Honestly, I never intended this rock water feature to be a pond. After I dug it as deep as I did, or shallow depending on your point of view, told myself, " heck, lets have a couple of fish and plants ". lol
I'm having trouble understanding how your pump can be 18" under water when you say your pond is only 10-13" deep?
Dug a hole only for the pump that was around 18" deep, wouldn't be able to see this due to all my rock. Deep enough for a good size sprinkiler valve box with holes around it. I set the submersible in the valve box. Also put netting around the valve box keeping anything out that may mess up the pump, but the rocks piled over it is breaking down the leaves and debris before it actually gets to the pump. Rocks piled over the pump has never gotten matted with debris and I didn't even put down a net during the fall last year; I still should have to keep the rest of the rock free from debris.
And honestly, I think this is going to be a huge issue for you during the Winter... With all the rocks and waterfalls and splashing water you are describing, I don't see how you can possibly leave the pumps running through the Winter as the water cascading down all those rocks is going to freeze everywhere. If your main pond is 9 feet in diameter and only a foot deep, it would be nearly impossible to keep the water heated due to the massive surface area to volume ratio... meaning that your pond is going to freeze up solid in the Winter. From what you have described, I see no possible way of keeping fish in this pond year-round...
I finished most of everything except still waiting on shipment for some fancy rock that I ordered from overseas.
Winter Tested already.
We don't get cold at all like parts of Colorado, not even close. Our frost line is only around 4 inches, if that. We range from mild winters where lo-temps sometimes barely reach mid-20s and harsher winters where the hi-temps might be in teens for just a week. This winter we only had a couple few days of hi-temps in teens and the rest was hi-temps mid-to-low 30s, low-temps mid-to-low 20s. So when the temps got up to 37, it melted that 8" layer of ice that I mentioned above.
I kept everything running except I turned off the waterfall. I was concerned about ice breaking cracks in some of the waterfall rock. I kept the stream running and my rock spire fountains that is in the center of the pond on a flagstone table. Rock spires are solid rock columns 6 inches wide, varying height of 2' to 5', with 3/4" plumbing in center.
The rock spire fountains formed some awesome ice sculptures on the sides of them and a kool thin shiny ice dome in the mornings that would later melt when the sun came up. The stream, even on those days where hi-temps were in the teens, only had at most 1~4" of ice on each side. Stream never got close to forming any kind of dam. The stream's borders are actually a few inches higher. So I think the depth and width and volume of moving water prevented it from freezing due to our easy winters. We rarely get to subzero temps without wind.
I floated styrofoam to hopefully maintain some surface heat and put the floating de-icers where the stream entered the pond to circulate the heat from the two de-icers. Before my de-icers blew the GFI, the only ice formed on my pond was where the water was not moving much under the styrofoam and only got about 1" deep. The styrofoam is in segments so the water could still move. Moving water is slower to freeze. This is why airstones or small upward water jets are used during the winter, to keep the water moving.
I was keeping a close eye on it during the Winter. I was concerned when we had those few days in a row where the hi-temps were in the teens and I was suprised how very little changed. I was impressed that the de-icers and styrofoam worked so well. I was also pulling that warmer bottom water out for my stream and rock spires.
From what you have described, I see no possible way of keeping fish in this pond year-round...
I don't know. According to the testimonials I've read, goldfish like comets have been known to survive in unbelievable cold temperatures and under thick ice in shallow waters.
Again going off your descriptions, but I do not understand why you have an air compressor feeding into the water flow? If you have a dead spot inside the cave, and you have run some pipe in there to pump in water, then you do not have a dead spot. As long as you are pumping fresh water into these calm spots, there will be plenty of oxygen in the water which was picked up by the pump from the rest of the pond.
Nah, the air compressor only pushes air into the hoses that only go into the cave. Probably overkill. I am told an air compressor is useful in ponds eventually at some point so figure I would have one on hand to use it somewhere if I need it. Don't know, if actually do get sub-zero winter, then I will hook it up to an air stone for the pond or something.
It really sounds like you need to step back for a moment and get some advice before progressing any further, and that is going to require a lot of pictures or drawings of the details of your arrangement. I'm not trying to discourage you, but at this stage it is MUCH easier to try and correct any problems. Believe me, I know - I'm trying to plan out how to rebuild my own waterfall this year to correct some problems that came up, and I'm NOT looking forward to it.
Finished everything back in November.
Just a couple of days ago took my pond's rock walls out so I can rebuild it but with waterfall foam so to fill in the cracks. 9x9 diameter circle, 10~13" deep, is a pretty small pond, more like a big water feature, heh.
Don't get me wrong, but there is just alot of common sense to me involved in building a basic water feature. Make sure your hills are packed solid, construction underneath is solid, and that your borders for the streams and water reservoir are high and packed. My build is very basic just with alot of fancy rock. It is nothign fantastic like Addy's replication of just something awesome.
The water chemistry is what is get'n me such as how small pond's surface area creates extra volatility for fish and that all the muck in my pond rock walls can create a potential problem if not maintained or corrected with some sort of filler.
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Grr, mainly look'n for a good pump now.
