Pond Dig Beginning

[blueeyes_austin]

I've begun my pond dig; attached is a general plan for the pond.

Surface area of the main part of the pond is going to be 45 to 50 square feet, plus a river and bog and weir--total size is going to be between 900 and 1,200 square feet, best guess. Will have straight sides and a pond liner.

This is not intended to be a koi pond--I am planning on gold fish. The pond is largely shaded by large oak trees.

Filtration I am planning:
4" bottom drain + skimmer
55 gallon vortex drum
55 gallon bio filter drum
Skimmer and bottom drain to single pump, returns to waterfall/bog

So, some questions
1) Is the pond big enough to support a 4" bottom drain?
2) Will the river coming in create sufficient swirl to avoid needing a tph return?
3) Anything to watch out for in linking the skimmer and bottom drain pipes?
4) What size pump should I be looking at?
5) My filter pit will be separated from the pond by the liner over a short cinderblock wall. Anything to watch out for with this?
6) Anything I am missing?

Thanks in advance!

 

[addy1]

Well sounds like you are thinking it out well! They do like an intro in the introduction thread first.........

But welcome!

Will have to think on all you are asking, you will get a lot of opinions. lol

 

[fishin4cars]

Hello, Please post a introduction, Then we will try to see what we can answer.

 

[taherrmann4]

Welcome to GPF!!!!

 

[blueeyes_austin]

Hello, Please post a introduction, Then we will try to see what we can answer.

Done!

 

[fishin4cars]

Thank you for posting a Introduction! Lets get started, can you give us the actual depth width and length of the planned pond. I'm not real good at calculating sq. feet. from what I'm reading your plans are good at this point, I'll try and answer better your questions when I can get a better idea what size were working with.

 

[blueeyes_austin]

Thank you for posting a Introduction! Lets get started, can you give us the actual depth width and length of the planned pond. I'm not real good at calculating sq. feet. from what I'm reading your plans are good at this point, I'll try and answer better your questions when I can get a better idea what size were working with.

Main pond is going to be a triangle roughly 10' by 10' by 14' and 4' deep.

 

[blueeyes_austin]

Here are some pictures of the basic area. The flagstone path is going to be ripped up and become the pond rim; the waterfall will be under the large tree.

 

[addy1]

Nice size pond,

I would say yes to the 4 inch drain.

I have my skimmer and bottom input coming into one pump, both will have a ball valve to adjust the flow to have more or less depending on what the pond needs.

 

[fishin4cars]

I've begun my pond dig; attached is a general plan for the pond.

Surface area of the main part of the pond is going to be 45 to 50 square feet, plus a river and bog and weir--total size is going to be between 900 and 1,200 square feet, best guess. Will have straight sides and a pond liner.

This is not intended to be a koi pond--I am planning on gold fish. The pond is largely shaded by large oak trees.

Filtration I am planning:
4" bottom drain + skimmer
55 gallon vortex drum
55 gallon bio filter drum
Skimmer and bottom drain to single pump, returns to waterfall/bog

So, some questions
1) Is the pond big enough to support a 4" bottom drain? Should be about perfect size for one 4" drain. Should be around 2000 gallons2) Will the river coming in create sufficient swirl to avoid needing a tph return? Should, You may want additional circulation but there are other ways to get additional current with TPR's Air assisted bottom drain is one and that in itself should help greatly3) Anything to watch out for in linking the skimmer and bottom drain pipes?4) What size pump should I be looking at?
5) My filter pit will be separated from the pond by the liner over a short cinderblock wall. Anything to watch out for with this?
6) Anything I am missing?

Thanks in advance!

Will need to see more on the design plan but sounds like your on the right track, have you considered what brand skimmer your going with, there are some differences between brands some do extra pre-filtering before going to the first chamber in your filters. some just remove the leaves and big stugg and you'll need the first chamber to get the next size gunk out before going to the bio-chamber.

 

[addy1]

#5 just make sure you put some good underlayment on the cement wall to protect the liner. ow it will work fine.

 

[blueeyes_austin]

Ok, been digging since this morning. I've got a layer of topsoil followed by a layer of sand and rounded rocks, some up to a pound or two (I knew there used to be an old spring several doors down). Been keeping those aside for the waterfall and creek and looking for Indian stonework (I've found some in the past).

At about a foot and a half I hit a dense clay level; unclear how deep this will go. Poking around on some Travis County geology sites it seems like this clay is going to be Bentonite. So my thought is to take the excavated clay and use it to create the mound for the waterfall and stream--compacted and molded that ought to be pretty darn water impermeable and perhaps I can avoid a liner for the waterfall/stream.

I'm thinking of changing the waterfall hill to take the place of an old raised bed, in picture 2.

 

[addy1]

that would look nice! I would mold the clay and do a good test of how well it does. We have clay but mixed with a lot of shale and dirt so ours holds water for a little then it is gone.

Going to be great when you are done!

 

[j.w]

Woo hoo let the games begin.....................looks like hard work and will be well worth all the effort when you are done.................ice packs, ben gay and lots of Ibuprophen :lol:

 

[addy1]

and a few good drinks sitting looking at what you have done to convince yourself to go on .....................lol