About to attempt to rebuild our deck pond myself, with helpers. Intimidated!

[Lump]

Now if I could just talk the skies into stopping the incessant rain, I might have a chance to finish this project. It seems to have rained at my home in southern Ohio 3 out of every five days for the past month! And the darn pond liner keeps filling with rain water. That would be ok, if I was ready to fire it up, and add fish. But right now, it takes only a few hours for mosquito wigglers to appear. And the news media in our area has reported West Nile Virus being confirmed in a few local mosquitoes, so I cannot take a chance with my family's health

. So every time it rains, I find myself down in the pond, arranging pumps, hoses, and extension cords to pump it dry again and again and again. I end up exhausted after several hours of work, with NO new progress on the pond. GRRRR!

 

[Lisak1]

@Lump - save yourself some time and effort and get some mosquito dunks.

 

[sissy]

now that is child labor I guess you did not get a lot of the rain that has been up that way.I have friends in Ohio that got flooded out . Mosquito dunks will help

 

[Lump]

I plan to put my lone surviving goldfish back into the pond when I refill it. I've been worried that larvicide might leave lingering chemicals that would kill that tough little survivor. But after suggestions I read here, I researched it online, and found that Mosquito Dunks and/or bits are supposed to be safe for fish and other wildlife. That's awesome. On my way to the store today!

 

[sissy]

I use them for years in my lily pond and use them in my stock tank that I hold over baby fish for people to pick up .When there are no baby fish in it then I put dunks in and don't bother with the dunks even when I put the fish in .I have had baby fish in it for a month and they seem to play with the dunk .I guess they think it is food and not 1 person has lost any of the fish I gave them .I looked and my list includes 80 fish that I have given away over the last 10 years .Hint I buy them off season clearanced out .I just got 4 packages at walmart for 2 dollars each .I got hummingbird food also that way for next season

 

[Lump]

Thank you, Sissy and LisaK. After reading your suggestions, I researched Mosquito Dunks online, and learned that they are harmless to fish. So I went to Lowes and bought some. I'll put 'em in this afternoon, and hopefully won't have to pump and scoop that pond dry any more!

 

[addy1]

Great progress!

 

[Lisak1]

So I went to Lowes and bought some. I'll put 'em in this afternoon, and hopefully won't have to pump and scoop that pond dry any more!

Excellent! More time for pond finishing!

 

[Lump]

Now for the NEXT "tricky part"....I need to design and build the waterfall. The cascade-style (I hope!) waterfall will be located in that mound of dirt at the rear of the first photo above. I'll need to pile it high enough to cascade nicely, but must keep it off those white bricks of my exterior wall, above the foundation blocks.

I must also be careful to leave a flat area to stand on while servicing the cable TV panel, and electrical panels located on the exterior wall there ((shown in the first photo, above, at right, above my buddie's green-shirted back...note the gray box and conduit). That flat spot will need to be located right behind where my buddie's head is positioned in the SECOND photo. Hopefully then I'll be able to step onto that spot to access the panels, AND be able to rest one end of a telescoping aluminum scaffold plank there while extending the other end to reach our deck. That way I'll be able to get out there above the pond to clean the glass of the bow windows. (It wouldn't matter much in summer time, but here in Ohio, it is not pleasant to go wading in winter time! LOL).

I confess that I am concerned that it may prove difficult to accomplish all of the necessary tasks to build a good cascading waterfall in such a tight space. I will have to:

1. Make a solid flat spot near the head of the waterfall, but at ground level, for standing on while servicing the existing panels which are mounted there.
2. This "flat spot" will have to be located far enough away from the wall that I can easily stand back far enough to clean the windows, (without falling into the pond!)
3. Build a mound of clay-soil high enough for the waterfall to make at least 3 different falls before reaching the surface of the pond.
4. Make the waterfall and the mound it is based upon look as natural as possible.
5. Keep the soil off of the white "finish bricks" of my exterior wall, since I am told that piling soil up against the bricks that high is like a gilt-edged invitation for termites.
6. Taper the mound under the waterfall carefully down the backside to the retaining wall, so it won't get washed away.
7. Keep the soil of the mound protected from weed growth and excessive moisture, while still having room to grow desirable plants, making the area more green and natural looking. AND, I am reluctant to cut that EPDM rubber liner, even though it is much longer than I need. You NEVER KNOW, when I might get the itch to make the pond even bigger. LOL.

 

[Lump]

This evening I went out and removed most of the rocks from on top of the liner, at the base of the planned waterfall area. This way I'll be able to roll back the liner and underlayment, down into the pond area, and then I'll be free to shape and tamp the soil underneath to create the waterfalls. My plan is to make a channel which dumps out onto a flat rock at the bottom, and then work my way "uphill," until I reach the actual plastic waterfall unit, which I hope to conceal under other rocks. IF the complex concept in my foggy brain works out, I hope to go from a wide, flat spill at the top, into a more narrow, aggresive drop between two large round rocks into a basin, and from there down again. The vertical distance traveled by that point will help me decide if 3 cascades will be all I can do.

 

[Lump]

I will concede to being a little bit intimidated by this whole thing. My old, original pond was built by professionals, and they just lined every terraced shelf layer of the bottom of that pond with cobbles, all the way around, including the surface layer. But after reading other pond owners' plans here, I learned that the "string of pearls" look doesn't really look natural, and is not pleasing to many pond enthusiasts. So I've been forced to back up and punt a bit, and I'm really hoping I'll find a way to make it look nice in the end.

 

[Lisak1]

Two things I want to mention from your last two posts:
1. Watch this video from the Ponddigger on building your waterfall. People often assume the shape of the waterfall comes from the under structure - it really doesn't. You build a waterfall with rocks - the base needs to provide a good foundation, but doesn't really define the waterfall. See if that makes sense when you watch this: (I think this is part one of four parts) -

2. You are right that a pond lined with a circle of the same sized rocks doesn't look natural - that's not to say it can't still be pretty. And the person who built your pond (and got paid for it) did exactly that, so don't be too hard on yourself as you go forward. But the best way to avoid that look is to vary the sizes and materials that you use for your edge. Find a few bigger sized rocks and set those first. Then build around those. Add some wood elements to the edging - some drift wood or fallen logs look pretty around a pond and help make things look natural. Also, if you have the space, consider going out from the edge a bit with some bigger rocks to break up the circle look. And leave lots of room for plants - as they grow, they will soften the look and hide many of the rocks.

Here's the Ponddigger again who explains it much better than I can:

 

[sissy]

Ground plants growing over the edge and into the pond look great but can suck water from the pond .But it does look fantastic

 

[Lisak1]

Ground plants growing over the edge and into the pond look great but can suck water from the pond .But it does look fantastic

True - but any plant growing in the pond will take up water and release it into the atmosphere. More plants = more water loss.

 

[Lump]

Excellent advice, all. Thank you very much!