Please rate this pond materials list

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I'm going for 2000 gallons roughly 3.5 feet deep with a 1 foot dropoff border around the pond itself. Elongated design, one large waterfall and ready for fish

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Probably going to hire a few workers to dig it out in this horrible clay soil we have down here.

One question, going for Oaklahoma flagstone for the waterfall and want it close to my covered patio to enjoy during the summer but the backyard is somewhat larger than the point so the back of the waterfalls will be in the middle of the yard. Whats the best way to camoflauge the backside since if you are walking around it will be noticeable. Ideas welcome :)
 

fishin4cars

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Won't get a 8x10 with a 15x15 liners at that deep, 3.5 + 3.5 + 8= 15, that's no room for holding your liner down. 3.5 + 3.5 +10= 17 with no room to hold liner down. At best your actual hole can be no larger than 7'x7' if your going 3.5 feet deep. make sure you leave your self enough room around the side to secure or set the outer edge of the liner, even with that you only have six inches of play and that's it, ALL the way around.
 

fishin4cars

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Here is the best way I can tell you.
You add the depth twice once for each side and add 2 that gives you one foot to secure the liner on each side and the depth of the pond. Then you can figure your length and width. Note; Experienced pond builders will tell you it's best to dig the hole and then order the liner to fit.
If you want a 8 x 10 pond you will need 1+1 +3.5 + 3.5 +8= 17 By 1+1+3.5+3.5+10 =19
17x19 liner so yes 20 x 20 is really what you need for that depth and size, Could go 9x11 and be a little bigger and still stay within range.
 

fishin4cars

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BTW this will give an aprox size of 1650 gallons, actually a little less if you put the shelves in but that gives you a start to know what your dealing with, the pump your planning on using is actually a little over rated but better that than under, so much more you can do with extra pumping capacity.
 

hewhoisatpeace

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Well, if it were me, I'd scrap the list. Fishin4cars got you well grounded in liner sizing, which is a good start.

Shelves: I'd discourage them. I'm currently removing mine in my 3000g. A better idea would be to have straight walled sides, with a sloping bottom, either to the center (say, from 2' deep at edge to 4' deep at center) or to one end (again, from 2' to 4' deep). Shelves just provide an area for predators to access your pond. You can always put plants on milk crates a little off the edge.

At that deep point, I'd put a bottom drain. They're really easy to install when building a new pond. The bottom of your pond will develop a carpet of algae (not the green water kind, but good stuff) and fish crap (bad). With the sloped design, any water gravity will cause the fish crap to collect at the low point (where the bottom drain (BD) is, so it can be removed.

Okay, with that settled, save money on the underlayment and use old carpet (synthetic fibers, though, not wool or anything natural), make very certain the old staples are removed.

For lights, I'd use low voltage LEDs. They're brighter, use much less energy, and the bulbs will never burn out.


The waterfall foam: Use Great Stuff, from Lowes or HD. Less than half the cost, dries dull yellow, but here's the rub with that: if it's underwater, it'll develop carpet algae, too. If it is exposed to the air and sun, you'll have to paint either color of foam to defend it from long term UV damage, so just use the cheap version.

Filter: You could build a DIY filter easily for a tenth of that price, put a 9W UV in for around 60-75 bucks. Just use textured strapping for filter media, really cheap, check out the sticky threads in construction to see a few. My advice would be to invest, though, in real Matala pads for prefiltering the water before it goes into your biofilter. Fish poop is not really good for a biofilter.

Spiral nonkink tubing: PVC is a lot cheaper, and 2' flex PVC (available at any hardware) is excellent & can use standard PVC fittings, which will give you more options down the line.

Pump: Lots of people will have lots of opinions about pumps, and here's mine: My money is on external pumps. They last longer if cared for, they're crazy efficient, they keep high voltage electricity away from the water, just use a leaf basket and you never have to haul a clogged up pump out of the water to figure out what's wrong with it, you can look right at it. Advice is, for ease of use, mount it in a little pit below water level, inside a big tote with lid, you can cut your pipe entry and exit out of it, etc, and that will keep it protected from rain and out of sight.

To camoflage the back of your setup, use the dirt from digging the pond, or concrete blocks, or lattice, or shrubs. Whatever you want, just make sure you can easily get back there for maintenance.

Whew, lot of info, but wait and hear some other ideas, too, before starting. And, good luck! If you don't really get any of this, just ask. Welcome!
 

addy1

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Laughing Will you saved me a lot of typing! thanks

Also dig first buy liner second! That way you get the right size for the hole you ended up with.
If you are doing koi you want more water then less and in texas it is hot, you want to be deep to keep the water cooler for the fish. My arizona pond is 5 feet or so deep, it stays around 85 all summer.
 
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I wouldn't buy anything till you start digging. I know as I went along digging plans changed and as I did research I changed my mind on lots of things.

I'd also be concerned about that kind of gph with that filter. Not sure what it can handle but the pressurized ones are very particular and they will crack if you run too much through them so put a valve before filter or bypass but it still might be too much. Plus pressurized filters really slow down your flow on the outflow so it can mess with your waterfall or whatever return you have. Also if you have a uv in the filter you want the water going at their recommended speed or lower so it has time to do it's job.

Good luck and have fun!
 

sissy

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true my liner was 20x20 and my pond my pond is 8x12 and 4feet deep and some extra on the side too and true about led lights I used the others and they give off a lot of heat also and the seal leaked and I had to put silicone around them to seal them better .The liner I bought from the guy was listed as 15x20 but when I measured it it was 20x20
 

hewhoisatpeace

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evesta said:
I wouldn't buy anything till you start digging. I know as I went along digging plans changed and as I did research I changed my mind on lots of things.
!

Good call! I went from my initial dig of about 500g, and added, and added, until I had a hand dug 3000g pond. Less than a year passed before I began planning the expansion I'm currently working on.
 
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Another tip with liners. After the hole is dug and you purchase the liner if you have any excess don't cut it off. Turn it under to the size you want. This way if you ever want to change it you have more liner to work with.
 

addy1

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Mrshkoiluver said:
Another tip with liners. After the hole is dug and you purchase the liner if you have any excess don't cut it off. Turn it under to the size you want. This way if you ever want to change it you have more liner to work with.


Not cutting extra liner has saved me many times, fold under and bury, it is there when you need it.
 

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