Progress on my Pond!

[Stephen T.]

Streams should have a beginning and an end, right? So, my stream starts in a bog filter/spring look-a-like area, flows to a small pond, then 30' of stream and a larger (750 gallon) pond. I couldn't stand it, so I added an outlet stream about 12' long, that will disappear into the bushes and possibly under a small bridge. The stream is roughly 10" deep and 10" wide. I plan on a simple coarse filter near the end and already have a small pump, about 550 gph, returning water to to the bog, along with the larger pump in my lower pond.

Presently, it's just roughed in, to see the water level (same as the pond) and the way it looks. I haven't decided what edge treatment to use, I'll only have about 5" of epdm on each side to work with, partly due to very low budget project. The photo is with a very wide angle lens, so the stream looks bigger and pond smaller, but it gives an idea of what I'm working with.

Steve

 

[addy1]

That is going to look neat!

 

[Usman]

Streams should have a beginning and an end, right? So, my stream starts in a bog filter/spring look-a-like area, flows to a small pond, then 30' of stream and a larger (750 gallon) pond. I couldn't stand it, so I added an outlet stream about 12' long, that will disappear into the bushes and possibly under a small bridge. The stream is roughly 10" deep and 10" wide. I plan on a simple coarse filter near the end and already have a small pump, about 550 gph, returning water to to the bog, along with the larger pump in my lower pond.

Presently, it's just roughed in, to see the water level (same as the pond) and the way it looks. I haven't decided what edge treatment to use, I'll only have about 5" of epdm on each side to work with, partly due to very low budget project. The photo is with a very wide angle lens, so the stream looks bigger and pond smaller, but it gives an idea of what I'm working with.

View attachment 93925

Steve

super , if u shalow 1 or 2 feet at start of stream ,u can add another fall or some rounded stones in the start of this narrow stream ie at end of big pond to block and create some dam ,resistance so water level in pond goes higher then stream so it flows over rocks and down to end, add pump at the end and outlet to big pond
ihave similer just on very small scale and im not artist like u lol , ithink in few days uil dig stream thru ur neighbour's house lol jk

 

[Stephen T.]

I want the outlet stream the same level as the lower pond (lowest area on my 1/2 acre) and fairly deep. In the summer heat and dry (90s with 10-18% humidity), I loose 1/2"-2/3" of water a day to evaporation and wicking into the sides of the main stream every 24 hours. This gives me some wiggle room before the end-of-stream pump is running dry! Until I have an automatic pond level filler valve on the water system, I have about a week of safe time if traveling.

 

[Jeanie master]

Love pumice rocks, I hauled a few back from Arizona, nice and light!

Wow, where do you get pumice stones??

 

[Stephen T.]

Technically, they came from Crater Lake. When Mt. Mazama blew, a few thousand years ago, it scattered pumice all over this area. More recently, they came from a neighbor's estate sale, about 200 cubic feet of them left over from their collecting 40 years ago. They sure are a lot easier to move around than most the other large rocks I've moved!

 

[Stephen T.]

The seam on my new outlet stream leaked, pretty badly, so, I tried a different approach to joining 2 pieces of EPDM. First, I cut out the 6" of overlap and cleaned the surfaces to be joined. I made a form out of composite 2" x 2" board, shaped like a V with a 10" wide flat bottom. I used double faced tape to temporarily attach the bottom line to this. I then used automotive Form-a-Gasket, a couple beads across the entire area to be joined. Then I place the overlapping piece on and hooked it down with stainless screws with washers, side by side. I does NOT leak! I will have to cover up the screws and washers, they look a bit strange!

Steve

 

[addy1]

Over time they will disappear in stuff.

Good thinking out of the "box"

 

[Stephen T.]

You may remember that I hid "rock" outdoor speakers (roughly 12x12x12 inches and look like rocks) near my upper rapids and also at my waterfall. I've listened to quite a bit of music while working or relaxing out here. Today, I took it a step further, something I've wanted to try and finally got around to.

I felt that although the rapids and falls sound OK, they really weren't as loud as I'd like. I set up microphones and did some experimenting with placement, then recorded the sound from each. This was just a test, but played back over the speakers, I can make it sound like twice as much water is flowing, or like a raging torrent! I'll make about a 2 hour audio loop and mix in some birds and other ambient sounds, so when I want, it can play continuously. Adjusted to just boost the sound some, it sounds so much better. Also, when the neighbors idiot dog yaps all day, I'll be able to Drown it out! I'll probably do a night version with owls and a spring version with frogs too.

Steve

 

[Mmathis]

You may remember that I hid "rock" outdoor speakers (roughly 12x12x12 inches and look like rocks) near my upper rapids and also at my waterfall. I've listened to quite a bit of music while working or relaxing out here. Today, I took it a step further, something I've wanted to try and finally got around to.

I felt that although the rapids and falls sound OK, they really weren't as loud as I'd like. I set up microphones and did some experimenting with placement, then recorded the sound from each. This was just a test, but played back over the speakers, I can make it sound like twice as much water is flowing, or like a raging torrent! I'll make about a 2 hour audio loop and mix in some birds and other ambient sounds, so when I want, it can play continuously. Adjusted to just boost the sound some, it sounds so much better. Also, when the neighbors idiot dog yaps all day, I'll be able to Drown it out! I'll probably do a night version with owls and a spring version with frogs too.

Steve

Love it!

 

[Stephen T.]

I haven't had much time to work on the pond lately, so just bits and pieces of landscaping have gotten done. My source spring/bog filter is starting to look pretty nice, of course within a few weeks it will be buried in snow. I'm running about half the flow through the bog filter and half out the spring (upper center left) where it flows out from under the rocks. The mares tail plants are thriving here.

We've been getting some hard frosts lately, so mornings are chilly. We've had a lot of rain in the last 2 weeks, way more than normal, which saturated all the pumice. A couple mornings ago, I went out and it looked like there was a huge amount of splashing that had gone on, all the pumice was sheathed in clear ice. Then I realized the moisture had been drawn out and frozen on the surface. I probably should have photographed that too, but...

Steve

 

[bagsmom]

Wow! It's just gorgeous!

 

[Stephen T.]

I'm trying hard to make it look as natural as possible, with native plants and local rocks. The pumice is from Mt. Mazama and the formation of Crater Lake. I may call this Mazama Spring. There are many real springs in this area, most form instant large streams or rivers.

 

[bagsmom]

It really does look VERY natural! You need to hop on a plane and come help me with mine! LOL

 

[Fishfinder]

Beautiful! Just gorgeous!