pond building

[scottb]

Help Needed.
I need to rebuild my pond to 9'x8x5' 3feet of which will be below ground level and 2' above this will be built with concrete blocks what I need to know is will it be strong enough built single course or will there be too much water pressure?

 

[sissy]

that will depend on your sight and posting pics will help everyone know where you planning your pond and how to plan .So if you can please post pics .Where is wolverhampton and what your climate is like will help also .

 

[scottb]

Wolverhampton is in the middle of the uk the site for the pond will be in a shaded corner of my wooden panel fenced off garden. Do you think it would be wise to build it double skinned above and just a single course below ground level.

 

[sissy]

Do you get a lot of standing water at all or is the soil sandy .I do not know much but when one of the moderators come on they may be able to tell you more .What you need to state is soil type is your property lower or higher where the pond is going and does it drain well or hold water and what your temperatures are an average I guess would help .Do you already have electric to the sight and also if not how you plan on running it there and what kind of fish and how many fish you plan on having .How is your other pond built and how has it held up will help also .

 

[scottb]

There is no standing water to speak of but you do get the odd little puddle now and then temp wise summer around the 22c avarage. Winter anything to -5c. Power already there has been for the last 4 years cable is buried in the ground in plastic pipe. My original pond has been up for 4 yrs with 2.5ft above ground and still standing with no problems. Im not planning on buying anymore fish just housing the ones i already have, 1 stergeon 2 goldfish 3 orf and 5 koi.

 

[mogsie]

below ground imagine a single course would be sufficiant, you could double course above ground just to make sure,personally i would single course the top also using 4 inch solids, but your not looking at much work to put an extra course up ! youle only be looking at 3 blocks high as 2 blocks would be short of 2 foot ! make sure you got a good footing in for it also, you want a good strong foundation ! with solids i would use a strong mix 3/1 or even 2/1,

 

[sissy]

that seems like a lot of fish for such a small pond they are going to outgrow it fast .I have 2 I bought 6 years ago and they are both close to 2 feet and you also may get babies .I just found after winter that I now have 7 new babies and last year I got twelve but was lucky my neighbors decided to build a pond so they got free fish and another neighbor took 5 for there pond the new babies are about an inch or 2 long

 

[scottb]

thats why I need to build a new pond. I shall leave the goldies and orf in the old pond and move the koi and sturgeon into the new one as I say Im not planning on getting any new just more room for the ones I have

 

[sissy]

It's not that you plan on getting any new ,your koi will breed and give you new ones .When I started my spring clean out I was amazed at finding 7 more fish .I have no clue hoe I'm going to find homes for the new babies .My first 2 koi are not getting any smaller .I just went out to test my pond water and I'm always afraid to count the fish as there may be more .:fish::fish::fish::fish::fish::fish::fish::fish::fish::fish::fish::fish:they just multiply when I'm not looking :surprised: just how fast they multiply

 

[scottb]

That's where I'm kind of lucky my local garden centre will take any fish off my hands and pay me for them in the way of fish food, plants and such like.
I would like to dig up half the back garden to house my new pond but the wife ain't that keen on my fish so that's out the question

 

[sissy]

I can understand that and you are lucky to have a garden center do that .You will find some great info on this sight for products that are cheaper than the store bought stuff .I love all the info here .I have made 2 plants rings as my fish destroy all my plants . I raised my pond up 6 inches all around to give the fish better oxygen in the winter by going deeper helps that .You will find all the info here will save you a lot of money .I'm glad mogsie answered your question as I did not want to give you info that was wrong for the country you live in .

 

[addy1]

That will be a nice size scottb, the depth will help the fish out in the cold and heat.

Post some pictures of where you are building it and the current ones, gives us a good idea of what you are doing and you never know we might have some good thoughts too LOL

Usually the water weight will take care of the below ground part. Mine is just dirt walls, never has been an issue, but we are a clay mix no sand. The above ground part needs the strength to handle the water pushing on it and any snow ice load.

Your fish will love the bigger area (send your wife shopping and opps dig it a little bigger lol)

The deeper water also protects against bird attacks etc.

 

[sissy]

even better dig it bigger but tell her it's the size you said it was going to be .Addy's idea is good .But may be the dog house for you .

 

[DoDad]

Back to the original question.
The blocks should be on a footer at least 4" deep, I would make it 6.
Put vertical rebar in one cell of each block. I f the rebar thing is to hard to figure when pouring the footer y, after the concrete set up lay block all around the footer like your going to build the pond walls and using a concrete drill the same size as your rebar drill one hole in one cell of each block a few inches deep. Cut your rebar to length and drive inti the footer with a hammer. This is the way I did it. I saved a lot of time laying block by dry stacking it.
on the bottom row put construction adhesive on the bottom of the block and lay it on the footer as if you used mortar. For the next row put adhesive on the top of the first row and lay your block a if you were using mortar. Do the same till you have the walls as high as you want them.
After that wait a couple of days lay your block and fill all the cells with concrete.

 

[mogsie]

that sounds like eastern european building style to me dodad !! the wall is only 2ft high above ground level i dont in my (15 yrs construction industry) opinion think he will need rebar !! and would be much better to build with solids instead of hollows ! the hollows we use in uk are not designed for infill concrete pouring ! adhesive ??? all rows should be laid on cement/mortar !oh and i agree that the footer/ foundations should be 6" deep minimum,