Greetings All from the Foothills of Colorado

Joined
Jul 28, 2012
Messages
38
Reaction score
12
Location
Foothills Colorado
Chasing a dream and attempting to lessen the number of pages in my HoneyDo NOVEL, I built a pond and a screen Gazebo for my wife and myself to enjoy on the hot evenings here. The Gazebo was built with a "promise" that one day I would get around to damming a granite gulley and making her a simple Goldfish and wading pond.

As luck would have it (Not), our daughter started dating a Shotcrete guy and now.... we have a huge hole waiting for sealing, pumps, filters, a stream on one side and a small waterfall on the other... and water, without so much as a shread of knowledge on how to accomplish same! I reached the end of the Net attempting to educate myself on all of these issues but ended with more questions than I started with!

The intent is to have this pond for water plants and a couple dozen cheap goldfish to keep the bugs at bay and create some interest. The deepest part is about 3.5-4 ft deep and then tapers up from there to create a 'walkout' exit for critters. At the very bottom of the deepest part I have a 2 "ID PVC pipe leading to the underside of the Gazebo. From the walkway passing over the pond to the top of the 'headwater holding pond' that will supply both the waterfalls and the small stream is about 18 feet in distance and the average depth under that bridge is about 1.5-2" deep. By rough estimate this will end up around 7000 gallons when at full capacity.

I need a 'Pond for Dummies' hand holding course where you folks can take the lead and say "First you start with...." and we head down the list. Heck, I need advise as to what section of the forum I should seek advise in?! PLEASE HELP, if this crazy thing holds water Kris may throw out the HD Novel and then I can have a life again!

Dave P1080017.jpgP1080003.jpgP1080012.jpgP1080013.jpg
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
welcome and what a lucky wife she is a bonus a daughter who knows how to pick men :razz:
 
Joined
Jul 28, 2012
Messages
38
Reaction score
12
Location
Foothills Colorado
welcome and what a lucky wife she is a bonus a daughter who knows how to pick men :razz:

From a fathers point of view, the jury is still out but there is hope. From a husbands view, oh heck yes... but only if this thing gets finished.

Start my lessons Sissy.... where do I start and what do I ask?
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
well you will need to research your pumps well look for longest warrantee and easy access to return if need be .2 pumps better than one ,sealing not sure about shotcrete just know it is used for pools and used to retain some hillsides .You may have to google that and fish .Waterbug on here will know more than me on that .Fish koi are pretty but need a lot of filtering I have them and wish someone had warned me .But since you are breaking the bank you can try a couple .I love how social they are .They get used to they get to know your voice .Not sure about your wild animals there as fish are food to them .Not sure if you will need a skimmer ,a lot of blowing leaves pine needles and such you may need one .I am guessing you have a lot of work ahead of you .Will love to see what you come up with .The other is I guess you will want out of pond pumps so may need to build something to house them .Maybe a fake log cabin would look great








 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,320
Reaction score
29,069
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
welcomefromgang4.gif
to our group!

Start a construction thread, start with your most pressing issue and move from there. You will get a lot of opinions on what will work for you, it will be up to you to choose what will work for your situation.

Like this

Here is our hole...........? best way to line it
? pump needed
?filter needed

on and on. It is a process to build, and all of our ponds are not the same, work the same, built the same. But most have fish and water and plants.............lol You will get opinions from some that say their way is the only way, others will just offer suggestions. Welcome to the ponding insanity.
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
wonder if we should give him the straight jacket now or wait :razz:
 
Joined
Jul 28, 2012
Messages
38
Reaction score
12
Location
Foothills Colorado
well you will need to research your pumps well look for longest warrantee and easy access to return if need be .2 pumps better than one ,sealing not sure about shotcrete just know it is used for pools and used to retain some hillsides .You may have to google that and fish .Waterbug on here will know more than me on that .Fish koi are pretty but need a lot of filtering I have them and wish someone had warned me .But since you are breaking the bank you can try a couple .I love how social they are .They get used to they get to know your voice .Not sure about your wild animals there as fish are food to them .Not sure if you will need a skimmer ,a lot of blowing leaves pine needles and such you may need one .I am guessing you have a lot of work ahead of you .Will love to see what you come up with .The other is I guess you will want out of pond pumps so may need to build something to house them .Maybe a fake log cabin would look great


I am reading and trying to understand the terminolgy that is used in the DIY section.... a daunting task with a learning curve! The more I read the more I think your suggestion of two pumps is spot on.... one for the falls and stream that can be turned on when we are out there and another for a filter system running 24/7.

Wildlife.... that is the reason for cheap feeder goldfish! We have a pr of Cougar that run the fence right next to the pond, Eagles, Hawks and near anything on 4 legs that lives in the mountains... and all will be here. Hopefully with all the over hanging deck sections and a few submerged dead trees, it will give the fish hiding and escape areas.
 
Joined
Jul 28, 2012
Messages
38
Reaction score
12
Location
Foothills Colorado
welcomefromgang4.gif
to our group!

Start a construction thread, start with your most pressing issue and move from there. You will get a lot of opinions on what will work for you, it will be up to you to choose what will work for your situation.

Like this

Here is our hole...........? best way to line it
? pump needed
?filter needed

on and on. It is a process to build, and all of our ponds are not the same, work the same, built the same. But most have fish and water and plants.............lol You will get opinions from some that say their way is the only way, others will just offer suggestions. Welcome to the ponding insanity.

Thanks Addy. I wish I was smart enough to even know what to ask but I will give it a shot and see where it leads. I "THINK" I know what to use for a sealer now after speaking with many folks and reading. Sissy's suggestion of two pumps solves Many issues and I have been reading everything I can RE building filters. It is so easy to get hung up on the small design details that one could never be finished building it. I have the lovely situation where I can put it together and then hand it off to my wife once there is water in it and pumps working. I thought Boats where a black hole to throw money in... they pale to this hole!
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
I guess it is all going o be a roller coaster for awhile and wait you have to deal with water conditions after water is in and fish are in .I learned the hard way 9 years ago and did not have any one to tell me what and what not to do .If I had someone i would not have koi right no and wish someone had told me how fast they grow and how big they get .I never thought 2 feet long . :goldfish:
 
Joined
Jul 28, 2012
Messages
38
Reaction score
12
Location
Foothills Colorado
wonder if we should give him the straight jacket now or wait :razz:

No, you have to hold the life ring in hand...I created this hole and can see where this is going to lead, I will be screaming Uncle in a short time. The very concept of having a pond in the high desert.... Houston, we have a problem, and it began at the concept stage! We are MN transplants from decages ago and have never lost the lust to have water near... at least we have the hole.
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
32,912
Reaction score
20,237
Location
Arlington, Washington
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
USDA 8a
Country
United States
tigerswelcome.gif
DaveandKris
Well you have the main thing done and that's the hole for the water to go into. And you've decided on 2 pumps. So you are getting there. We'll help you along and like suggested above post some questions in a new thread about what you want to do or know next :razz:
 

Mmathis

TurtleMommy
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
13,884
Reaction score
8,080
Location
NW Louisiana -- zone 8b
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
WELCOME!! Your pond looks like it's going to be lovely. Wondering which topics to post in? It gets easier as you go along and start learning stuff [then you start jumping around 'til you lose track of which topic you posted what in, LOL :)]. I think my most exciting moment was when I posted my first real question in the "plants" topic. To me, it meant I had GRADUATED, yea!!
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads

Greetings! 43
Greetings from SE Michigan... USA 22
Greetings 7
Greetings from the Pacific Northwest 15
Greetings! 10
Belated Holiday Greetings! 2
Greetings from another new pond builder 17
Greetings from Trenton nj 7

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,754
Messages
508,178
Members
13,003
Latest member
Tfny

Latest Threads

Top