My new goldfish pond build

[addy1]

Looks great so far.. im actually ordering a pond liner and underlay tomorrow,, upgrading from a 250 gallon preformed pond to a 9 x 9 ( approx 2 ft deep).. Any advice would be great

Start a construction thread on your project. That way we can help you with any thing you ask and follow along.

 

[CometKeith]

Jutt. I think the thing that helped me the most was using a biofilter that was up and running with the new pond liner. This way you don't have to cycle the pond from scratch. Once it is disconnected for a few hours your beneficial bacteria will die off.

Okay. I'm starting to think about the rocks for the edge now. Came back last week from vacation. It was way to short but I got a chance to see some of the most famous things in Paris. I can't believe I never went there before. I also got a chance to play speed chess with some of the locals in
Luxemburg Gardens which was fun. I play a decent game so everyone was pretty friendly to the "American".

 

[Jutt]

Thanks for the advice... i'm gonna have to somehow ( when my liner gets here..) transfer my fish to a temp location( using some of the pond water) dig the pond ,lay the liner then fill it lol.
Hoping it wont be too bad due to the pond being half dug,,( where the smaller pond is now).
Should be able to do it within a day ,maybe 2. I mean i can transfer the fish back soon as i can, then carry on setting up outside of the pond .

 

[herzausstahl]

Not sure how well it shows up here Keith but my ledge in the lower pond is a 2 level. Shelve cut out on top, then slanting at a 45degree angle for a foot or so leveling off at a lower shelf then straight down into a pit with no rocks. The pit is roughly 4x7 & the perimeter is 8x12. The advice from JW, Meyer & Cas is sound, with the ledge if it's uneven it won't matter so don't sweat it. As for the fear of leaving behind/losing fish, I used to tell myself with my old koi I wouldn't be upset if I lost them as they were cheap & easily replaced, all true except the color of each one so I fully get it! I'm still looking for new ones. But as for what you've left behind don't worry about it, you have just enhanced & brightened a 9 yr olds life! It's easy to forget that age (I forget already running into people with 2yr olds the difference) but having an 8 yr old I can tell you he will love it! Leaving it as you did has given him a ready made beautiful pond to enjoy daily. The plants you can easily replace. It's looking good so far! As for the liner, if you check my 2nd pond build in my thread I hauled that size up by myself in a confined area so I understand how heavy & tricky that is! I'd look for a garden supplier/landscape rock supplier with rock you like to fill in the sides. I still have plenty I've collected so I don't need any but I know a place if I ever do where I can fill up the bucket on a skidster for $60 only with whatever size I want from 4" up. Not bad considering Steins is about $4-5 for a 4" rock alone. Too bad you don't live 3 1/2 hrs north, I'd be able to give you a hand!

 

[CometKeith]

Too bad you don't live 3 1/2 hrs north, I'd be able to give you a hand!

We we are finally getting ready to landscape our yard. I have someone starting Monday to work on the grading. Would love the help if the offer is still good... but maybe I'll just post some pictures of what we are doing and hopefully get some good input from you and other fellow ponders. Thanks CK

 

[addy1]

A new project! Have fun!

 

[Lisak1]

Woot! WE LOVE TO GIVE ADVICE! And watch other people work!

My daughter's friend just got an estimate for landscaping - build a small retention wall (Like 3 feet long, one foot high) and install a handful of trees and bushes - EIGHTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! I offered to do it for half... haha! Honestly - how do people justify that kind of cost?

 

[Gemma]

I've enjoyed reading and following your progress, can't wait to see it done!

Great work, and thank you for sharing!

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks all. Here are a few before pictures. We need to move the ladders to the side and in about a week I'll be putting them in storage. We are getting rid of the porta-potty next week. Our neighbor to the west is building a fence now which is good because they are also doing construction.

 

[j.w]

Hey nice on the fence he's putting up and this will be fun watching you work on beatifying your new yard from scratch!

 

[cas]

I love that you have a chair out by the pond in all the chaos.

 

[sissy]

gotta love the porta john .Here they get stolen and I think that s funny .I was warned not to get one for my build sight unless I wanted to pay 6 thousand dollars to replace a stolen one .At least Devins Market was right down the road so used the bathroom there .

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks JW.... actually it's a woman that is going to be living next door. I doubt we will be friends and the higher the fence the better!
Already I have received one call and one letter from her lawyer about the new fence and it's boundaries because the old fence was too inside her property. I think it's better just to not deal with unpleasant people. Now on the other side the people are great. We actually decided today not to have a fence between our properties. I'm posting a picture of the two neighbors to our east. The people next to them are great too. There is always one person on the block that you don't want to deal with... right?
Thanks Cas. I just put the chair out the other day. It is a little weird sitting in it with all the mess around it and every time I sit there my wife reminds me of all the work we still need to do!
Sissy, That's so funny. I never heard of one being stolen in Chicago. Here we have to have them on construction sites otherwise the guys will pee in basement drains that aren't working etc and it starts to smell pretty foul.
So tomorrow is the big day to start but no real plan yet. I'm thinking maybe I'll put the waterfall in the general area where the chair is. I was originally thinking the right back corner when I dug the pond but I don't think there is enough room there. Also there is some interesting tree sprout from a stump on the right side of the pond directly in front of it. I'll probably get rid of it but was wondering what it is. I'm guessing some sort of fruit tree. When we originally dug the pond we met with a landscape architect and she recommended to do the yard in 1/3rds. So 1/3rd pond, 1/3rd hardscape like pavers including a sitting and barbecue area and 1/3rd plantings or grass. That's still what I'm thinking. Also I need to decide if we are going to leave the old sidewalk. I really don't like it but we are trying to do the work on the cheap because we spent so much on the rehab so that might be for a later date. I have some reasonable price labor so I'm trying to take advantage of that. I just set up a company account for sod for the front yard and will be getting it for $2.30 a roll so I think that is good. I need about 70 rolls for that so about $160 dollars and I was quoted $1800 for the job from a professional landscaper.

 

[Tula]

Sorry about the one neighbor, but you're right...there's always one So exciting to be starting on your landscaping

 

[j.w]

So did the new fence end up being more towards your property when they built it? Wonder why they didn't take care of the boundary problem before this. Anyway glad you don't have to deal w/it or hope you don't. Always nice to have nice neighbors, but looks like those two to the east could use a pond in their life