Need advise on construction in tight space

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Hello everyone. I thought I knew what I was doing so I dug a hole and was ready to move forward with my construction - but now I have had so many questions raised about how I will do it.....I really think I want to scrap my plan and just get some good advise from more experienced enthusiasts. I am a beginner and only sorta understand the basics of aquariums from years ago. Basically I have a tight space without 2 feet on all sides to lay the liner over. I need to come up with a way to use cement, wood, or stones to construct the pond so the liner can be secure. I also need to know what equipment I should get based on the size I have and what all is on that list. My pond is roughly 20 x 6 x 3 so I estimate that I have apx 2,200 - 2,500 gallons. I have 3 green bushes on the left side that can be removed to add a small waterfall / filtration. The wall behind the pond is the garage so I could also put the filtration in the garage and pipe it through the wall if that would be better. At the right end the land on the other side of the sidewalk drops pretty quickly so I can have a run off on that end to prevent it from overflowing around the walls of the pond. Please help......

Ray
 

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DrCase

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Welcome to the forum !! first

I would like to see a pond edge maybe a 3 or 4 inches higher than the side walk
And let the stone flow in and out along the brick and add some planting
The garage would work great if you have the room for the filter .. don't forget you need a drain for your filter
 

addy1

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My liner does not go over by two feet, in a lot of places just a few inches (did not have two feet to work with on my slopes), as long as you have it so it will not fall down. I secured with dirt, rocks, etc and all is fine. Mainly like dc says make the pond edge higher than the sidewalk, that will help a lot with keeping any water running into the pond, from rain etc.

and welcome!
 

DrDave

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Welcome to the forum!
DrCase is right on, make the edge higher than the sidewalk to avoid runnoff getting into the pond. The garage is an excellant place to hide your filtration and that makes cleaning it easier since all garages have a sloped floor.
I don't see 3 feet of depth, are you still digging?
2 feet of overlap is only for calculation purposes so you don't buy a liner too small.
 
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I would like to see the pond at least half above ground when it is right next to the sidewalk. You don't want someone falling in. I'd suggest you dig all the way to the sidewalk and the garage wall, build vertical sides to your desired depth, line the pond, then finish the sides and top to look nice. Bricks that match the garage wall would be a nice finish.

A filter inside the garage, with a pipe through the wall dumping water into the pond will look great.

There are many threads in these forums where people describe how they built their ponds. I suggest you read some of these. You'll get a lot of good ideas.
 

oldmarine

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EdmondKoiGuy said:
Hello everyone. I thought I knew what I was doing so I dug a hole and was ready to move forward with my construction - but now I have had so many questions raised about how I will do it.....I really think I want to scrap my plan and just get some good advise from more experienced enthusiasts. I am a beginner and only sorta understand the basics of aquariums from years ago. Basically I have a tight space without 2 feet on all sides to lay the liner over. I need to come up with a way to use cement, wood, or stones to construct the pond so the liner can be secure. I also need to know what equipment I should get based on the size I have and what all is on that list. My pond is roughly 20 x 6 x 3 so I estimate that I have apx 2,200 - 2,500 gallons. I have 3 green bushes on the left side that can be removed to add a small waterfall / filtration. The wall behind the pond is the garage so I could also put the filtration in the garage and pipe it through the wall if that would be better. At the right end the land on the other side of the sidewalk drops pretty quickly so I can have a run off on that end to prevent it from overflowing around the walls of the pond. Please help......

Ray

If the wall behind your intended pond is the garage, you could run your plumbing and electrical from inside to minimize the unsightly wires and hoses. You could even have your filter inside the that inside space.
 
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I only have it 2 feet deep right now - was holding out to decide if I would build a foot above the sidewalk or dig another foot down. I think the idea of building up sounds good. Thank you everyone for the ideas - I really appreciate it. I think my biggest question now is what to buy in equipment? I want to spend enough that I get what I need plus a little....but not spend more than I need too....if that makes any sense. For this size what pieces must I have and what would be recommended to just make it a little better - or easier to take care of?
 

addy1

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Check out the diy section, there are some good filters you can build that work great. skippy , doc filter etc. I have always built my own, so no idea on what to buy.

Think skimmer vs none, external pump vs submersible, bottom drain vs none or retrofit one (no hole in liner)

You want your return on the opposite end of the pond from where the water leaves to go to the filter.

Lots of things to think out before you can decide on equipment.
 

koiguy1969

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yes, theres a several real good filter builds in the DIY section. you'll find they work better than any storebought costing anywhere near the price. i have a 55 gal barrel filter on my basement pond and a 70 gal stocktank filter on my outdoor pond. and both perform fantastic.
 
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you might keep the earlier suggestion in mind about elevating the pond, say 18 inches above the walkway for a more attractive look, you will probably lose some planned volume because of the foundation intruding into the pond space, i'd think the waterfall through by drawing it out. they sometimes don't have the appeal you are looking for and can be tough to build in a tight space. waterfalls are the leakiest structures to build.

how will oklahoma winter weather affect that space?
 
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I seem to remember someone flattening the end of of the pipe coming out of the filter to get a very simple waterfall. (Anyone know the link?) That would work well here. With such a tight space so close to the house, the simpler the design the better.
 

addy1

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Look at the area now, do you have a lot of leaves dropping there? or is it sheltered, if sheltered you could do without a skimmer, also with where it is you could just net it.
Waterfalls are great, but you have to build with care so you do not have leaks
Think splash, height, etc.
 

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