should have about 350 gallons.

 

[KennethO]

Looks like it's coming along. Just one question tho. It seems to be on a deck. Is it high off the ground? Make sure it's supported very well because it's about 7-10lbs per gallon of water. So that is about 3000lbs in that area, almost like parking a car there.

 

[BGJ223]

The deck is not high off the ground, about 4" if memory serves correctly. Also in that corner there are several supports under neath the deck. So spreading the 2500 pounds across the foot print of the pond shouldn't be an issue.

 

[addy1]

Very nice, neat you are doing it for your mom! Is she going to have goldfish or shubunkins? and of course we want to see your pipes filters .................so we can be lap top supervisors!

 

[BGJ223]

Very nice, neat you are doing it for your mom! Is she going to have goldfish or shubunkins? and of course we want to see your pipes filters .................so we can be lap top supervisors!

Thank Addy
I will try and show as much detail in this build as possible. I am still working out the logistics of the filter, but I will be posting my ideas on that soon.

For fish stocking, I am not exactly sure. Probably some gold fish and Rosie Reds, but that will be Mommy's decision.

 

[addy1]

Thank Addy
I will try and show as much detail in this build as possible. I am still working out the logistics of the filter, but I will be posting my ideas on that soon.

For fish stocking, I am not exactly sure. Probably some gold fish and Rosie Reds, but that will be Mommy's decision.

Try to steer her from koi, they like lots of room and filtering.

 

[BGJ223]

Thanks for the heads up. I plan to a good size filter for this pond, so hopefully 1 or 2 koi won't be an issue. But No stocking plans have been decided yet.

 

[BGJ223]

Is it better to use an inline pump or a submersible pump to feed water to your filter?

 

[addy1]

I prefer inline (external) they work great, seem to use less electricity. Easier to reach to maintain, I don't really want to fuss with a filter over a submersible, pulling out of the water to clean etc.

 

[BGJ223]

That is true. But don't you put a filter on the inlet of your external filter also?
Submersible you can pull out the whole unit and clean it. With external, how do clean the inlet filter?

 

[addy1]

I just use a leaf basket to catch any large junk. It is right before the pump The small stuff goes to the filter, which for me, is a bog

 

[BGJ223]

I believe I have decided on my pump.
I have a little Giant 3md-sc pump, which should give me some where in the area of 650gph to my filter (Which is still in the design phase).

Question!
My best option for plumbing the filter would be to drill a hole for a bulkhead correct? This way I won't have to worry about losing siphon if the power goes off.
Is there a special practice for ensuring that the bulk head is sealed?

 

[BGJ223]

UPDATE!!

I decided to take a mental health day from work and went to my mom's and put in some work on the pond.

 

[addy1]

Used to love mental health days! you are doing good there!

 

[BGJ223]

Mental Health days are great. And a very important part of a work life balance. Lately it feels like there hasn't been much balance.