raised pond

[stroppy]

would like a few ideas from you guys on this ...going to build a semi raised pond ... it will a ft below ground and 3ft above, the space i have is 9ft by 6ft so that should hold about just over 1000 gallons ... its going to be made from wood not sure what size yet its going to have a drum filter that i will be able to hide behind it ... loads of questions how do i fold the corners of liner and do i glue it down ? also whats the best way to build the framework ? was thinking about 6 or 8 inch thickness ..i am going to move my babies from the front pond into it ... how many fish could i put in a pond this size ... and allow for the fact that they are going to get a lot bigger ..there about an inch now anyway more than enough questions for now ...heres hoping you can help me out a bit :biggrin:

 

[mrsclem]

Stroppy-
Our pond is 13'x10' and was built from 2"x12" lumber reinforced with 4x4s on the corners. It is about 8 years old and one side has warped out so I would go with at least 4x4s. Just built the 3'x10' bog with them. They won't bend! we used 3/4" steel rods on the corners and sides to hold it all together. There is a video somewhere on this forum that shows how to fold the liner corners similar to wrapping a package. We didn't glue ours down but used a layer of synthetic lumber decking as a top. Pics posted under diy- Bog start.
good luck

 

[DrCase]

In my raised top pond ,i just folded the corners,and never notice them now
Mine is concreet block

 

[koikeepr]

yeah, you fold 'em sort of accordion like and the corners sort of manage to fit in.

 

[DrDave]

After a few months of algae and other growth, you won't even see the folds.

 

[OntarioTodd]

We did the same thing with our above ground pond and Dave is right, you can't see the folds when the pond is complete. What we did that you can't see in the below photos is filled the pond with water and let it sit for a couple of days (hopefully it will be warm so that the liner is easy to work with). We then neatly folded over the corners and stapled them in place. The top boards covered it all up.

Todd

 

[stroppy]

thankyou for showing those pics todd ..i can now see how its done ..thanks all for suggestions will be starting pond next week hopefully

 

[koikeepr]

Beautiful job on your pond Todd. The finished product looks just lovely! Nice job and good photos of the transformation.

 

[OntarioTodd]

Thanks for the kind words. It's even better now that we've added a pressure filter with a UV light. I can't believe how clear the water is now!

 

[stroppy]

building work still not started ...ive had real problems getting the wood i want ...still its on its way now ...in the meantime i have been finding something to use as a filter not much luck there getting a drum, so think i will go with a water butt heres a link to show you
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7202272/Trail/searchtext>WATER+BUTT.htm
its only a 25 gallons but tall so as my ponds only going to hold around 800 uk gallons im hoping this will be big enough was also thinking i would put what you call batting on the top layer so could have a fines filter all in one ... my questions are do you think it will be big enough ? and two what size pump would i need remembering this is a raised pond just over 3ft ....would also like to have pump strong enough to maybe tee it off for more flow in the pond .. what do you folks think ?

 

[DrDave]

Fines filters clog by their very nature. It could cause problems with flow. It is better to have the onobstructed water flow over the fines filter. When it is clogged, the overflow would be able to continue in an overflow.

In short, it should be seperate and easy to get at to clean. I have a fines filter going into my Nursery Pond and it requires cleaning 2 times a day. I only need to service my bio filter every couple oof weeks.

 

[koiguy1969]

STROPPY....i got my drum at a car wash, their soap comes in them..i found some car washs that give them away. i paid $10.00 for mine right down the street...it would of cost that in gas and time. all the free spots were out they said check back in a couple weeks...missed out by a day at 3 places.

 

[stroppy]

ok so seperate fines filter .... and will keep looking to see if i can find a drum thanks guys :biggrin:

 

[koikeepr]

stroppy, i do think that barrel is too small. The rule of thumb is one 55gal drum per 1,000 gallons (US). I'm a fan of overfiltering, so would go with 2 of 'em. You won't regret it.

Have you tried looking on ebay for your drums? Here's one i saw posted that is cheap. There were a bunch that were for pickup only, but I don't know where you live in relation to the seller. But do scour ebay for barrel or drum as key words.

Or not sure if you've got any food service industries around you anywhere. Lots of things come in 55 gal drums such as pickles, etc. As long as there hasn't been a fuel or acid in it, and it's anything that is food grade, it can be used. Just give it a good scrubbing with a bleach/water combo a few times.

 

[stroppy]

thanks koikeepr yes i am looking on ebay but nothing near to me yet ...but will keep looking i realize now i do need to go for the 55gallon drum .... i have till spring to find one as dont want to move the fry till then