noob in need.

[forgottenalarm]

Hey, i have recently decided to start a smallish pond in my backyard. I have read and learned countless info from this site and others and i would love for someone to tell me im doing this right before i break ground this week. I am going to build a 5' wide x 8' long x 4' deep pond in my back yard. Im using landscaping timbers to make a 1 foot box above ground (secured by rebar) and dig down the 3 feet to get away from hot summer temps and freezing winter temps for the koi (im in maryland on the 6 and 7 zone lines). I went and picked up the lowes tetra stock of: a wgp1900 gph pump, a pfl1500 bio pressure filter and two pps2 pre filters. The custom waterfall will be within the water level foot. I also am ordering my 45 mil firestone liner and padding material.
So far i dont feel i will need a uv light due to it getting only 5 hours of direct sunlight (rest is shaded by a tree and my house) and im going to be putting a net over it for the leaves and debris.
I also read that there should be one koi per 260 ish gallons meaning i can have about 5 or 6 koi (nothing else).

I am still seeking the answer to 1 question though. Is it worth it for me to get some plants in this thing?

thanks in advance

 

[talal101]

You will deffinately need plants, you would be surprised how much algae can grow even with minimum light in the pond algae can still grow but algae is not you main concern it's water quality, koi need and thrive in highly oxygenated water and plants are there to do that, and also plants provide safety for the fish but you gotta be careful because koi eat plants so you might have to try plant rings

 

[addy1]

You may want to use the pressure treated wood, landscape timbers get eaten alive by termites here in maryland.

There has been a lot of discussion about pressure filters, it seems a lot do not like them. I know nothing about the lowes one.

You will have to protect the plants from the koi, they love to eat them.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[forgottenalarm]

Thanks for the input. im heading to valley view farms to look at what they have. im debating on the wood now. maybe ill dig it all by hand, cut up the roots of the tree and install rocks and have it straight 4 ft into the ground....

 

[taherrmann4]

I would wait on the UV light, I don't have one and I used to get all sun until my tree finially started to shade it a bit, I am in zone 6 and it can get very hot and humid here and my pond has done pretty well once I got it going and put plants in it. Don't underestimate the usage of plants to help with the algae.

 

[DrDave]

If you have been following this forum, why would you buy a pressure filter???:regular_waving_emot

 

[vertigo72]

Don't underestimate the usage of plants to help with the algae.

Plants and algae compete for the same nutrition (mostly nitrates). Whatever plants assimilate isnt there for algae (and vice versa). Having algae in your pond isnt bad for fish - as long as its not extreme, as extreme algae growth will lead to extreme algae death and that is not good. But for some reason most people prefer to see plants in clear water rather than green pea soup or underwater string jungle

edit: oops, I misread. I thought you wrote "dont understand" instead of "dont underestimate". Point still stands, but you already knew it :regular_waving_emot

 

[forgottenalarm]

If you have been following this forum, why would you buy a pressure filter???

Im taking everything back and redesigning everything.

Its going to be a 5x9x4 ft deep with no wood. This will be fun using only a shovel.......

Im building a filter out of a 55 gallon drum as long as my source stays true.
when i learn more about how it works, i will decide on what i will be tossing in them.
Im gettting loads of rocks from where i grew up. slate is so abundant there it is still on roofs and sidewalks.

Now i just have to try to find a pump without going broke.

 

[addy1]

I had to use my tractor for my build we have so much shale hard to even plant a plant let alone dig a pond.

Post some pictures as you go! If you lived close enough I would come and dig it for you!

 

[forgottenalarm]

If you lived close enough I would come and dig it for you!

thanks for the offer, besides we are getting enough rain this week to loosen that clay up for me.

I will start getting pics tomorrow.
Just an update for anyone interested. i took everything back to lowes and got a 3600 gph pump. im building a filter out of 2 trash cans (the barrels that i was going to get had bad chemicalls in it).
First can will hold a bio media, probaly the poly strapping from warehouses since i can get that free. the second will probably hold a couple floor scrubber pads seperated every few inches.

 

[forgottenalarm]

greystone creations on ebay has a 15 x 20 firestone epdm 45 mil liner and underlayment for 252 with free shipping.


lol,my wife is going to kill me....

 

[talal101]

darn that is expensive, i would never pay 1.19 per square foot {if i calculated that correctley}, i really think you should look elsewhere for a liner

 

[addy1]

You may want to dig first then buy the liner, just in case things change as you go.

 

[forgottenalarm]

darn that is expensive, i would never pay 1.19 per square foot {if i calculated that correctley}, i really think you should look elsewhere for a liner

I looked for 2 hours. ebay, craigslist, all the sites listed in the forums.

I think it went up with the gass prices.

You may want to dig first then buy the liner, just in case things change as you go.

If worse comes to worse, im going to do a 5 x 7 above ground on a concrete slap in my back yard. i would rather not though.


i woke up in a better mindset- Rather pay more (since my tax money is in) and do it right then to have a leaky pond next summer.

 

[addy1]

Just make sure you get a good liner, I like the stuff from bend tarp and liner.