Newbie Build and Question Thread...

[sentrek]

Hey all,
Some of you my have read my thread in the introduction section but I thought would start a new build and questions thread here to track my progress. So with that out of the way, I am currently working on my first pond, as it sits right now, running the numbers a bunch of different ways it is currently 900 gallons give or take a few, I think i decided last night that i am going to go ahead and remove most of my shelf and maybe make it a tad deeper and longer to hit the 1000-1100 gallon mark. So I am considering doing my own Bio Filter and was wondering if a 15 gallon barrel would be sufficient for a pond of this size. I don't want to use anything much larger as i want to be able to hide behind some plants or something. If done right can a 15 gallon drum work? This will be a budget build and since i work 12 hours a day and 6 days a week my progress will be slower than most, ecspecially since I am also extending my patio out to the pond so I can have a fire pit out there and a nice flat spot for the grill.

(as it sits right now, the liner is just in there to protect the hole from rain right now)

 

[sissy]

should work but how are you going to hide it and what happens if it leaks that's why I used an oval tank and put the liner under it and up the sides and any water leaks out will go back in the pond .Did both my filters that way .I like to keep it worry free as I can .
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[sentrek]

Thanks Sissy, I will probably hide it with some rocks and potted plants, And I will also probably do something similiar with a liner that will guide any leaks back to the pond. If you think the 15 gallons will be big enough I may try and get one tonight while they are available.

 

[sissy]

my pond is much bigger and totes come in all sizes .I would go with a nice big 2 of them over filtering never hurts and floating plants in them helps

 

[sissy]

Tank adapters I got at pet mountain .com and the I used pvc pipe to direct the water 4 inches from the bottom out the tank adapter
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[sentrek]

Well, I got the one barrel because thats all the guy had left. It has a removable lid, so if I dont plan to grow plants in the filter should I use it with or without the lid? I havent had the chance to research exactly how to make this filter yet. What's in the bags?

 

[sissy]

That's dollar store bags of lava rock .

 

[sentrek]

Yeah, I seen that in one of your other threads, thanks.
Mines going to take even a little longer to get going, I decided last night to go ahead and digger it a little, bigger, a little deeper, and remove most of the shelf I had made, I am going to make it narrower and deeper. I am trying to hit 1200 gallons. I am also thinking of running two smaller pumps, one for the bio-filter and one with a uv light for the waterfall.

 

[sissy]

And you are addicted and yep do it now and save your self money and time .Wish I had known . :cheerful:

 

[sentrek]

Yeah, I am addicted and is not even up and running yet. I spent all day yesterday taking the liner out and driving the hole larger as well as worked on leveling the ground where I am extending the patio. Last night we got a surprise terential downpour so my home is full of water.... again! !
On my way to Harbor freight top get a small pump and pump it out.
As far as my filter goes I bought some of the blue stuff at lowes to use as the mechanical, I am thinking of doing it the rest of the way with bio balls. Any one have any idea how many it would take to fill a 15 gallon drum? I seem someone on eBay selling 600 for $40 free shipping. What do you think?

 

[dieselplower]

Hey looking good so far. My advice, use up as much of that tarp as you can. Go bigger and deeper. Seems like you know that already though. I see you live in Texas and I imagine it gets hot. Many gallons of nice deep water is what your fish will need to stay cool and the large amount of gallons will help keep the pond temperature as stable as possible. I have to say, a 15 gallon filter does not seem to be nearly large enough for a 1000+ gallon pond. I have seen it said many times that your filter should be about 10% of the size of your pond, so you are looking at wanting something around a 100 gallon tub. Oh and now I see you are thinking about filling the tub with bioballs and blue stuff? Do you have any more mechanical filtration planned? Im seeing a serious hurting in your future and by that I mean your are going to be rinsing those pads out constantly or you will have a dirty pond.

 

[capewind]

Welcome to the group ...

I dont have enough filter experience, that's hubby's department, but 15 gallons does seem small ... it will all depend on how much load you put on your pond, and how effecient your filter is ...

We have two small ponds in the basement, with high loads, and have a fair amount of filtration going ...

The 600 gallons (wintered over plants, and over stocked with baby fish) is running with a 45 gallon skippy filter, plus a 25-30 gallon "thing" that filters out the solids ... so the water actually going to the skippy is pretty clean ... It originally had a tote filter that held maybe 15-20 gallons of water, but it couldnt keep up with a bit of dirt being disturbed in the pots ... it was pretty crude tho ...

The 750 gallon (over 100 babies), has a hodge podge of filters (spare parts), plus a 55 gallon "thing" that filters out the solids ... Water condition in this one is pristine plus (water tests all where it should be, and water is incredibly clear to the bottom) ..,

 

[sentrek]

Thanks guys, but I am going to give my 15 gallon filter a run and see how it goes, I see lots of people running far less than 10% of there pond size with good results. I think it will help that the load will be light, I am just going to do a few goldfish and shubunkins, no koi. If it ends up not to be big enough i will just ad another. And yes, it gets hotter than nine kinds of hell here.. I bought a few banana trees to plant around the pond so hopefully with those and the fence it will see more shade then sun.

This is what it looked like when i got up to the sound of rain Sunday morning.

While the pump was pumping the water out and waiting for the ground the dry I went shopping for some parts to start the filter. I installed a drain in the bottom using a sink drain made for a rubber stopper (open item at lowes for $4), a piece of 1 1/4" tubing and a ball valve. I will be blocking the filter up off the ground a little to help gravity feed the waterfall so I put the drain directly on the bottom, hopefully the hose will catch the heavier stuff (in case anyone is wondering i am not using the stopper in the drain, thats what the ball valve at the end of the hose is for). The only other thing i got for it so far is the blue filters to go in the bottom, the bulkheads were to expensive at lowes and not big enough for the outlet.

I also managed to get some of the extension to my patio done and the joints filled so they dont move. They are not perfectly flat and am ok with that for this extension, i want the water to run off towards the end and not the pond.

 

[sissy]

yeh I had to order mine from pet mountain .com .I got my first one at tractor supply 19 dollars and went to a plumbing supply store and they were sold out of the size I needed 8 dollars there .I have been using the sump pump hose and a harbor freight pump for a couple of years now .It is similar to the laguna one and uses 150 watts

 

[sentrek]

Well, I made some more progress. I need to rethink my filter though, I am not going to have enough rocks to hide the blue barrel like i wanted too, ecspecially since i put the drain on the bottom and have to build it up off the ground. I think I am going to go with one of those rectangular tubs. Anyway, here it is so far. I will be shopping tomorrow night after work for a tub and pump.