Another newbie seeking construction advice

[GBBUDD]

Oh it's amazing how fast it goes . i look back and all the piles i had and i still can't believe it's all in the pond and bog

 

[stavo]

That visual helps (as does the comment on the price). I'm leaning towards just buying from the rock yard for the convenience factor. I'll have enough work setting them all in place.

 

[GBBUDD]

Cameras have terrible depth perception But I'll say this those narrow areas look narrow in the picture and when you rock it in . Its going to close up fast. Don't let the build your first pond to what seems ok to the second being a little bigger to the third being the biggest and best.

 

[GBBUDD]

The other advise i'd give is to look at @milonedp how they have areas that blead out past the shelves making for wet areas breaking up the string of pearls very effective and very appealing imho

 

[stavo]

The other advise i'd give is to look at @milonedp how they have areas that blead out past the shelves making for wet areas breaking up the string of pearls very effective and very appealing imho

I'll take a look.

So, I've done another about-face, and I'm past the point of no return on it. I'm digging my negative edge off the pond where it can be viewed from the patio seating area. Water will get split coming off the berm - waterfall into the pond and another feeding the stream which will flow the opposite direction than originally planned. Hopefully there'll be no whirlpools like was previously mentioned.

Started digging out my negative edge reservoir (landscape lighting wires need to be moved).

I'm also going to try to widen the pond another foot or so by moving the bridge further "upstream."

 

[GBBUDD]

Don't feel bad , anyone who designs a pond and doesn't alter it once construction starts generally has no imagination or is overloaded with it and thought of everything . I'm on that first list.
Make sure to keep a good amount of fill between the areas so as to hold tge pond back . Looks like in the pic your doing just that.

 

[stavo]

After a long hiatus, I'm back and focused on finishing up this project. First, winter happened - the dirt pit filled with water and it held it for months, despite relatively light total rainfall. Then spring happened, and I was focused on getting my fruit trees pruned, fertilized and ready for the growing season. Finally, I can redirect my focus to the pond.

Here's the progress that I've made since my last update. Pond dig is finished. At its deepest point, it's 4'. However, as you can see in the picture, it's relatively narrow at that point. At the top, the pond is approximately 10' x 8', but due to the shelves, not very deep. I've also built up all the sides so that the low point will be the spillover into the negative edge water storage. I've completed the dig for that too. It will hold five aqua-blocks and two pump vaults. I decided to use two pumps based on the advice here in this forum. I've trenched the route to the berm for the flex tubing. I've enlarged the berm, yet it's not very packed yet and I'm a little concerned about it falling in once I start digging out the area for the wetland upflow bog. I was thinking about looking to fortify the sides of the bog opening with concrete blocks set in cement. This is assuming the dirt sides will hold long enough for me to build that. I decided one of the pumps will send water through the bog and it will spill over the top, sourcing my main waterfall back into the pond. The second pump will bypass the berm and send water directly to my "stream" (possibly through a biofalls type of setup). The water from the stream and the waterfall will meet in the main part of the pond, and hopefully (fingers crossed) will not create any kind of funky whirlpool. I had the electrical outlet wired, so we're good to go on that. I plan to run a drainage tube from the bottom-most point for any water that may accumulate beneath the liner (per @GBBUDD 's advice). It will not have a pump so I'm hoping the force from above will expel the water. I'd like to incorporate an autofill valve, but I need to give more thought on where that could possibly go in my setup.Lastly, I picked up some free rocks. They're somewhat jagged, so these will likely be for outside the pond only.

Well, that brings us up to date. As always, I'd appreciate any feedback, particularly if there's anything that I'm overlooking.

 

[combatwombat]

Cool pond! Not sure how I missed this thread, but glad I found it.

RE: autofill

If your pond will have a negative edge for a skimmer, the auto fill has to go in your cistern because the pond water level will not fluctuate. All fluctuation will happen in the cistern.

 

[stavo]

Cool pond! Not sure how I missed this thread, but glad I found it.

RE: autofill

If your pond will have a negative edge for a skimmer, the auto fill has to go in your cistern because the pond water level will not fluctuate. All fluctuation will happen in the cistern.

Wow, that makes so much sense now that you mention it, and yet I didn't even consider it before. Glad I asked... thanks.

 

[stavo]

My bog wetland filter is dug out. Next step is to fortify with blocks and cement.

 

[combatwombat]

Next step is to fortify with blocks and cement.

You planning to repurpose as a bomb shelter in the future?

 

[stavo]

You planning to repurpose as a bomb shelter in the future?

Ha! Yeah, may be overkill, but I want to make sure it's solid.

 

[GBBUDD]

I am not there but if you need a pick to get through that soil that has few rocks in it if you install your fabric and liner fil the hole full of rock and or rock and block those sides aren't going any where.

 

[addy1]

Me I would just put in the underlayment, the liner and fill with gravel well the pipes also. I did mine that way 2.5 feet deep, nothing has moved in 11 years. Our dirt is clay, shale, crap.

 

[Lisak1]

I'm glad others said what I was thinking - skip the block and cement. It's only going to take up valuable bog space. Fill that hole with your aquablox, rock, and gravel and you're going to be just fine.