New Pond'r from New Jersey

[PonderingPonds]

Hello, My son and I are in the process of building our first pond. He started the 'dig out' last fall with help from his girlfriend, and we picked up on it again this spring. we are nearing the point to put in the underlayment and liner in soon. just fininshing the waterfall form at the moment. I will attach a few pic's of the process so far. One thing I'm not sure of is what size pump(s) I will need to move the water. I am planning on a settling tank feeding a mechanical/bio filter tank and then a single skimmer tank, all returning to the waterfall, all homemade. also will need one air pump to feed the bottom drain diffuser.
any comments and suggestions welcomed. :razz:

 

[j.w]

PonderingPond
Nice setup you have going there. You will be done in no time. Keep posting pics as you go.

 

[addy1]

wow nice! and welcome to the group!

 

[Ian]

Welcome to the forums! Thanks for posting pics too

 

[koiguy1969]

WELCOME TO OUR GROUP..........Mark

 

[taherrmann4]

Welcome to the forum. How big is your pond going to be and the depth? I assume you are looking for an external pump?

 

[Rbritt]

Welcome fellow New Jerseyite! Looks like a nice setup you've got planned!

 

[sissy]

welcome and headed for the good things back in NJ in 2 weeks for a couple of days .I miss all my friends up there and things to do .Edison close the doors your worst nightmare is coming back LOL I hope before you cover your pipes you insulate them .Much safer that way

ahhh have to laugh at the umbrella and a tarp to for shade well thats making it easier

 

[fishin4cars]

Welcome aboard! Nice project!

 

[PonderingPonds]

Thanks for the comments... the pond will be about 16' long and about 8' wide with average depth of about 4.5 feet. there will be about 50 feet of return plumbing (1 1/2" and 2" runs) with about a 7 foot rise from filter pit to top of the waterfall. any pump suggestions welcomed, I will probably be looking at two external pumps.
also will need an air pump for the bottom drain. some recommended make/model on each would be great, reputable manufacturers and those to stay away from.

Has anyone ever had a mole burrow through their liner? I have some mole tunnels in around the yard and I dread the thought of one of these guys chewing through the liner.

 

[sissy]

yep me and he burrowed right through my first pond a preformed one made of hard plastic .Little devils are everywhere here and I use one of those mole things I bought at lowes

 

[addy1]

I have moles everywhere, they have not bothered my pond yet lol............... they are more interested in the plants

here is a write up on different pumps. I have the evolution series right now, very quiet pump and energy efficient.

http://www.webbsonline.com/pond-pumps.html?gclid=CPaIxaaI3agCFZQbKgod4XTxBw#laguna

 

[taherrmann4]

On the type of pump I have a sequence primer 7200, my pond is about 12x15, 3,000 gallons with about an 8' rise. It feeds my main falls and two creeks. It is pretty quiet, at first I noticed a small hum when standing next to it now I don't even notice it. You will have to protect it from the elements, some sort of cover. I have never had one problem with the pump, it runs 24/7 for 9 months a year and I pull it out in late November and put inside the basement. My brother has a pond and he has two sequence pumps one is about 12 years old and is still running the other one has a switch where you can choose the speed or how much water it will pump, a low and a high. Kind of a nice feature. My pump is energy efficient, I don't even notice it on the electric bill.

I do not have a Bottom Drain but I do have an aerator it is a pondmaster.

I have never had any problems with moles, but the chipmunks do burrow behind my falls, no problems yet other than a rock shifting here or there.

 

[j.w]

Moles are everywhere here and they do kinda wreck the roots of the plants at times by burrowing under them constantly but they don't eat plants, they eat grubs, worm etc. Actually they are good for your soil because they till it all up when they are burrowing. But voles will sometimes come into mole runs and use them to travel through and they will eat your plant roots. My cat catches one now and then but she's not really pulling her weight around here in that area. Guess she eats too well.

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the Forum!