WHISKEYS NEW POND PROJECT

[j.w]

Bullet proof hey I think I might agree w/ that one at the point I'm at!
Your snow looks so pretty..............now I'm missing that lovely white stuff we had here. But I'll take the sun over the rain any day!

 

[DrDave]

Whiskey
Lexan not lexex.
It is far better, that is why all large aquariums are made from it these days. All safety glass needs is a little scratch and a small bump and it breakes into a million pieces.
Just a thought, would hate to see you lose a lot of fish if a break ever was to happen, although the laminate will contain the broken glass so a spill is not likey. Just the cost and time to replace it.
All the Sea World outdoor ones that Shamu is in with miilions of gallons of water all are built with Lexan.

 

[whiskey]

dr dave sorry meant lexan ...would 12/13mm be ok , if so, will have to reduce cut outs on blocks pond size now 4400mm x 3200mm x 1500mm , havent as yet done pond volume but shouldnt be a great deal of pressure at top of pond anyway.....its just the thickness issues.

 

[whiskey]

Just come off another english koi forum, they say that plastic discolours after time and scratches easy and to stay with glass.
8 OUT OF 9 Koi dealers and koi keepers say glass , easy to clean. less harm to fish.
The trend here is to fit them direct to brickwork without metal frame as screws found to harm fish when rubbing them selves on frame to view out.

 

[DrDave]

Lexan is not ordinary plastic. Did they do any research before commenting? If Glass was better then why do all the Marineland and SeaWorld tanks use Lexan? They are likey thinking of Plexiglass, which some of those varieties do yellow in the sunlight.
I just thought I would offer a potentially better option. Good luck with the glass. It won't scratch, but the same action that might scratch Lexan will break the glass.

 

[addy1]

Sounds good whiskey, looking forward to your finished product.

 

[whiskey]

New plans for pond almost total rebuild but wife,son and i feel it will be worth the extra effort.
Moving back wall up to workshop rehousing waterwheel in own space , cutting down top pond slightly to slant side wall, with water return at an angle to hopefully create a circulating currant to go around pond to exit via skimmer [and bottom drain] onto first filter unit sieve and sponges , this will be handy for regualar cleaning , two pumps [9000 +3000] draw out water from water only chamber 1] to waterwheel 2] to bio filter inside workshop with return to top pond with pumped return to waterwheel exit [ 12,000 gph ]
So photo shows first plan with wasted space, the second shows new plan of enlarged pond area and plumbing easier to install.

 

[addy1]

That will look great Whiskey, we will enjoy watching you do your rebuild

 

[j.w]

Well I can't keep up w/ ya Whiskey but I'm all for more ponding and less wasted space! Will be watching for more pix and hoping it all goes really smoothly for you.

 

[whiskey]

yea four days twiddling thumbs due to weather it minus 6 here over night and on zero most of day.........waiting better weather.

 

[whiskey]

Hi all had over a week now of very cold weather here ground frozen and snow still laying on pond site.
Will be making top wall 3" lower than the rest the other three, but will be inlaying a 4" strip of plastic along wall to create an illusion of extra water space with lillies and plants in there own space .........away from those greedy KOI.
Hope and pray for warmer weather soon, so i can resume my dream.

 

[whiskey]

weather forecast -12 tonight thatsssss colddddd

 

[j.w]

See now w/ all this cold holding you up you will have plenty of time for your thinking and making sure of what you really are going to do...............and yes that is cold!

 

[whiskey]

HI GUYS PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING ...TELL ME YOUR VIEWS ON DESIGN

PHOTO ONE...BIRD EYE VIEW OF PLANT AREA WITH STREAMFLOW THROUGH FIRST FLOWING INTO SECOND WITH BOTTOM DRAINS IN BOTH CHAMBERS, EXITING INTO SIEVE/FILTER

PHOTO TWO..POND VIEW OF FIRST CHAMBER

PHOTO THREE.. DECKING SIDE VIEW SHOWING LEVEL

PHOTO FOUR...GENRAL POND AREA

IN WORKSHOP LONG FILTER SYSTEM WITH RETURNS TO TOP POND

THANK YOU

 

[whiskey]

HI TO ONE AND ALL, WEATHER ALLOWED ME OUT TO PLAY TODAY [ 6C ]

STARTED BY MOVING ONE OF OUR PLANTERS THAT WE HAD EITHER SIDE OF DOOR WAY INTO WORKSHOP, TO A NEW POSSITION NEXT TO WATER BUTT.

NOW WITH THAT CLEAR, IT ALLOWS ME A CLEAR SPACE TO PUT MY HOME MADE SIEVE, ONCE BUILT.....UNIT FOR THAT BEING DELIVERED TOMORROW.

STARTED TAKING OUT SOME OF THE OLD BLOCKWORK AND SIDE CLADDING, SO I CAN REPOSSITION CLOSER TO WORKSHOP. [ WATERWHEEL TO BE HOUSED IN BLOCKWORK NOT IN WOODEN TROUGH LIKE IT WAS ]

STARTED ALSO DIGGING TRENCHES FOR BLOCKWORK AND FILLING IN TRENCH WHERE I FIRST THOUGHT BOTTOM DRAIN WOULD GO...[.I WILL GET IT RIGHT ]

FOUR PHOTOS OF TODAYS PROGRESS

LETS HOPE WEATHER STAYS DRY AND ABOVE 6C