Cistern turned pond

[Catfishnut]

Guitarman,

This is just a thought...

Before you get too much sand filled into the pit, can you knock a hole in one of the lower blocks, trench out from the cistern and lay PVC pipe to a lower elevation point in your yard for a BD (bottom drain)? If you are going to install a liner, which I would be all for, I think that a BD would be a very good option here. You could have two drains formed into the liner and the two lines T'd into one outlet PVC pipe leading to your filter system via gravity flow. This, I believe, would prevent a lot of the solid waste matter from continuing to build up in the deep bottom of this pond and you wouldn't have to fight with a mechanical prefilter for a pump down in the deep water.

You would have to install some shut off valve along the way, outside of the cistren, to allow you to work on the filter system and plumbing without draining the cistren pond water, but that shouldn't be too much trouble. Install some sort of a cleanout port at the end of the PVC pipe just in case it ever did clog. Then have the PVC pipe rise up to a level which would accomodate the gravity flow but not drain the pond beyond the level you desire to maintain.

The first stage in your filter system could then be a simple radial flow settling filter to capture the detritus and large waste particles. Direct the effluent water from that to your bio-conversion filter chambers and return the water to the pond via a pump. Water flow out of the cistren pond would only be as fast as the pump can operate if you set the filtration system up to the height of the maximum depth of the pond water level. This way the water level would reach an equilibrium at some point and not overflow any part of the system (unless you get a ton of rain or overfill it yourself). Then, you would have a maximum level overflow spillway installed in the pond to cover that scenario.

Not sure if you can manage this with your terrain, but it is just food for thought.

Gordy

 

[guitarman023]

I'm actually using a pvc liner and I've heard mixed reviews about cutting holes in it. I'm pretty good about cleaning out the crud every other day. It's usually my wind-down from getting off work to go feed fish and clean the muck out of the pond. I plan on sloping the bottom pretty steep so I'm hoping most of the crud will gather at one end of the pond. I've also seen a guy who built a pond vacuum for fairly cheap that looked like it worked pretty well so I'll probably go that route. It's only going to be five feet deep at the most so my long handled pool skimmer should do the trick.

 

[sissy]

I did not do a bottom drain either scare me to cut a hole in the bottom and did not put in a skimmer for that reason also

 

[HTH]

yup, it was just under 9ft deep. I'm shooting for 4 and 5 ft depths

If that was in my backyard I would convert it to a storm shelter/ root cellar. Start from scratch on the pond. But to each his own and thanks for sharing the pics.

Anyone who is reluctant to run pipes through EPDM line should try this experiment. Grab a bit of scrap liner and cut a round hole that is smaller then the pipe you are using for the experiment. For a 4" pipe cut a 2" hole. Soap the liner and pile to lubricate it. Shove the pipe through the hole in the liner. You will see the liner has formed a tube over the pipe. Another bit of liner with the same sized hole to double up the EPDM tube and add a stainless pipe clamp. It is far better then any commercial solution I have seen.

You can play with scrap to get the hole size right.

 

[addy1]

I put in a skimmer, no leaks, but of course I over sealed it! Used the gaskets also added pl roofing goop to the gaskets and covered the pond side of the skimmer with the goop. Two reasons, more sealing and the skimmer was white (pool) this way it is now black does not show up.

 

[HTH]

I have never used a PVC liner but have had a lot of bad experiance with PVC and sunlight. I would cover every inch of the PVC liner to protect it from the sun even if it is UV resistant. UV kills PVC Around here PVC sched 40 pipe left in the sun turns brown on top.

 

[sissy]

neighbors is pvc and 15 plus years old and no leaks and no problems so far .He was going to put in a new liner but cost wold not allow it .He bought the house and pond was there .Papers and old pics he found still in the house dated it or at least close to that ,it could be older .

 

[HTH]

neighbors is pvc and 15 plus years old and no leaks and no problems so far .He was going to put in a new liner but cost wold not allow it .He bought the house and pond was there .Papers and old pics he found still in the house dated it or at least close to that ,it could be older .

Are you saying PVC does not degrade with exposure to UV ? The manufactures of PVC pipe instruct not to risk UV exposure.

Based on these studies, Harvel Plastic, Inc. recommends that PVC and CPVC piping products (i.e. pipe, duct, & shapes) exposed to the direct effects of UV radiation be painted with a light colored acrylic or latex paint that is chemically compatible with the PVC/CPVC products.

IMHO PVC liners should never be left exposed to the sun. I expect they give good life if covered. But until someone can show me where PVC liner stands up to the sun I would be careful about making sure it was covered.

My old greenhouse shown below is covered with corrugated clear PVC panels. It became brittle and then turned smoke brown.

 

[sissy]

Are you sure those are pvc panels on the green house .I have some 12 years old and they have not turned .Mine do have fiberglass in them also.Not saying pvc last forever and his liner is old so maybe made different .I know in the last 10 years they use more recycled stuff and I think it does break down faster ,The panels i have i brought from my house in NJ and used them for my greenhouse boxes there .Think about the last soda can you had in your hands did it not feel weaker and thinner .I have had soda cans that spring a leak from the slightest bump .Hubby loves his root beer soda .Look at plastic milk bottles also ,i have had those stupid things crack in my truck on the way home .

 

[guitarman023]

If that was in my backyard I would convert it to a storm shelter/ root cellar. Start from scratch on the pond. But to each his own and thanks for sharing the pics.

I live in the ohio valley, and I have a 3/4 underground basement so no need for a storm cellar and I'm not even sure what you do with a root cellar. lol.

 

[guitarman023]

The liner I got has a 15 year warranty and at 1/3 the price of rubber, I'm ok if I get 10-15 years out of it.

 

[HTH]

Were you comparing it to a rubber pond liner or roofing rubber ?

A root cellar is a place to store roots. Like spuds but is generally used for storing any food requiring a cool dry storage area.

 

[guitarman023]

it was firestone rubber, the roofing rubber was a lot cheaper, but still not in my price range. Same as everything else, if it says "pond" on it, it's usually a lot more than the regular product. I have another pond that I'm going to repurpose for plants and if something happens to the pvc liner, I can easily get my fish back out and fix the liner issue if needed.

 

[sissy]

As long as liner is protected from sun it should be fine .I even protect the top of my liner with those plastic garden edging stuff I have it screwed to the edge of my wood border .It gives a nice clean edge
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:52698]I think you can see it in this pic but not sure nope before I put it in
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:52815]

 

[guitarman023]

Ok, so I think I've finally moved the last of the sand. It's right at 4ft and drops to 5ft where I'm hoping debris will collect for easy cleaning. Any suggestions? I should be lining the hole with carpet this week and hopefully have the liner in this weekend.

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