Construction of The Hawkins' Family Pond

[Nepen]

Thanks Randy, I can see that as a problem. Hopefully since my pond is not so bit it'll be less of a problem for me, but who knows

 

[addy1]

Neat net idea. The way my pond is built it is almost impossible to make an easy net system. They only thing that has worked well for me is this wide weave net hanging high over the water. Not a leaf net at all, but most leaves miss the pond.

 

[randythawkins]

I finally got the net completed. I constructed it in the front driveway and carried it around back for the final work. It is too large for one person to carry but 2 can handle it quite easily. Here it is when first set in place.

And here it is after final fitting of the net and the excess trimmed off.

Because of my temporary pump return pipe I had to use blocks all around in order to keep it level.

When I get the waterfall complete, and remove this return line, I will be able to set the structure directly on top of the wall.

The skimmer will have a wood cover over it so I allowed for this extra height.

Because it is more than I can move by myself I wanted a way to access the water without having to move the structure. I accomplished this by use of these little eyelet hooks.

I used zinc eyelets so there should be no problem with rust. With those eyelets I can stretch the net over the sides and, when I need to access the water, easily unhook the net...

...and toss the net up out of the way...

I can do that on either side so there shouldn't be any issues with pond access when the structure is in place. Then, later when I want it out of the way completely - like for a party or something - it can be easily picked up and set off to the side.

 

[addy1]

Very nice!

 

[JohnHuff]

Your thread has inspired me to make a better net for my pond.
Many thumbs up!

 

[randythawkins]

Thanks everyone for the compliments. Soon I will be making a much smaller one to sit over the top of the SC and will post pictures of that also.

 

[randythawkins]

Few days ago got a tree cut down. Now I can start with the waterfall.

I am so happy to see that tree gone. It was a Hickory tree and was constantly dropping hickory nuts and small dead branches. With the nuts it was impossible to walk, or even cut grass, due to those stupid round things all over the ground. Plus the squirrels would thrown half-eaten ones into the pond. ...stupid squirrels.

The tree was not really in the way - I still could have started with the waterfall - but it would have been close enough that there is a good chance it could have been damaged during the tree removal.

 

[addy1]

looks like it was hitting the house too. Good thing to remove it. We don't have close to the house trees. All of ours are down the hill, back of yard. We have a few on the drive, but still away from the house. Most of our land is shade less, full sun, the flowers love it!

 

[randythawkins]

Yea, it was a little too close to the house for my comfort. Upshot is...with this tree gone the side of the house will get more sun and we can have a real garden space. I have trees along the back of the property and during the summer they provide shade for the pond except for 1 hour in the morning during which the pond gets a shot of direct sunlight. So, most of the time, the pond will be mostly indirect sunlight which, I hope, will help against algae threats. I guess that could change over the years as those tree-top branches grow out.

 

[addy1]

Mine gets sun smacked all day, the only time it gets shade is late fall winter as the sun goes lower, the maple tree provides some shade. No algae issues, it does fine.

 

[joesandy1822]

I like the net frame that you built. I am tempted to try that for mine, but our pond is much larger and I'm not sure if it would be too cumbersome to move once completed. Our pond is roughly a 15x26 oval. The PVC might get pretty heavy for something that size. What do you think based on your experience?

Great job!

Sandy

 

[randythawkins]

I like the net frame that you built. I am tempted to try that for mine, but our pond is much larger and I'm not sure if it would be too cumbersome to move once completed. Our pond is roughly a 15x26 oval. The PVC might get pretty heavy for something that size. What do you think based on your experience?

Great job!

Sandy

I don't think the final product would be too heavy for you and another person to move - it might be awkward, but not too heavy. Mine can easily be moved with 1 person's help. Based on my very limited experience I believe that a structure your size could be moved and that would not be an issue. What would be of concern would be building it so that it can support its own weight and not droop in the center. When designing mine I focused on the use of triangles to strengthen it and make it self-supportive (http://www.rogersconnection.com/triangles/). I used triangles so that the center does not droop and my results were quite successful. This is a concept used in almost all construction and is very visible in bridges. For mine, I have the triangle shapes formed by the center vertical post, the flat bottom horizontal center-to-edge pieces, and the angle pieces from the top center to the bottom center-to-edge pieces. These triangles are what prevent the center from dropping down.

I used thin-walled 1/2" PVC pipe. For yours you might need to go with 1" PVC as it will provide addition resistance against flexing but at the cost of additional weight (but not so much weight that it could not be moved).

Given your size I would probably take the approach of designing 1 dome but building it in 2 separate pieces which would then sit next to each other.

With the relative low cost of PVC I would recommend buying some pieces and giving it a try. As much as you might want to not glue things together you probably will have to otherwise the connectors will twist on the pipes and not give you a true impression of what it could be like with the final product.

The arched concept was done so that wind would blow leaves off and it has proven to do a pretty well. You could skip that idea and just build a box shape (be sure to add the triangle angled pieces). It would be easier to build and you could use a leaf blower to blow off collected leaves.

My final product was not the same as my initial design outside of the general concept of what I wanted. I started out with the basic shape and added the angle supports as I built it (I would stand in the center and pick up on the center piece and see where the outside edges would droop down...I would then add angle support to address that droop).

I hope this collection of thoughts helps and, if you do build one, I would love to see it.

Randy

 

[joesandy1822]

Thanks, Randy. We will give your suggestions some thought. Right now we have the net draped over a stretched out rope running lengthwise of the pond, and then the edges of the net are anchored to the ground around the perimeter using spikes. So far it is working great, and since it is kind of angled, the leaves blow off. Your frame would be much sturdier though. The only con I can think of would be finding a place to store it off season, especially if it is glued together.

Thanks again,

Sandy

 

[randythawkins]

The only con I can think of would be finding a place to store it off season, especially if it is glued together.

I plan on keeping mine over the pond on a regular basis as it will also provide a predator deterrent. If I do desire to remove it on special occasions, like having visitors over, I can set it off at the back of the yard. While it is in place I still have easy access to the water since the net can be unhooked and flipped back. So far the net-flipping-back has worked well as I did so several times this past weekend. The only downside I have found to it is that while trying to look at the fish in the water looking through the net makes it kinda hard to focus on the fish/water. Its kinda like looking through a screen door sometimes - hard for the eyes to focus on what is on the other side.

I have thought more about your situation and wonder if making several rectangle shaped covers, each about 5' wide, might be an option. Each would have a length corresponding to its place on the pond and each one sitting next to each other when on the pond. (Kinda like placing lego blocks next to each other long side to long side.) That would mean having about 5 of them and each one would be less awkward to move and could be stacked when placed off to the side. ??? I dunno...just brainstorming...

 

[joesandy1822]

Ya, I thought about making it into several pieces also. Funny! That might be a good option rather than having one huge frame. We definitely would not leave it on all season, because we enjoy the birds and other wildlife being able to access the pond for baths and drinking. So far, no herons or wildlife that we wouldn't want have spoiled things. If that happens, we may have to reevaluate.