Inherited Pond Make-over

[DanSheffler]

So I have an old pond which the previous owners of my house built:

As you can see, there is no circulation for the water and quite a lot of what I take to be algae. There are, however, a couple of nice water lilies that I would like to preserve and about 30 or so gold fish that must be heros transformed by Circe or something since I have never fed them and they have survived for about 3 years.

The pond is 12' x 6' and is 1' deep at the edge closest to the camera in the first two shots for the first third (4') and the drops off to 2' for the remaining 8'. As I figure it, this is about 897 gal.

Well, as you can see it is about time I did something with the pond. Here is a rough sketch of my plan:

What I want to do is a add a little secondary chamber, slightly higher than the main pond that will spill over a jutting out piece of slate onto another rock and into the water. Closer view:

Now I make my living doing philosophy, which means that I am not rich; so I was hoping to do most of the parts DIY. My idea is that I could pump water into a bio filtration tank at the far end of the canal with the top level with the bottom of the canal. It would flow along at about 9" deep (I will fill in the remainder of the 2' tall container) and 2' wide for about 9'. This would yield another 13.5 cubic feet to total 1000 gal. Since the pond is already quite rectilinear I wanted to work with this design for the rest and avoid the typical cascading rock waterfall. In this canal I was hoping to put some planters here and there, secured in wire frames against the current of course.

For a skimmer at the far end I was thinking of putting a Beckett 1170 gph pump in something roughly like this (but not exactly) with some of those web style filters I have seen for mechanical filtering.

Since I know absolutely nothing about ponds I thought I would post my designs here for feedback before I bought anything and broke ground. I have a few worries:

1) How to hide the skimmer since it will be ugly while keeping it easy to access. Put a bench over it maybe?

2) How to get the skimmer at exactly the right depth and attach the liner to the face.

3) Most of the waterfall designs that I have seen just have water pumping into some sort of basin that then spills over immediately. I am aware that the added water in the canal will add pressure to the pump but I am not sure how much of a problem this will be. As much as possible I would like to hide the bio filtration tank and pump mechanism. Are there any other factors that I am not considering (e.g. requirements of the bacteria)?

4) Do I need to clean up the water significantly before I start running the pump or is this the best way to clean it? I am worried that the thick algae will clog the pump.

5) In the future I would perhaps like to add a few koi. Will this be possible?

Thanks in advance.

 

[vertigo72]

IM not quite sure I understand. Your biofiter would not be in the canal, but that brown rectangle perpendicular to it? If so, how would it flow, gravity fed from your pond, and then pumped up to the canal? Pumped from where, only the skimmer, or you have a bottom drain or a pump at the bottom? And what will you put in the canal? Plants?

3) Most of the waterfall designs that I have seen just have water pumping into some sort of basin that then spills over immediately. I am aware that the added water in the canal will add pressure to the pump but I am not sure how much of a problem this will be.

All that really matters is the height above the pump, thats your pump head. Whether that is 100 gallon or a million gallon doesnt matter.

As much as possible I would like to hide the bio filtration tank and pump mechanism. Are there any other factors that I am not considering (e.g. requirements of the bacteria)?

One thing Id mention; the bacteria in biofilters need and consume lots of oxygen. Its therefore a good idea to put airstones in there. Added benefit is that it prevents standing water in the filter. Its not a must though, if you have enough flow and enough dissolved oxygen in the pond, those bacteria will get their oxygen from the water.

4) Do I need to clean up the water significantly before I start running the pump or is this the best way to clean it? I am worried that the thick algae will clog the pump.

Id try to scoop out as much algae as you can. It seems to be the floating brown variant, with a fine net you can just remove it. Dont go emptying your pond. Some will recommend partial water change, if you do that, then be sure to add dechlorinator.

5) In the future I would perhaps like to add a few koi. Will this be possible?

Its a bit shallow at 2 feet. Id be worried about freezing. Since your goldies have survived several winters, I take it you dont get too cold winters there? Another concern, but that also goes for any fish, is predators, particularly herons. If you turn that water in to crystal clear water with nicely colored fish in it, expect some unwelcome visitors. Aside from these 2 pitfalls, I dont see a problem adding koi, although if you keep all those goldies, it might get pretty densely stocked.

 

[addy1]

Welcome Dan, very nice drawing.

There is a lot of diy information in that section of the forum. Ways to make things work cheaply and a lot of knowledgeable people on the forum.

We have one beautiful day today, heading outside, will ponder you ??'s later, but by then you will have gotten a lot of good input.

 

[DrCase]

Welcome to the Forum !!
I would put the pump right in the lower pond and pump the water up to the filter

 

[DanSheffler]

@DrCase. Are you indicating that I do not need a skimmer? If so, how and where would I remove leaves etc that fall into the pond? I have a silver maple directly above that drops quite a few leaves and seeds.

 

[addy1]

I would have a skimmer, I have a maple down wind about 20 feet from the pond, those seeds went everywhere and the flowers. The leaves seem to miss the pond.

It will make it a lot easier to keep clean imho.

You can hide them with a bench, some come with rock tops, flower pot near it. etc.

 

[j.w]

Dan

 

[DanSheffler]

Any opinions on whether I have the right pump? I'm unsure if the GPH and brand are optimal. I can get it on Amazon prime with free two day shipping for $90 so that is factoring into my decision.

 

[UT_Bruce]

Frankly, I would suggest draining, removing the sludge, preserving the plants by digging them up, and starting fresh with a clean system. It looks rather anaerobic, and as such, there could be some nasty bacteria living in there.

You'll also want to check for cracks/leaks etc. No way to do that with so much in the way.

As far as covering up the pump... try making an attractive cedar box to fit over it. The rectangular shape would compliment your design nicely, I think.

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Shdwdrgn]

I am absolutely in shock that addy didn't make this suggestion, but for the secondary chamber you want to add, why not design it as a bog filter? You would want to use a slower water pump, then design the chamber to hold at least 6 inches of pea-gravel, with the water level right to the top of the gravel.

The idea here is that the gravel acts as your biological media, and you plant as many bog plants as possible through the gravel. The plants themselves break down fish waste and clean up the water, and there is no maintenance needed. There are a huge variety of flowering bog plants available, so once the plants grow in, it would simply look like a raised bed with water coming out of one end feeding your pond, and you wouldn't have to try and hide a filter barrel.

If you wanted to create a faster flowing waterfall, use the higher flow pump, and split the output... one end feeds a trickle of water to the far end of the bog, then other end comes up just behind the waterfall ledge and dumps most of the water back over the falls. While requiring a bit more work with the plumbing, this would be very helpful in creating faster circulation of the water (which helps keep down algae), and the extra water going over the falls would help oxygenate the water for your fish.

 

[addy1]

Lol shdwdrgn, I thought about it but try not to push my love of bogs down everybodys throat. (it would make a great one lol) and it would help filter the water, cheap to build, pvc and pea gravel. I have no algae issues, no doc issues. He could have a bottom drain plumped in to back flush the gravel if need be. The main thing is to put the openings pointing down so they do not get full of gravel.

Will gladly help if they wish to have a bog ................

I have all my pump water going into the bog, they can handle good flow, but again my bog is large. I love watching the birds bath in it right before it waterfalls into the pond.

Love how the plants are growing and flowering