Newbie Questions

[dollarz81]

Hello everyone. I am starting to build my first pond. I have no experience except for what I have read online. The pond is 15'x10'x2-3' roughly. I have the hole dug. I ordered the pond liner from ebay...4 mils 15'x20'. I have yet to get any of the equipment. I have a few books and a video on building ponds on the way.

My qustions are these.....

1. Should I use a biological filter or UV filter. I want clear water, plan on having a few koi and goldfish. Also a few plants.

2. Should there be rocks covering the bottom of the pond?

Thanx.

 

[koiguy1969]

welcome to the forum, question #1 definately use a biofilter, if you plan on fish. a good bio filter will do the most good for the pond, and if you make it yourself,will cost much less than a store bought and usually be much more efficient,with the right design. u.v clarifiers also serve their purpose well. they should be between the pump and biofilter
the u.v will kill the algea,and the biofilter will feed on it. question #2 it looks nice to have a rock bottom, but not all that long and you'll have to drain the pond annually to clean out the bottom. bad bacteria will flurish in the debris that will accumulate in the rocks. it will become toxic to your fish.

 

[pondlady]

Use both kinds bio and uv. Do not put rocks on the bottom you will soon hate them and will want to remove them. Save yourself the work, Don't do it.

 

[dollarz81]

Use both kinds bio and uv. Do not put rocks on the bottom you will soon hate them and will want to remove them. Save yourself the work, Don't do it.

I was told the UV would kill all the beneficial bacterial in the biological filter. Could someone recommend a skimmer,filter, waterfall, and pump. I think I wanna be about 3500-5000 GPH. Should I get a filter waterfall of a waterfall weir and a seperate skimmer. Sorry for all the nwbie questions, just want to make sure I get it right the first time.

 

[koiguy1969]

U.V.s kill algea not good bacteria, the u.v light is self contained and doesnt touch the bacteria in your filter. good bacterias colonize on hard surfaces(the filter media) in the filter. i skim by hand each morning, with my morning coffee, but there is no such thing as too much filter..your pump should turn over your ponds water volume at least once every 2 hours, closer to once every hour is great. check out the "skippy" style 55 gallon drum filters in this forum, or google "skippy filter" for easy diy plans for a great filter, better than most store bought.

 

[mister2driver]

I'm new to al this as well. I was thinking also about the rocks for the bottom. But if I were to use a pond vac to reach the low areas regularly it is still adviseable?

 

[koiguy1969]

NO ROCKS on bottom unless they are scattered and larger than 3-4" gravel or small stones will gather debri and fish waste not to mention the bad bacteria that will thrive in those conditions. parasites might find a home there also before finding a host fish to latch onto. you will have to commit yourself to atleast yearly removal of smaller stones for cleaning. save the labor and health threat to your fish and stay bare bottomed, the liner will coat with a layer of beneficial bacteria and algea and look pretty natural in due course.

 

[dollarz81]

I know we are beating a dead horse, but what about mortaring some flat or large stones to the bottom so there are no crvaces for the filth to accumulate?

 

[koiguy1969]

the mortar or concrete idea is something i couldnt comment on personally, but as just to say it may crack,and cut the liner as the soil underneath rises and settles. but usually its one or the other liner or concrete, not both. and you would have to wait before fish go in, so the concrete can finish leeching its toxins into the water. fill-drain, fill-drain... my guess is NO, i wouldnt.

 

[pondlady]

There is a great disagreement over gravel bottoms in ponds. Most who start out with them soon realize they made a big mistake and now they have to figure out how to get them out. A few larger stones around the bottom is ok. Save yourself a lot of trouble and just don't put gravel on the bottom it turns in to a sewer and starts killing your fish. Cleaning is a horid job. Past mistake talking here. Don't let anyone talk you in to this just say NO.

 

[mister2driver]

Okay, no rocks on the bottom of my pond and fish. This saves me from collecting rocks.

 

[Kaysavage]

Your pond sounds great. I agree with the others and would avoid putting rocks at the bottom as this could cause too much work and eventually harm your fish if you can't keep the rocks clean.

DIY filters are really easy to build so why not give it a try!

Good luck

Can't wait to see the photos of the finished pond!

 

[DrCase]

I would still collect the rocks ...and place them around the outside of the pond..

 

[dollarz81]

Progress is slowly being made. Used google sketch to make a 3d rendering of the pond.

 

[pondlady]

OH man how cool is that! Can you give a link for that program? I could sure use a tool like that. WOW So COOL