Newbie Build and Question Thread...

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rebelangel_3733 said:
looks darn good if you ask me great work! cant wait til we see the falls running!
Thank You, its been a long time coming, I actually started digging the hole last fall! Unfortunately the waterfall has been delayed at least 2 days probably, my 1 1/2 bulkhead with the 1 1/4 hose fitting was a big enough outlet, the pump would overflow the filter even with the ball valve almost completely closed. So I made my own outlet, but i have to wait for all the sealent to cure so i can test it, then i have to wait for the rocks to dry so i can stack them back up and seal them again with foam (I need to get another dam can of waterfall foam).

cr8tivguy said:
Thank you for taking us all on your pond building adventure! Your pond is looking so good! I wish I would have documented my build a bit better. I was sitting on my patio last night with some friends-the waterfall was going (wonderful sound); the pond was illuminated and the trees were lit up. You could see the water reflecting on the side of the shed. Dang it was beautiful.

And just 6 weeks ago, I was just starting to "think" about putting in a small sitting wall.
Thank You, It should look a ton better once i get the patio and landscaping done and some plants planted, but that will be awhile as I will be busy the next 3 weekends (not on the pond but other commitments).
I document a lot of things on the web, forums are a great place to share projects and get advice, criticism, and of course praises.

Sheetmetalman said:
I think you did a great job, Sentrek and although I dont think your filter will be big enough over the long haul, I also have been a big proponet of building what you can afford now and adding to it with bigger and better later. My own opinion on it is to PLAN and THINK hard on what you want LONG TERM and then build NOW with that in mind. What I mean by that is a little of what Sissy has said and a little of what Deiselplower has said. When I built my pond I tried to be on the tightest budget I could, like Sissy said she did, I did it all---Craigslist for my slabs of waterfall granite, store closeouts for skippy filter parts, adapting things for pond use that were designed for other uses, walking creeks for rocks, carpet store dumpsters for used carpet and pads to use for pond liner underlayments, and driving 100s of miles to get the cheapest price for a pond quality rubber liner When I built my 5000 gal. pond I just jumped in with no thought or planning what-so-ever, bought a liner and started hand digging the hole. HI-HO here I go---but then I ran into a GIANT oak stump underground, suddenly after chopping and digging around that stump my little pond I was building had morphed into a huge 10x10 foot by 6 foot deep hole and the liner I had bought for a 4x6 foot by 3 foot deep pond of course wouldnt fit. Nothing will make you reevaluate your pond like nearly 2 months of digging and chopping, LOL--so I set down the shovel, took the little liner back to Home Depot and decided that I WAS'NT going to feel that big hole in, that even though my money was budgeted for a small pond, I was going to build a BIG pond on a SMALL budget. THATS when I used the best tool any of us have, our brain--I began to plan and think of every cost saving Idea I could to make my new large plan a reality, but I also tried to think of my pond needs in the future and plan that into the design. Deiselplower's right--you will probably have to change to a bigger filter later--so PLAN for that now, since your gonna have to bury your plumbing to the small filter make the spot in a place that has the size to accomadate the larger filter later and pipe is cheap so size it for the larger filter and pump you will need later and then you wont have to dig out small pipe to replace it with larger later. also when you run electricity to the pump site, bury wire larger enough for the largest pump you will ever need (all this saves doing it twice, costing you twice and tearing up patio blocks and established landscaping plants later)--worked for me, my first waterfall pump was a cheap john, 3400 gal. an hour pump that probably put out far less--now I run an intermediate priced pump that puts out around 3800--once I add my new Bog Filter this summer I will add a new 4 to 5000 gallon pump to feed the skippy and the new bog (in the space I planned for it next to the skippy when I built the pond) and my pipe I buried 3 seasons ago is big enough to supply BOTH filters. Thats what I'm trying to say in my long winded way-- I knew I couldnt afford big fancy pumps and all the filtering that I would need later but I didnt need all that early on --BUT I needed to plan for THAT later as my fish load grew) I do like your pond and think you did a great job, but in the pictures it looks like your rubber liner is below the level of your patio blocks--if so you may want to raise the rubber level above that or nasty surface water will find its way into your pond which can be bad if it carries lawn chemicals or worse into it. Good Luck, Tim
Tim, I appreciate all your input and advise, really. I have actually thought some aspects of this out, if the filter turns out not to be big enough then i will just pull all of the media out of it and fill it with dirt and use it as a planter box for some decorative plants of some kind and install a larger filter over on the left end. As for the plumbing to the filter my plan is to just conceal it with plants and mulch and not actually bury it, that way it is not to difficult to move, service, replace or whatever. as far as the electrical goes I plan to run a piece of conduit straight across the outside of the garage wall up under the soffit, straight across the fence (fence is flush with the wall), 90 straight down just on the other side of the gate and hide the box behind a plant of some kind. No, as far as going bigger in the future, even if i wanted to i really cant, my yard is small, the pavers you see and the pond takes up 1/3 of it, i have to keep the rest of it free and clear for the dog to have room to move and do her thing. Going bigger would be nice, but I really don't have the room for bigger. As for the liner being low, you are correct. there is a spot on the right side there where it is a little low, I plan to have at least a 12" wide band separating the pavers from the pond that i will plant something like monkey grass and fill in with much to hopefully can any water or anything from the patio, as far as lawn chemicals I don't use any, at least i haven't so far.

Here is my homemade spillway,
Its a piece of scrap flashing and made a backer plate out of some 12gauge aluminum I had laying around, not the prettiest thing but should easily handle the output I need (i hope).

0wha.jpg


89o7.jpg


nssq.jpg


2aqu.jpg
 

addy1

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Very nice, great spillway you made there! I have flashing never even thought of using it.
Love the water fall you made.

Give it some time, algae etc will accumulate on the black stuff and it will "disappear"
 
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Thanks, I actually redid the waterfall after shooting the video so it looks much better now. And I put a rock right in the middle of the spillway, it makes the waterfall a little wider. I just wish I would have thought of using that sooner, I would have saved myself about $30 in hose, bulkhead, pvc pipe, fittings ect, none of that stuff worked out. I will take another video of the complete waterfall after it has run a few days. I also bought some lavender musk that I plan to plant in pots on either side of the filter to help hide it. I hope it grows fast.
 

addy1

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I just used a small piece of 2 inch pvc pipe, put rocks over it to spread the flow and hide. used hole saw and some pl roofing goop to seal it in the barrel.
Used a t to divert some of the flow from the pump to it. Works for me since I did not want a ton of flow, the out of the shubbie tank is two 2 inch pvc pipes put in the same way, just some goop and a hole saw.



 
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Looks and sounds good, I wish i would have thought of my way sooner... would have saved a lot of time and money and aggravation but live and learn I guess. I will have lots of spare parts for future mods and fixes if needed. Your waterfall looks great, I would love something that long, but it wouldn't really match up to my small pond and my yard isnt big enough anyway. No my little sister on the other hand, well she has the real deal running right through her back yard, 30' from her back door, she lives right on the edge of Ravensburg State Park in PA. very beautiful... she is lucky.
 

sissy

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I double up my totes .Cut the handle off one and tuck it inside the other tote makes them sturdier as totes these days are made mostly from recycled plastic and it is weaker .I used 2 different colors and use this one now for my stock tank
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:52791]
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:52790]
 

sissy

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I also melted the tail piece coming out of mine and flattened it a little to spread the water flow out .It was posted on this sight II think by koiguy
 
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sissy said:
I also melted the tail piece coming out of mine and flattened it a little to spread the water flow out .It was posted on this sight II think by koiguy
I first tried taking a piece 1 1/2" pvc about 12" long and cutting a 1/4" wide by about 10" long slot in it, that might have worked if the flow out through the bulkhead, tank adapter, whatever you want to call it would have been fast enough. If that didn't work i was going to try flattening the end of piece like Koiguy did but I didn't really have enough room for all that sticking out the front of the filter anyway.
This thing I made ended up working surprisingly well. I will probably shoot another video of it tonight with all the rocks on it and running, even though the black foam will be very evident still since I just rebuilt it last night.
 
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Waterfall mostly done, I am going to add some more rocks to the left side to even it out some but waiting to get my plants back there. Unfortunately I still had a leak so I had to add some more foam on the backside so hopefully in the morning I can turn it on for good and get this water cleared up and ready for some fishys..
 

koiguy1969

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i didnt read all the posts, i dont know if this has already been adressed, but ... about the draining in the filter when you turn off your pump. its due to "SYPHON" affect. its draining back to the pond..you can drill a small hole in the down pipe just under the water level inside the filter. when the level drops a touch it will allow air into the pipe and break the syphon. you dont want that syphon occuring as it draws water back up from the bottom of the filter and can carry wastes with it.
 
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if it's dirty water it only takes no more than a day or two and you should see results.....at least I do with mine when I clean out my filter media :D
 
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Well, Like I said i'm not tech inclined but If that water drained into the pond from the rain and bough all that dirty with it, you might want to raise the lip (edge) of the pond.. It's fine if it rains into the pond but you don't want your pond leveled to where things can drain into it.

That's the impression I got from the picture, I could be wrong.

Also, you want pipe to be as wide as possible to prevent so much clogging. Just a suggestion.

I'm In Grand Prairie, If you ever want to visit, let me know.
 

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