kansas pond started

[koikeepr]

what is the air hose? is it like the same thing used in aquariums or is it more heavy duty? does it float on the water surface or is it weighted? any idea how long the airline is? how much cover will this thing need? like keep it totally dry or a little splashed on it will be fine. I'm planning to put it in the box a build for the sequence pump. I'll just make the box a little bigger.

koikeepr - Do you have any pictures of how you have your pump and air supply protected and plumbed up? i would love to see examples from someone that knows what there doing. anyone else as well. How do you protect your external water and/or air pumps?

Hi Jason. It's a slightly larger diameter than regular aquarium line. Mine is black and thicker, yes. The Dolphin pump has a 3/4 inch outlet coming out so it gives off lots of air. I then have that little stainless 10-gang manifold with little levers so that you ccan as much air as you want to each line. You'll be able to run several air stones with this pump at the same time. You can even shoot a stone into your bio filter, too, so you can have super happy bacteria.

I've got my AV-50 sitting on a few bricks and then it's down in my filter pit. I've also had it on top of the ground (still sitting on a brick) and just covered with one of them black landscaping irrigation covers that you find at Lowes/HD in the area with the inground sprinklers aisle. They're about 12 bucks.

I don't know if you can see the pump in this photo. It's that silver box al the way at the bottom of the photo. I'll see if I can grab a better photo of it today.

 

[jason081180]

Is that just an extension cord thru your yard? Lol that’s how I have mine. I buried mine then they layered the sod over it so its 4in deep now. The air pump looks larger than I thought but that shouldn’t make a difference. I was thinking of putting everything in here and having the storage container sitting on some bricks. Holes in the bottom and maybe sides to get air for the air and cooling for the water pumps.

Ok my pond will be odd shaped. The main part of the pond will be 10X12 but only 8x10 will be 3 ft deep. And a small ramp leading down that far. I’m wondering if my pond is big enough for Koi? It will be 2800GL or so but the size seems small.

Here is my math. I'm digging down 1.5 ft and building a 2ft high wall so above ground will be 1.5 ft as well total 3 ft deep.

8*10*1.5*7.48=897 underground water area
12*10*1.5*7.48=1346 above ground water area
4*6*1*7.48=179 ramp that leads from ground level to 1.5 ft deep.
6*6*1.5*7.48=403 area above ramp
2825 GL total

 

[DrDave]

We have a lot of Koi ponders here with less than 1000 gallons. You just need to be wary of how big they get and don't overpopulate your pond.

 

[jason081180]

well i have heard that you can have 1in of fish for every 10 GL of water. so that would give me about 280 in of fish. I'm planning to just start with 5 dozen feeder goldfish though. maybe koi next year after i see how things work with it.

 

[koikeepr]

I have a heavy duty extension cord hooked up to a GFCI, yes. where I have my equipment is 20 feet away from the power stick. New pond will also need to have an extension cord for a while until I have an electrician come out and run a proper line.

The pump is pretty big. I would say about the size of shoe box for kid's shoes. it's very heavy too.

What I don't like about putting things in containers like you are showing is airflow. You need to poke lots of holes in that sucker to make sure you get lots of air. And then you've got to account for all your lines going out and not getting rain water in there. I just worry about water getting up in there and drowning the equipment--so be careful how you use the plastic container.

Small ramp? What do you mean by that? Don't give predators easy access to your fish. Help us understand the ramp.

3 feet is a good height. Koi ponds really shouldn't be shallower than that. What is the reason for the 1.5 foot ledges? Again, ledges give predators a place to stand why they go fishing for your sushi. Do straight walls all the way down. If you want to add plants do floating rings or put a couple of cinderblocks on end to put a plant on top.

Instead of one big BD, why don't you do two 3" ones like I am so you don't get debris caught up in that far right corner. Are you planning on TPR's to push water to your BD's?

 

[jason081180]

TPR's ???

 

[jason081180]

I really don’t know why I wanted the ramp I guess so the water would flow that direction but that really doesn’t make sense lol. The reason for the 1.5 ft deep by 1 ft wide ledges is yes for plants but also to help give the wall some foundation. My plan was to dig a 12in wide 8 in deep trench for the foundation of the wall as I have described. But the 1ft on the inside of the pond was there to help hold the wall foundation. I don’t know maybe I don’t need it that big I could cut the ledge down to 6 in. I know I can always find other way to do the plants like you said but I am concerned about the strength of the wall.

My 12 gauge heavy duty extension cord is also plugged in to a GFI plug and the power strip on the other side is made for outdoors and has breakers on it as well.

I could do a pump pit behind my pond but the easement behind my house is where all the water for the neighborhood runs off on the way to a community pond. I’m afraid that if I put a pit there it would flood out. If my idea about a plastic container wouldn’t be too good I could try to make a wood box for it like I have seen on there before. The one I’m thinking of looked like a big bird house. I could put that on a couple bricks to keep it out of any flood waters, or maybe some of fiberglass, fake rocks that they sell at Lowes. Put one over each pump. I don’t know too many options. LOL

Koikeepr – what is the blue container in your pit? Is that the filter before your pump? or just a settling chamber of sorts? Should I have one as well?

 

[jason081180]

the ramp as i put it was also to help direct things that settled on the bottom towards the BD. if i go with no ramp and a 6in shelf that would probable still be enough to help hold the wall. and would change the pond size from 2915 to 3195 but if i can go strait down with the walls it goes up to 3499GL. An extra 500 GL would be nice. not sure about the wall though some help please?

 

[koikeepr]

that barrel is my DIY 55gal bio/mechanical filter. yes the pump is after the barrel, because the barrel is at water level (meaning the top of the barrel is just a few inches above waterline). That means, I have a gravity flow system.

In my new pond, I will have gravity flow from my BD's to my sieve. Then the pump, and then my stock tank will be above ground. So, I'll have partial gravity, partial pump fed. If you've got BD's, you've got to have gravity flow there.

I think I'm understanding the ramp. You are talking about building a riverflow (streamflow) design, i think? Basically you will have a long, narrow pond, with water flowing down hill toward your BD, correct? You will not have a flat bottom, it will slope downward. If that's what you mean, then that's a sound design and very efficient.

Why bother with a 6" shelf? Not sure what you're worried about? a shelf does not add strength to your walls. Are you just doing dirt walls or block wals?

 

[jason081180]

Maybe I should have said slope not ramp. But yes it is a you describe. The BD will be the lowest point in the pond. I was planning to have everything drain towards that spot. The big part of the pond will be mostly flat but unless I want to go like 4 ft deep in the middle I don’t know how to avoid that.

Now about the shelf. I have drawn up some pictures to help show what I’m thinking a little better and why I’m concerned. The one with the 12in shelf- the shelf helps hold the paver base and the block in place. Without that shelf how will the base stay there and be secure? Now I am planning a stucco treatment to both sides of the cinder blocks. I have heard that is stronger than mortar. I will probably add re-bar down threw the cinder blocks and into the clay under the paver base in spots or every few blocks. The blocks will be filled with either sand or the clay soil from the digging. Haven’t really decided.

 

[koikeepr]

fill your blocks with remants of concrete clock, rebar and rocks. Sand and dirt won't work from a long-lasting perspective. We stuffed rebar and cinder block remnants and then poured concrete inside the cells. Strong as an ox!

 

[jason081180]

thanks for the idea i will try that instead. but do you understand about the shelf. or do you really not think its necessary and I'm worrying about nothing.

 

[koikeepr]

are you doing a concrete collar at the bottom floor after you've dug down? or are you trying to put the concrete collar up on the ground?

Go back to my thread of my 5000g pond build and see how I built my structure.

 

[Airic]

I still question the depth if you plan on keeping fish in the pond over winter. For zone 6 your frost line is around 3'. It is my understanding that you need to be below the frost line to maintain a reasonable temp for the fish survival. Anything above ground will not provide the earth insulation you need. Not an expert but, this is what I have read. Someone correct me if you think or experienced otherwise.

 

[koikeepr]

you are correct Airic!

The higher above ground you are, the more worries you have about not only cold, but also heat. An above ground pond fluctuates in temps greatly. It is often recommended you use styrofoam insulation panels to line the walls of your pond if you are going above ground. I've got 18" above ground, and the 2.5 feet under ground to compensate. Our winters are very mild here, but in very cold areas you'd need to think about that factor. And in summer you'd have to think about it as well, since very hot water is a concern, too. So, you would put the pond in a shadier area to compensate, for example.