New House, New Pond!

Carpe_Diem

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Hi everyone,

I have not posted in a long time due to work and various other issues.

I wanted to post today because I am excited about a pond we are having installed professionally at our new
home in our new community. Until this pond, we have had only small ponds around the 9 feet by 6 foot
variety. Not very large and cerainly not large enough for Koi although we have had them in our previous
ponds.

This pond will be 19 1/2 feet by 12 1/2 feet and 3 feet deep in the center. It will then graduate to 2 feet deep to 1 feet deep
to the ground level. The installer estimates the volume to be around 2600 to 2800 gallons. They will install a 3200 gph
pump which will turn more than the entire pond over in 1 hour. Waterfall will be 6 feet high and they are also putting in
a Bog filter.

Not sure how the pond veterans here feel about the bog filter but it is our first time trying this out? We have heard some
good things about them but anyone that has opinions or experience can certainly let us know what you think.

This pond will be joined by a 16 X 19 foot Terra Cotta Brick patio and Pergola which will be beside the pond for sitting
and feeding the Koi. All fower beds will be planted with fairly mature plantings.

Project is being started on Aug 8th with completion estimated for Aug 15th. We will certainly be posting pictures as
it's coming along to completion.

Have a great night everyone!!! :)
 

j.w

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Sounds like a lovely nice sized pond. One thing that you might consider is the ground level depth and gradually going to 3ft will be nice for you to be able to enter and maintain but will also be easy for critters like raccoons, herons etc. to enter also. Maybe you have plans already in mind so that can't happen, I don't know. Most here like to keep the sides deep so as to make it harder for predators to enter. The bog idea is good one and we have someone here (addy1) who has a wonderful bog and you can check it out by searching for her pond build in the threads. Will be neat seeing pics of the building of it.
 

pinon ponder

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Sounds beautiful! Looking forward to seeing it. Will the pump be close to the waterfall? I'm asking because if it's on the other side of the pond, say in the skimmer, it might not have enough flow to turn over that much water after climbing 6 ft. up the waterfall and down. The width of each waterfall "step" also plays a role in the flow.
 
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Bog is fantastic idea! Go with it for sure. Addy1 has a thread all about her bog, and when you see it, you will be sold on the idea! I built a 19'x9.5' pond, 4' in the middle, 41" on each end, total of about 4,000 gallons. Had a small bog on the one side, and then extended it to more than double (still not REAL big, but bigger and more room for more plants!) as I had extra liner I didn't want to cut off. :) I have the skimmer pumping around the edge of the pond then into the bog from the bottom, pushing up through the pea gravel and plants, then overflows back into the pond. These were ideas I got from Addy1. As JW and I say, go to Addy1's thread about bog building and read all about it. She has tons of pics, too, and you will be amazed! Crystal clear water and she has no other filtration! Good luck on your build. It sounds wonderful! I've marked the thread to keep an eye on it and watch for further progress.
 

fishin4cars

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Sounds like a nice build, I have a small bog and I really like how it performs, Great habitat, water stays clear, nitrates stay very low, and easy to maintain. I'm a little concerned with the depth issue your builder is suggesting. With Koi and in Canada, I would really be considering 4' if not 5' deep. IMO, I will never build another pond that houses koi with ANY water depth less than 30" I've read over and over and over again and experienced over and over again fish loss from predators in shallow water, I lost my three largest Koi last year to a Heron 15" , 17" and one just over 18" all out of 26" or deeper water. In total one bird cleaned out 22 fish in just over a week. I've had to take all kinds of measures to protect the fish now and if I had to do it over again, my shallow end would be 36"-42" and my deep end would be 5' with a bottom drain. Next build will be that way, NO DOUBTS!
 

addy1

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Sounds wonderful, ask the builders how they are thinking of building the bog.
Read the construction thread about bogs, and compare how they are saying they are going to do it. If not built right (I made mistakes on my first ones years ago) they will be a headache not a help.

I am very pleased with mine, I have had no issues with algae, water tests etc all summer, but my bog is large and well planted.

Agree with fishin, make your pond deep, you don't want to lose your fish to predators and koi need room.
 

HARO

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Carpe Diem; make sure to let us know how your bog turns out. I'm an hour's drive west of you, and seriously considering putting one in. If it works for you, it should work here as well. John
 

Carpe_Diem

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Thanks everyone for all the feedback.

We are currently on the road going to Cape Breton for a week but when we return I will post the before picture (one big bare yard with nothing). Then
on the 8th I will post the first day's activities.

Addy1, thank you for the advice, I will talk to Neil the owner and find out how he is doing the Bog. I know he mentioned about incorporating a bottom
drain in the pond along with the Skimmer and Waterfall Weir as well as the Bog.

Haro, I will have pictures for you to see but keep in mind; and I am pretty sure Addy1 know's better than I that trying to install a Bog after the fact
to an existing pond is more complicated (not impossible) so I have been told. Some Installers up here say it's best to put one in during initial installation.

Addy1, any feedback on the adding of a Bog to an existing pond?

Cheers. :beerchug:
 

addy1

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Addy1, any feedback on the adding of a Bog to an existing pond?

Cheers. :beerchug:

Sure it can be done, just need the area, a liner, plumbing, water to bog from pond, back to pond. Bogs are not complicated, they do work well in my opinion. I have been very pleased with it and how it is working.
 

sissy

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that pond for Canada seems shallow and if you are getting fish you should invest in a heater .I live in VA and our winter temps are average 55 and my pond at it's deepest is 4 feet when it's full 31/2 when it's not and after last winter I got a pond heater .I see a lot of people in Canada go 5 feet deep on ponds but still have heaters .There is a lot of info on the net about pond building in colder climates like Canada
 
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Carpe Diem, I had a bog built when I dug my pond, and then decided to expand it since there was extra liner in that area. It was a trick, trying to dig next to what was already there, but I did it. Had to bale most of the water (but not all) out of the existing bog, and then moved the liner over, and voila! Also, I made the mistake (one of many, but that's how I've learned!) of putting my skimmer on the inside edge of my pond, rather that in the wall. Well, I have extra liner on the curves, so this weekend (hopefully) I plan to dig out one of the corners and put the skimmer where it needs to be, hidding mostly in the wall from the pond side. That will be a challenge as well, but where there's a will there's a way! I'll get it figured out, hopefully without having to lower the level of the pond, but we will see.
And, as Addy says, it's easier maybe to do it in the initial planning, but as long as you have the space, you can always add a bog. Just need to have a source of water to pump to the underside of it, so it can flow up through the gravel and roots of plants, then back to the pond. Can't wait to see your pics! Bare yard will be GREAT first pic. :)
 

sissy

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your pond is looking great by the pic country /I have never used a skimmer no real stuff floating around on top to catch
 
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Well, Sissy, lately it's catching the poor little baby painted turtle that made my pond his home 2 days ago. :) I figure sooner or later he will figure it out, but for not, I take him our morning and evening. And, there is always food that floats into it, at least a few pieces usually anyhow, so he's happy.
 

Carpe_Diem

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Was mistaken on the decided depth. I had originally suggested 3 feet and the builder wanted to go to 4 feet and so we agreed and it shows that
depth in the design.

The design was done by the owner of the company with the flower beds being designed by a serperate woman that he works with that designs
gardens/flowerbeds exclusively.

Thanks again all.
 

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