help with water return for formal pond

[Roansdad]

i have everything i need now to start construction next weekend of my small formal pond. it will be only 9x4' but due to the size of my yard this is the best i can do. heres my issue.....i cant decide on a water return option. i think ive posted this pic befor but here is what i will closely end up with....

but not as close to my house as the pic and turf will be surrounding the perimeter at both ends and building a tall wall to hide a sheer fall return will look out of place any suggestions? a little more of my design idea to help with your minds eye....... you walk through my back gate on to burried pavers along one long side, the other long side is near our deck and will be planted with tall uniform plantings yet to be dicided, like grasses or taro or ???? i really suck at this haha that is why im calliing out for help
thanks

 

[sissy]

You have ivy there where you have the caladiums why not there .You could also do a decorative pot in the center of your pond also instead .that would really make it formal looking .I have been thinking of something similar on one side of my bridge but more rustic looking

 

[taherrmann4]

Could you take a pic of the area so we can see what you are working with?

 

[Roansdad]

i cant put a basin in the middle of the pond because i plan on a lotus being the in that spot. this is what im working with....keep in mind i may shift it a bit further from the deck and closer to the house but here ya go...

i really appreciate the help so please keep it coming!!!!

oh ya i need to cut the pavers still so they will be a little different in the ends not 3 at one and 2 at the other like it is now, it will end with 3 at both ends and a 1' in the middle of the long sides

 

[sissy]

The lilies could always grow up around the pot .I saw those tall skinny pots here in clay ,they start at around 12 inches and go up to 20 inches around on the medium sized one and you can get they up to 4 feet high ,Put lotus pots all around the bottom it would look so formal

 

[Roansdad]

k so i googled some urns in ponds and love that idea, i could have my returns boiling up to make some noise and then overflow into the pond as ell as possibly have some plants in it if i went with a wide basin...no another question then.....how to i get the basin/urn up there? the water will be 4' deep. i had figured for the plants that i would just use floating planters anchored into place but thats not practical for clay/ceramic pot. also will it just ba a string algae factory? i know its esy to remove with H2O2 but i dont wana have to do that every few days plantings and filtration usually take care of that prob in the pond but im concerned that a thin sheet of overflowing water will encourage it on the pot, does that make sense?

 

[sissy]

the easiest thing for that is turn the water off coming out of the urn for a half hour spray it with peroxide and then wait and turn it back on .Are you going to have fish in your pond part

 

[Roansdad]

Haha that's what I meant by the h2o2. That is hydrogen peroxide. And yes I will have fish. I have 10 koi that are in my garage in a 400gal holding tank until I get the new pond built. No suggestions on how to get the pot 4' above the pond bottom???

 

[addy1]

Haha that's what I meant by the h2o2. That is hydrogen peroxide. And yes I will have fish. I have 10 koi that are in my garage in a 400gal holding tank until I get the new pond built. No suggestions on how to get the pot 4' above the pond bottom???

4 feet? make a pvc frame, use two inch pvc it is tough stuff. Coat it with pl roofing goop, paint etc to hide the white.

 

[sissy]

10 koi could get very large very fast

 

[Roansdad]

i used white pvc in my saltwater reef tank and coated it with krylon fussion(adheres to plastic) spray paint, thanks for the advice i think that is the route i will take for stands, as for the koi size i know they will grow big fast and will more then likely get rid of some of them. i moved from my old house where i had a 8x11x4' pond and brought my koi along but dont have the room in this yard for a pond of that size until my son is done with his play things like a trampoline and swingset/fort. right now my koi are all aprox 1' long and about 3 years old. living in canada i dont get the growing season that people south have so i wont see fast growth rates . my pond will resemble the one in your pic sissy for a few months atleast each year

 

[addy1]

I used the plastic fusion paint on some of my pvc piping it is still sticking great! Hides it well

 

[sissy]

Well that was our big snow for this season since it was so mild ,but thinking we will pay for it with a hot dry summer .Well children take room up for all those out door things .It is pretty though when the snow covers them but sure would not want your winters .I moved here to get away from colder weather but still wanted change of seasons

 

[Waterbug]

In a formal pond I like a mirror surface, I like it in a natural pond to, but more so in a formal pond. That can be had with a waterfalls catch basin. You get the beautiful sound, still water. Better O2 than a plain falls, sweeps debris and collects DOC foam so you never have to see soap foam on the surface.

For a formal pond the actual structure would be straight across the narrowest end. It can be very narrow maybe just 6". Could be completely hidden as well by the cap. That would be cool I think...hearing a water falls but not seeing anything and the surface being still.

Here's one that isn;t formal but hopefully gives the general idea.

Also, you didn't ask but...I've been recently trying to think of how to get more pond in less space. I'm thinking of building a large pond and building the patio over the water. I also think it would be cool to see huge Koi swimming out from under the deck and disappearing into the darkness. Hides the liner sides as well.

I'd also make sure there was a skimmer to keep a nice clean surface.

 

[CountryEscape]

Neat idea there, Waterbug. First time I've seen a catch basin. My fish like to swim under the waterfall, so it wouldn't work for them. They would complain too much .... or maybe the opening at the bottom of the basin would allow them to swim into the area. Anyhow, it's a neat idea.