Where can I find resources?

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I'm going to be building a stream and pond this year. I have a pretty good idea what I want. Even acquired a huge 200 foot liner which is heavy as hell.

The problem I'm having is that I can't seem to find one or two books or locations on the internet that will tell me how to build it from start to finish. There are some books I found at the library and online about ponds. However they lack the in-depth info like I need such as how to install equipment, what equipment I need for what, etc. Most just say locate utilities, dig hole, add underlayment, add liner, fill with water, add decorations.

Anybody have some suggestions? I'm not going to hire a contractor because as far as I'm concerned, I will do a better job than anybody around here. I've done a lot of searching but have not come up with anything satisfactory.
 
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Your best bet will be to talk to people on this site who have the knowledge about such things.
But a word of warning my friend "never asume that you will do a better job than anybody",
Why because that way your not going to listen to the years knowledge and of advice that the good people of this website have between them and do it your own sweet way .
I come across folk all the time that make major mistakes in koi keeping and spend hours trying to undo the damage they have done, :mad:
They will blame everyone else but themselves..... which is sad :(
I even went to one guys aid who I spent months patiently mentoring only to have it thrown back in my face because he then thought he knew better than the 27 years experience of koi keeping that I have.
The end result he killed off all his koi, why because I warned him he was in danger of heavily overstocking his pond and never QT'd the new koi he put in saying that, he had given them the once over and they were fine plus his pond could take that volume of koi ( which his father had designed as a small goldfish pond) :mad: .
So please listen to them they will help you so at the moment my friend take it as if you know nothing and learn from the ones that do.
Basically try not to run before you can walk :)

Dave
 
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JBtheExplorer

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However they lack the in-depth info like I need such as how to install equipment, what equipment I need for what, etc. Most just say locate utilities, dig hole, add underlayment, add liner, fill with water, add decorations.

This forum is probably better than any book because there are so many people on here that have the experience with their own ponds. I've gotten a ton of ideas and help since I first joined.

I'm fairly new to ponds so others on this forum will likely be more helpful to you. To be honest, for me it was as simple as dig, underlayment, liner, & water.
Other than that, you need a pump that has GPH at least as large as the amount of water in your pond, and a filter. There are some DIYs on this forum of how to build pond filters and if you need more help or get confused people will help
 
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Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I don't want advice. It's just that where I live, there really isn't any contractor that has experience with building ponds. I've talked to a few who have installed some ponds and I wasn't really impressed with them.
 
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Welcome to ponding fly2cast. Have you given some thought to what size pond you'd like to have, what kind of fish? Do you have full sun, or shade...large trees in the area?

My pond is positioned so I can enjoy looking at it from inside my house. My pond has evolved over the years...like most folks here. I currently have 1670 gallon pond with straight drop sides, 5 koi, a savio skimmer, pressurized filter ( which many here do not care for) and a waterfall.
 

addy1

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Give us some idea of what you are wanting, gallons, type of fish, type of filters etc. Read the construction forum, there are a lot of start to finish threads there about building ponds, each one different than the other Also the showcase area has a lot of builds and information.
Read the DIY forum, there is a lot of info on how to build items for your pond.

And ask ?? we will do our best to help.
 

j.w

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flytocast
and then get your shovel out and start digging

We really want to help you and lots of good info here on how to do it and different choices you can choose what ideas will work best for your situation. We just need to know lots of info on what you hope to accomplish. Do you want to be able to view it up close and personal right near your home or do you want it off out in another part of your yard? Think of where ease of access is to electrical and water etc. How will you protect it from the hungry beasts just waiting for you to set up your sushi bar? N. Dakota gets quite cold so you will want it deep. All kinds of designs to choose from too. Above ground or totally inground w/ bottom drain or w/o. What kind of filter and do you want to build one or buy one. Waterfall and pumps. Oh so much to think about but it is really a lot of fun and even funner when you do all the work while we watch
 

taherrmann4

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Welcome to the forum... With a 200ft liner you can make one hell of pond with that! :happy: I have 3000g pond, skimmer, savior filter falls, bog, and laguna filter, three creeks feed my pond from one pump (sequence external). Since you are up in ND I would think that you need to go at least 4' deep, I don't have shelves in my pond keeps the predators from easily getting into the pond to go fishing. Other things to think about is how big are you going to make it, waterfalls, creeks, etc.
 

Mmathis

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I'm assuming you have pretty cold winters there....? You'll want to be sure to make the pond deep enough so your fish can over-winter at depth.

And as far as construction information, like everyone else has said, give us more info regarding your plans & goals. Each pond and every situation is unique. But also, check out the "construction" and "DIY" sections on here, as well as check out YOUTUBE vids. But don't stop with the first one you watch. Watch as many as you can -- there will be inconsistencies (and different opinions) and watching many will help fill in the gaps.
 
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Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I don't want advice. It's just that where I live, there really isn't any contractor that has experience with building ponds. I've talked to a few who have installed some ponds and I wasn't really impressed with them.
Your more than welcome as you can see the good members who have done these type of projects are already rallying round with advice as I am to help with any problems you may have with your fish in the distant future :)

Dave ;)
 

herzausstahl

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You can check out my build in the photography section as far as building the pond and stream part. As for joking liners if needed follow Addy's advice on mine, has been working great for me, but with a 200' liner you probably could build it as one continuos unit (depending on the width of the liner) avoiding leak issues from joining the liners. As for filters you will find several ideas on here, go with what you like is my advice. And don't forget your stream will also act as a filter, but if it's in full sun you will get a lot of string algae in it (will filter the water itself, just looks unsightly). Good luck!
 

herzausstahl

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Oh and this website will be exceedingly more informational than any book you can find, I read several before building mine and they are all like you said. In the end I lookedat them for the pictures only to get ideas for what it wanted to create.
 

herzausstahl

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Your best bet will be to talk to people on this site who have the knowledge about such things.
But a word of warning my friend "never asume that you will do a better job than anybody",
Why because that way your not going to listen to the years knowledge and of advice that the good people of this website have between them and do it your own sweet way .
I come across folk all the time that make major mistakes in koi keeping and spend hours trying to undo the damage they have done, :mad:
They will blame everyone else but themselves..... which is sad :(
I even went to one guys aid who I spent months patiently mentoring only to have it thrown back in my face because he then thought he knew better than the 27 years experience of koi keeping that I have.
The end result he killed off all his koi, why because I warned him he was in danger of heavily overstocking his pond and never QT'd the new koi he put in saying that, he had given them the once over and they were fine plus his pond could take that volume of koi ( which his father had designed as a small goldfish pond) :mad: .
So please listen to them they will help you so at the moment my friend take it as if you know nothing and learn from the ones that do.
Basically try not to run before you can walk :)

Dave
Dave do you deal with the specialized breeds of koi or the general "mutts" that I have gotten/rescued from big box pet stores around here. I did have the chance to talk to a local aquarium shop owner of 20-30 years (quit his railroad job to open his own Aquarium store). He basically told me the regular koi were tough as nails but all the special breeds (for color, fins, etc) were much less hardy. He also told me about a call he had from a customer who was worried his pumps were frozen in his pond, but didn't seem to notice the fish trapped in the ice being eaten by birds who were pecking at the ice to reach them. Guessing your protege still neglected to admit his mistake in the end?
 
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herzausstahl you are so very right there my friend, he never did, which is the point where one quits totally :mad:
It ghauls me that aquatic shops do not by law have to sell books with the purchase of fish I feel that that way there would be less deaths and more understanding of our hobby , under the UK's new animal rights bill we all have a duty of care to the creatures we own fish included :)
At the very start of our hobby on my birthday 27 years ago Val bought me a book on fish health whih I read from cover to cover undertanding of our hobby for me came from there for 22 years due to disbility we kept our koi indoors in a huge indoor aquarium our koi were very well cared for it was the logistics in the end that became too much so we decided to move outdoors rather than give up a hobby we loved I admit freely that the health of our koi had started to suffer and I was disheartend :(
Bang on then like a bolt out of the blue (y) we found ourselves enrolled into the koi magazines koi hall of fame by a former club member now fish sciences lecturer and one of the koi magazines koi experts, one Ian Wellby who because the influence two experts and ourselves, had chosen a career in fish see insert bellow. :)
(I also post a now out of date photo of our Library for you an one of the Aquarium and the immaculate condition of the koi that Ian mentions ) :cool: .
It was the love and attention to detail that earned us this place and it came at exactly the right time it was like a shot in the arm for us(y).
We redoubled our efforts by buying a former koi dealership QT pond retrofitting it into a pond it cost £600 uk , we then sold the tank for £600 uk, then out of the blue won £1,000 on the St Lukes hospice lottery (fate I know not) but that allowed us to do the build (though the cosmetic stuff is yet to be finished due to our neighbour who did the build becoming desperately ill).
But I digrees it takes little to read books on the subject and gain a working knowledge we took it one further .
At the time of the move outdoors I was mentored by the then head of the BKKS Healh Standards committee and friend wo runs the UK's only koi and goldfish rescue service the result no losses (we happened to be dropped right into the then coldest winter on record here -10c :(
In our 27 year hobby ever only lost a total of 8 koi (we know the reasons of death for all of them but one) ,though i wish it was less.
Two of them jumped from the pond one getting caught between he net we had placed over the pond after the first one jumped .
One had its immune system crash (this what your petshop man warns).
One died of a heart attack (they go stiff as a board directly on death thats how you can tell).
Two wasted away we think through a compacted gut ( at least thats what the autopsy showed).
One a beautiful Kuhaku died of septicemia after jumping out of a vat at a show,
Sadly with one unexplained (at the start of the hobby)hence the first health book.
A library has grown from that first book with books on koi , koi health fish health , fist behavour , fish diseases fish pathology , pathogens, viral and bacterial and with the books I got on this Birthday we have reached a total of 80 books, these were mostly funded by the sale of koi , christmas gifts from friends and family , fish auctions , club auctions.(y)
Your petshop friend is indeed correct in what he says the mutts are strong but its the more expensive koi that are the weakest , this is due to them coming from a limited gene pool though attempts have been made to bulster this, with I believe the original Magio/eating carp or possibly the Indonesian river carp.
However the colouration of these hybrid koi is not at all satisfactory at this moment in time :(
Most koi keepers I know do not allow ice to form and carry on as normal through te winter with filter maintenance and water changes.
Some like ourselves having insulation around the pond pipes and filter housing ( I even have an oil heated radiator in the filterhousing to up the air temperature if necessary thus taking the chill of the water), others choose to heat their ponds :LOL:
The pond itself has double thickness policarbonate roofing covering it, with Quadruple thickness roofing making up the cover for our huge 32" vortex syle filters with two air pumps one supplying the bubbler the other the filters an oase 3500 inline pump and an aquapond 36watt double bulbed UV-C so as you can see they are well protected
Our oldest two koi both are doitsu and have been with us for the whole 27 years our youngest two just over a year old. :)
As a matter of interest I have in the last few months secured a copy of Diseases of Carp and other cyprinid Fish it is joint authored by non other than Ian Wellby whom I chat with from tome to time by email

davevalhof.jpg


Koi Books_small.jpg


dandv01.jpg


Dave;)
 
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addy1

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We all love helping, but you need an idea of what you want before we can lol.

My stream is around 85 feet long, it does switch backs down our slope so I needed to cut and join the liner on its way down. I run mine on a timer, it takes a high head pump to push the water up the slope, around 100 feet of head pressure. To get a pond pump that would do that it would be high dollar high electric use. So we chose a clear water pump, small flow but handles 150 feet of head pressure for the deck ponds and stream. I just run it a few hours a day a few times a day. Made water collections ie small ponds on the way down the slope so there is water all of the time in spots in the stream which supports frogs and plants. Near the bottom of the stream I put in two small ponds, like 200 gallons or so plus minus to support plants snails, frogs no fish. After that it waterfalls into the big pond.
 

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