Pond Pics

[Mr. Green Frog]

Realized I had a few pics from when I dug my pond last year, and thought I'd share and maybe inspire someone to dig their own. Rented a Kubota U35 mini excavator with a 24" bucket, spent an hour messing around to get used to it, then started digging. Bought 16 tons of what's called "601" limestone (used 601b, 601c, and 601d), locally, from a quarry/rock provider that makes/provides asphalt, sells hundreds of tons of varying gravel like no.9, no.9, no. 57, etc., to boulders, etc.; not talking about the local landscape place that marks everything up 1k %) and hand laid every stone to fit. Filled floor/bottom with the smaller 4" to 8" and then staggered and stacked the walls with the 6" to 12"+ with each stone providing overlap to the one below it. Being a glutton for punishment, did all that with a wheelbarrow and dumping it over the edge or tossing it down individually, then hand placing each one if you can believe it. Hole dug was kidney bean shaped, with a shallow end and deep end, with entire hole being clay. Doesn't seep any water, so no actual liner was used but all the stone keeps the ground in check (so far). Shallow end is 2-3' with stones in place, depending on water level, and deep end is 12' at it's deepest point in a small 4' x 4' sump pit for the pump. Nominally, the deep end is between 7 and 10' deep. Hard to measure volume, but believe there's between 10k and 15k gallons going by how long it takes to fully drain the pond with a 4500 gph pump with the ability to add more water bringing it closer to 20k.

Early pic with green water was rainfall water that had to be pumped out during the build. I peeled grass/sod with a spade shovel and patience from along my driveway where a 4' by 30' planter box got built, and placed it over the bank mounds which worked really nicely. Perimeter mounds were over built and taller than normal, just to give extra cushion in case of heavy flash flooding which is getting really common now. Don't have pics of the rock getting placed, but 16 tons in the driveway took forever to move and still had 1-2 ton left over of the smaller stuff. Never did anything like this before, nor anything of this scale, but well worth it. I climb in now and sit on one of the boulders and watch the frogs to relax.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

And here's some finished pics. I transplanted wild flowers any time one popped up and have been letting the grass grow on the banks to mimic a natural look as best as possible. Frogs love the area and hide in the rocks and tall grass, etc..

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

Water is just getting recirculated at the moment to provide oxygen. Have 55 gallon food grade drums that'll be converted into a diy a filter system. Already have lava rocks, poly fill, etc..

Ponds this size are definitely not for everyone, but well worth it for some. Surprisingly low maintenance right now though filter will add to that. Always wanted a lake to live on, but this will suffice! Don't be afraid to tackle something new.

 

[Jhn]

Looks good,

A couple of ideas… If it were me I would dump the drum Filters and just dig an upflow bog for a filter in your pond, it will do a much better job than any other filter system, it will also let you hide your plumbing and water return ie creating a waterfall or a stream Or both. Do a search here many of us have built them. Use pea gravel not angular stone like 57’s.

Add some type of intake bay or negative edge/skimmer to put your pump into feed whatever filter system you come up with. It is going to be a pita to clean that pump sitting on the lowest point in the bottom as the pond matures and plant debris starts sinking to the bottom.

 

[addy1]

Very nice!

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

Looks good,

A couple of ideas… If it were me I would dump the drum Filters and just dig an upflow bog for a filter in your pond, it will do a much better job than any other filter system, it will also let you hide your plumbing and water return ie creating a waterfall or a stream Or both. Do a search here many of us have built them. Use pea gravel not angular stone like 57’s.

Add some type of intake bay or negative edge/skimmer to put your pump into feed whatever filter system you come up with. It is going to be a pita to clean that pump sitting on the lowest point in the bottom as the pond matures and plant debris starts sinking to the bottom.

The original idea was to have an uphill, small secondary basin where all the filtering would take place but that got scrapped. Wasn't even aware of these types of forums at the time of digging, or would have probably planned something else.

As it stands now, I can unhook and then pull the pvc and pump lifts up/out with it in about 10 seconds. Has a prefilter at the moment but plan on expanding that filter to incorporate the porous media that you use to block leaves in a gutter from hitting the downspout. Thinking of removing sections of a 5 gallon with a cut-off wheel, but leaving a structural skeleton and lid intact, run pvc through lid via fittings, and pack strips of that downspout media in there as a more robust prefilter. Probably won't work, but won't know unless trying it. Have unions (and about 90' of pvc sitting in a pile lol) as it was originally going to be all underground, but figure I can crack a union loose, pull pump assembly out still attached to 8' section, similar to the way it does now, inspect/clean/repair/replace, etc. fairly fuss-free. If that prefilter assembly ends up working, would be fairly straight-forward to carefully lift up and to the shore, pull media, clean or replace, stuff back in, and sink it.

Plan now, was to build a small, basic dock at some point, sitting directly over the deepest end, which would conceal any visible piping while still permitting access to it. Considering building a small chicken coop-esque building to stick the drum in, insulate/wrap the drum with fiberglass mat, and run heat tape in it and around pipe, and let it run all winter. Would also be a spot to run a bypass off of in case of emergency draining to a discharge hose.

Thanks for the advice though. Having run aquariums in the past, I know how messy the gravel can get with normal filtration set ups. Right now, I just need to get filtration on there as I have to get ready to do some exterior wall repairs on the house so time is limited.

For what it's worth, after thinking back to the aquariums I used to clean, suppose I could mount a 4" pvc pipe to the end of a garden hose via a fitting on a pipe cap, create suction, and pull out immediate debris. Or maybe buy a cheap small pond pump for under $20 and run a hose off that and create a small floor cleaner.... Lot to think about!

 

[Laaf]

If you enjoy the frogs you will really enjoy goldfish/shubunkins. They are very social and interactive. Especially when they realize you bring food. That is what I would add. It is fun to see all of the colors. And you will likely be able to recognize individual fish......until you get too many. My fish are much more active and entertaining than the frogs and toads that show up. ((Yes they likely eat each other on occassion, but I figure it will reach an equilibrium over time))

Many people report minimal maintenance for the pea gravel bog once established. And with a waterfall edge back into your pond, it will add aeration. It is definitely less maintenance than washing filters.

Thanks for all of the pics. It really adds perspective to see the progress shots in the yard, versus close ups of just the rocked pond.

I think pond staring is a great use of time!

 

[combatwombat]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing your build. Agree w/ everyone about the bog. Such an excellent filter for this type of pond.

As for cleaning sludge from the bottom, you could be very successful w/ a portable air lift pump with your depth. Check out David Pagan Butler on Youtube. He has a few tutorials for how to build them. Very cheap to build and operate. Very effective sludge suckers.

Keep us updated.

 

[brokensword]

The original idea was to have an uphill, small secondary basin where all the filtering would take place but that got scrapped. Wasn't even aware of these types of forums at the time of digging, or would have probably planned something else.

As it stands now, I can unhook and then pull the pvc and pump lifts up/out with it in about 10 seconds. Has a prefilter at the moment but plan on expanding that filter to incorporate the porous media that you use to block leaves in a gutter from hitting the downspout. Thinking of removing sections of a 5 gallon with a cut-off wheel, but leaving a structural skeleton and lid intact, run pvc through lid via fittings, and pack strips of that downspout media in there as a more robust prefilter. Probably won't work, but won't know unless trying it. Have unions (and about 90' of pvc sitting in a pile lol) as it was originally going to be all underground, but figure I can crack a union loose, pull pump assembly out still attached to 8' section, similar to the way it does now, inspect/clean/repair/replace, etc. fairly fuss-free. If that prefilter assembly ends up working, would be fairly straight-forward to carefully lift up and to the shore, pull media, clean or replace, stuff back in, and sink it.

Plan now, was to build a small, basic dock at some point, sitting directly over the deepest end, which would conceal any visible piping while still permitting access to it. Considering building a small chicken coop-esque building to stick the drum in, insulate/wrap the drum with fiberglass mat, and run heat tape in it and around pipe, and let it run all winter. Would also be a spot to run a bypass off of in case of emergency draining to a discharge hose.

Thanks for the advice though. Having run aquariums in the past, I know how messy the gravel can get with normal filtration set ups. Right now, I just need to get filtration on there as I have to get ready to do some exterior wall repairs on the house so time is limited.

For what it's worth, after thinking back to the aquariums I used to clean, suppose I could mount a 4" pvc pipe to the end of a garden hose via a fitting on a pipe cap, create suction, and pull out immediate debris. Or maybe buy a cheap small pond pump for under $20 and run a hose off that and create a small floor cleaner.... Lot to think about!

this; this is why I'm pro bog. Everything you wrote is non-existent with bog filtration. But, some like messing around with their pond gear, so who am I to say...

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

Thanks again for the filtration tips. While technically having the room, it'd be a bigger job than I can, or would want to handle right now and would require a massive overhaul of the yard that was just extensively reworked (raised rear of yard almost 3') plus rework what would probably be the rear of the pond, which would be a nightmare with the rocks seated in clay now.

I can live with messy filters at this point.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

Ended up having a couple pics of the rock placement after all. Probably about 14 ton in the pond going by what was left over. Dumped 16 ton in the driveway on tarps and rubber, then hand loaded a wheel barrow, and tossed each rock down from it (actually went quicker than you'd think) then set them, repeat. Too much weight getting over raised edges and it rained constantly, and was sick of pushing it in the mud. Less rocks per load would have dragged it out. Manned up and just had at it. The 100-200 pound rocks were dragged on a dolly and held in place with ratchet strapping, lifted to the edge and rolled down, then muscled into place. The scattered broken concrete chunks in the "before" pic were a temp fix as it wouldn't stop raining after digging, but before limestone was acquired. Those were mostly removed later though some were left for stability as they sunk in.

All the water in the pond was straight up rain water (over 5k gallons) after digging it. Pond was drained a few times down to the sump level after limestone was added to try and get as much initial contaminants and leaching out (have a ton of green frogs now and fresh egg laying yesterday from a big female that showed up, and most of the gray frog tadpoles are just now leaving the water as tiny frogs on the lily pads; snails are getting bigger, and numerous water bugs + new vegetation IN the pond; they don't seem to care about the limestone which was a concern). However, some limestone leftover was left exposed on tarps in driveway over winter, and THAT caused a bunch of bleaching on some burned, wooden planter boxes running along the driveway, to the point you can't even tell it was burned anymore.

Deliberately high grass/weeds/shrubs/etc. now for privacy and anything living down there can hide in it and you can sit next to the water w/o seeing anything over the top. Also letting it do what it wants to fill in quicker, and like the "in the middle of nowhere" look that doesn't need constant maintenance. Bonus boon is all the random plants and flowers that just appear out of nowhere and the interesting bugs they bring in like a dragonfly that was patrolling the surface for several hours yesterday. However Japanese beetles were excessive this season. Had 50+ on one flowering shrub. Then more on willow tree. No traps nearby so dunno what's pulling them in like that. Got lucky and found some wilting cat tails up the road in a drainage ditch so snagged some and blew the seed tufts everywhere so hopefully some will take. Getting extremely long grass sprouts shooting up in the shallow and deeper ends now, so pretty amazing having something akin to a micro lake forming in your yard!

Anyhow, maybe someone will find something useful in all that.