Hocking Hills Pond Build

[natbla]

You can't see all of them, but here are the lilies from Addie, some water hyacinths, and other plants that are the start of the pond life and landscaping.

They are waiting to go in as soon as there is water in the pond.

The first 6 larger rocks are selected and I'm having a few more deliver. I'll end up going out in the woods and picking the vast majority with the help of my son.

Here is a picture of the waterfall box.

I'm still waiting on the skimmer.

 

[j.w]

It won't be long now. Neat that you get to go find free rocks in the woods

 

[ZenZilla]

Looking good hocking hills ohio? If so that place is stunning we go there yearly to hike and just get away

 

[natbla]

It won't be long now. Neat that you get to go find free rocks in the woods

woods, road cuts, same difference

 

[natbla]

Looking good hocking hills ohio? If so that place is stunning we go there yearly to hike and just get away

Yes, hocking hills Ohio. Its a great place to get away. Pretty good place to live as well if you have a decent job. Schools are pretty good as well. My understanding is that this region is the second most visited tourist area in Ohio behind only Ceder Point.

 

[natbla]

Here is how far I was able to get before guests arrived on Saturday evening. I was able to start filling but quickly discovered my hole was too big by 2 feet in length. Still here was what it looked like as I started filling

Sunday after church, my wife and I made the modifications to the hole so that the liner would allow for maximum depth throughout the pond. My father-in-law helped with some moving of dirt and rocks. He also digging the hole for the filter. One of my daughter's help place plants, and we made the waterfall as well. Here is where things stand as of this morning.

Its a busy week at work so if I get much more done in the next few days it will be impressive. That said, the skimmer arrives tomorrow, I purchased my lava rock for the pump and waterfall box, and my wife and I picked out a few plants for starting the plantings around things. I'll pick up some pond stones today for the stream, and will get another delivery of rocks later this week. I hope to have the filter up and running by Thursday.

 

[j.w]

Almost there, now the edging rocks and falls and all looks great!

 

[natbla]

No new pictures, but the kids helped me pot and and place the water lilies from Addy1 this evening. I also found a huge 4 inch thick slab of rock along with a few other smaller ones that we put in place tonight. Hopefully, a late night here at work will give me time tomorrow evening to finish putting in the pump and filter so fish can be brought over sooner than later.

 

[addy1]

Looking good! Don't be surprised if the lilies take a while to get going, mine are SLOWLY growing this year.

 

[natbla]

Looking good! Don't be surprised if the lilies take a while to get going, mine are SLOWLY growing this year.

Lilies are already starting to push now they are out of the bucket on the porch and in the sun more. The difference in 2 days is amazing.

Last night we washed pond stone, and put in some more big pieces of stone I picked yesterday after work. One 3' X 3' piece has fossil shells in in it. The piece was very heavy and took me and my 11 year old son and his friend to move from the van to the pond. In total I added 8 more pieces of shale to the pond.

I also put in the pump and hooked it all up and found I was 3 clamps short for hose clamps. I'll pick those up today, and maybe get to spend a half hour at lunch on it. But tonight is my board meeting so tomorrow is the big day.

Tomorrow, I pick up fish, finish the install of the skimmer, and see if I like the falls/stream as designed. Hopefully, I'll have more pictures come Friday. WE have guest from out of town for the weekend so I want the pond further along for "their" enjoyment. At least that's what I am telling my wife.

 

[natbla]

I can't seem to get the plastic hose to seal well at the fitting for the pressure filter. I'm going to try and use some aquaseal to proved a better surface/bond before tightening the clamps. I'm using the sump pump hoes (1 1/4 size). Any other suggestions of how to address this would be appreciated.

 

[timvz]

Pictures? I used Flexible PVC and Purple PVC Primer/Glue for everything I have. No high pressure stuff, though. 4 ft head is about it.

 

[natbla]

Pictures? I used Flexible PVC and Purple PVC Primer/Glue for everything I have. No high pressure stuff, though. 4 ft head is about it.

I don't have it quite sealed, but an operator error was creating higher than normal pressure levels. I'm going to replace some of the hose with better stuff that should have a tighter seal and a joint sealing compound that is rated for high pressure joints. I do have all of the filtering systems up and running now. The flow has stirred up the clay that fell into the pond and things are "milky' for now.

 

[natbla]

Here is the pond as of this morning. I still need to add a platform hanging over the pond on the right side. I'll be collecting and adding stone for a while, and the waterfall stone stacking will take a while to collect and get right. WHere the big block stones are will be a thin stacked sandstone wall instead, and I'll be adding stone, and plants as I go. But its starting to look good.

I do have all of the filtering systems up and running now. The flow has stirred up the clay that fell into the pond and things are "milky' for now. Myself and my duaghter went to my old pond and collected 11 koi from there last night and added them into this one. I noticed at least one of the females is ready to spawn.

Here are a few pictures of the fish before they went into the pond. The pictures aren't great due to bright conditions reflecting in the bucket and the water from the old pond:

This is blurry, but "she" is the one full of eggs:

Another picture of the group:

They quickly reformed their school in the pond and were swimming around exploring their new, and four times larger, home. There were 22 fish in the old home, a 500 gallon pond.

Once the water clears again, I'll try and get more pictures from the pond itself.

I did promise the 3 kids they could each pick one fish to add to the pond. But after that, no more fish for this year, only plants and landscaping.

 

[j.w]

Nice looking fish and glad they like their new home