Question about pond materials from a recent bid and what trees/shurbs to plant around pond

[texmaster]

Hi all,

I've finally received a bid for the pond I'm looking to put in and while the cost is probably reasonable for what I want, I'll be doing the work myself since the bid was almost 9k. My question is what you guys think of the materials being recommended.

Liner EPDM Rubber Liner-20 yr. Ltd warranty, priced by the sqft. 400
Underlayment Protective barrier for Liner, priced by the sqft.
Skimmers Mechanical filters
Pressure filters Bead filter---4000 gallon filter
Filters-Waterfall Units waterfall diffusers 2
Pumps white water pump
Plumbing Misc. bottom drains
Plumbing Misc. sch 40 pvc
Plumbing Misc. jandy valves
UV Units Ultraviolet Sterilizer/Clarifier--40 watt 1
ROCK & GRAVEL Moss boulders
ROCK & GRAVEL Surface moss boulders for around perimeter of pond
ROCK & GRAVEL 24"x24" concrete steeping stones as base for equipment area


My biggest question came at the price of the pump which they had at 1000 dollars! I looked it up but can't find it and he didn't list the size it would be to run both waterfalls and the filter.

The second question is the filter itself. Expensive absolutely but not as much as he had it down for. Anyone know about Bead Filters?

The parameters I gave him was for a minumum footprint and no filters behind the waterfalls themselves.

Last question. This part of the lawn is completely exposed to the sun. I need some trees in the area but nothing that grows bigger than about 10-15 feet in the air and most importantly has a minimum root system that wont harm the pond liner. Ideas? Wife said she would kill me if I put in Crape Mertles but thats my only restriction

 

[capewind]

Liner EPDM Rubber Liner-20 yr. Ltd warranty, priced by the sqft. 400

45 mil? I tried to ask hubby about using 20 mil on a waterfall, not even the pond, and the LOOK I got was enough to drop the subject LOL

Underlayment Protective barrier for Liner, priced by the sqft.

What is your soil under where you plan to put the pond? If nice sandy loam with NO rocks or sticks, you can use NO liner, or landscape fabric ... some folks use carpet and carpet pads too, since they are often FREE.

Skimmers Mechanical filters

Hubby likes them, I dont know enough... know he likes homemade or specific brands...

Filters-Waterfall Units waterfall diffusers 2

I dont know enough to understand if you mean waterfalls for "pretty" or filtration...

Plumbing Misc. bottom drains

I am personally afraid of bottom drains in a liner... doesnt mean they are bad, some swear by them, but I am paranoid of putting a HOLE in the bottom of the pond.

Plumbing Misc. sch 40 pvc

Know hubby uses this for a lot of the plumbing ..

UV Units Ultraviolet Sterilizer/Clarifier--40 watt 1

think ours is a 40 watt ... but it isnt plumbed to kill all. Undersized for pond volume.

My biggest question came at the price of the pump which they had at 1000 dollars! I looked it up but can't find it and he didn't list the size it would be to run both waterfalls and the filter.

$1000???? I just asked hubby if he knew what it was ... he is choking too ... the most expensive pump he has bought was $600 ... I dont want to know what a $1000 pump is using for electric!

The parameters I gave him was for a minumum footprint and no filters behind the waterfalls themselves.

How many gallons was he bidding? Even using high quality parts, I hope this pond was exceeding 10,000 gallons at $9k for a liner pond.

Last question. This part of the lawn is completely exposed to the sun. I need some trees in the area but nothing that grows bigger than about 10-15 feet in the air and most importantly has a minimum root system that wont harm the pond liner. Ideas? Wife said she would kill me if I put in Crape Mertles but thats my only restriction

Japanese thread leaf maple, coral bark maples ... hell, any of the Japanese maples LOL...

 

[capewind]

Show your wife the "purple" tree in the back of this picture. It is one of the most expensive of the Japanese Acers (maples) but my favorite LOL Acer Tamukeyama

I cant remember when this picture was taken (the job was done in stages) but want to say this Japanese maple is about 8, no more than 10 years old here ...

this is the same variety as a baby ..

 

[Waterbug]

If this builder builds the kind of pond you want , you've seen their personal pond and it looks good, then $9k is cheap. If they don't know much about ponds $9k is way too much.

 

[HTH]

It would be helpful if you listed specific products.

 

[texmaster]

I'm sorry I forgot the dementions. Its 15x10 at 3.5 feet.

 

[texmaster]

It would be helpful if you listed specific products.

I listed what they gave me. They mentioned some products by name but not all.

 

[texmaster]

Show your wife the "purple" tree in the back of this picture. It is one of the most expensive of the Japanese Acers (maples) but my favorite LOL Acer Tamukeyama

I cant remember when this picture was taken (the job was done in stages) but want to say this Japanese maple is about 8, no more than 10 years old here ...

this is the same variety as a baby ..

Oh we have Japanese Maples and they are GREAT! But they can't take direct sunlight and thats all I have in this part of the yard

 

[capewind]

Oh we have Japanese Maples and they are GREAT! But they can't take direct sunlight and thats all I have in this part of the yard

I was going to tell you that is incorrect. MOST varieties want FULL sun, to part shade. In the worst of the summer in the northern regions the edges of the leaves may brown/curl if not watered enough, and wind burns to the leaves are the bigger issue, BUT then realized you are in TEXAS ... normal goes out the window with the heat waves you get there ...

 

[texmaster]

I was going to tell you that is incorrect. MOST varieties want FULL sun, to part shade. In the worst of the summer in the northern regions the edges of the leaves may brown/curl if not watered enough, and wind burns to the leaves are the bigger issue, BUT then realized you are in TEXAS ... normal goes out the window with the heat waves you get there ...

Yeah. I checked and we are in zone 8 which is at the top tolerance of the most heat tolerant Japanese Maples.



Here is one of mine. Dont know the species but I have another on the other side of the lawn and every year I have to put up an umbrella to protect it when we have about 5 weeks of 100+ temps

Found it

 

[capewind]

Cant see the leaves well, but it looks like possibly a Bloodgood ... grows to about 25' if I got the right species...

 

[texmaster]

Cant see the leaves well, but it looks like possibly a Bloodgood ... grows to about 25' if I got the right species...

Darn. If it is then I can't put one in full sun down here. That ones leaves burned on the top a few years ago which is why I added the umbrella

 

[capewind]

you have a much better view of the leaves than I do in a picture. Try looking up Acer palmatum Bloodgood ... they are listed to zone 8, so as long as you are not in the southern area, you should be okay...

 

[capewind]

ohhh... hubby says since you are in Texas, and the top browned out, but if inside/lower leaves were ok, your maple may have suffered from fireblight, which basically means the year before it didnt receive enough water

 

[texmaster]

ohhh... hubby says since you are in Texas, and the top browned out, but if inside/lower leaves were ok, your maple may have suffered from fireblight, which basically means the year before it didnt receive enough water

Now that is interesting. Since I haven't seen it since. I assumed it was the umbrella but water of course could have been the cause. Thank your hubby!!