Koi + Goldfish Pond - Planning.

[Andy41]

Hi Guys,

I'm moving to a new house with a bigger garden soon and want to build a bigger and better pond, combining both Koi and Goldies (I have about 100 3" goldies at the moment that i want to take with me).

My Current idea is an L shaped pond. short side 5m, long side 10m, 2m wide on each arm and 1 - 1,5m deep. There'll be a bridge over the corner of the L, and the return from the filtration szstem will be over a small stream and a waterfall.

So, my questions are :

1. I want to minimise solid bottom waste. My idea is to have a network of smaller pipes on the bottom with 1cm holes drilled in them, covered by a layer of gravel.... this should suck the water and hopefully the solid waste through the gravel and into the pipes. Does anyone have experience of this? Is there a better way?
2. Liner - I'm planning on using a PVC liner for this, 2mm thick.... will this be enough?
3. Filtration - If the hoses under the gravel work ok then there'll be a lot of solid waste. My idea is to use a Vertex to seperate out the solids, and then have 2 bio filters (55 gall each), followed by a stream with planting/bog areas and then a waterfall back into the main pond. Do i need to consider UV here? Is this enough filtration, or is it overkill?
4. Waterfall - The pond should contain about 4500 gall. That means a turn over rate of 1200 galls / hour.... is this enough to drive a stream and a waterfall, say 10 inches wide?
5. Pumps - If the pipe under gravel idea is ok then that means a pump on dry land. Can anyone recommend a suitable pump that isn't too noisy?

Looking forward to swapping ideas with you all :fish:

Cheers,

Andy.

 

[DrDave]

First of all, I would scrap the under gravel idea altogether. It will quickly turn into a septic mess. A clean bottom is preferred. PVC is not as durable or as pliable as EPDM liners. You might want to rethink this.
I have about 4000 GPH flowing through my 12" wide stream and it is perfect. My upper pond is fed by a 3200 circulation pump from my lower pond and the waterfall has a 1150 feeding it. With head losses, my estimate is about 4000.

 

[Andy41]

Hi Dr Dave,

See, this is why i came here... EPDM... I'll look into it. cheers.

But, 4000 GPH... really? wow, that is a lot of water. Can you give me a link to a good pump supplier?

cheers,

Andy

 

[koiguy1969]

45mil epdm rubber liner from Firestone is the industry standard.aside of its superior strength, its much more u.v stable than pvc liners as well. i use a 20 mil pvc liner on my basement pond but it sees no sunlight, so u.v degradation is of no concern. the under gravel seup is a NO NO like Dr.Dave stated. and the more water movement the better, preferrably in the direction of your deepest area, that being the ideal location of your filters pump and/or prefilter setup.

 

[Andy41]

Good, so the under gravel is out then.

I assume you guys recommend a sloping clear (no stones etc) bottom to the pond leading down to a bottom drain then?

 

[DrDave]

I personally prefer submersibles, because you can move them around and are easy to clean. But either way, a slope to a lower point is best.

 

[addy1]

Good, so the under gravel is out then.

I assume you guys recommend a sloping clear (no stones etc) bottom to the pond leading down to a bottom drain then?

With the slope you can push the muck towards your pump (if submersible) or drain system, and it naturally migrates towards the bottom of the slope

I prefer exterior pumps.