Digging a new pond.

[Nick83]

Everything is going much faster than I expected it would. Today I moved some railroad ties from the end of my driveway by myself in the rain. Once I shimmied the railroad ties into place I started moving some dirt to start building up the foundation for the waterfall which still has a lot more to go once I dig up some of the dirt from the bottom of the pond.
Boy it would be great if I didn't have to do all this without any machinery but, it will be that more special once everything is said and done and i can fill a glass of ice cold lemonade while I sit on the deck in my chair, relax and enjoy.

 

[sissy]

remember with the longer season grasses can get out of hand .I should have taken pics yesterday when I had to divide up a zebra grass and this is only the second season for them and they were in a 6 inch pot clearanced out at lowes and root ball was 4 feet around .Amazed me that it could grow that fast .I am glad I only bought 2 of them .They were 25 cents each

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Mine is four foot deep at the main drain ......but I hit an ancient Oak Tree stump and I couldn't go any deeper......Deeper is better and if you are putting in a bottom drain slope the bottom of your pond to where everything wants to go to the main drain......Kool looking pond, you will love it

 

[addy1]

Nice hole!

 

[Tara]

That's a great amount of process in this weather. Looking forward to the end result.

 

[Nick83]

remember with the longer season grasses can get out of hand .I should have taken pics yesterday when I had to divide up a zebra grass and this is only the second season for them and they were in a 6 inch pot clearanced out at lowes and root ball was 4 feet around .Amazed me that it could grow that fast .I am glad I only bought 2 of them .They were 25 cents each

Thanks for the heads up that those grass plants can get out of control. My wife loves those lowes clearance plants and I will be sure to watch what we pick out. I will probably grow most of my plants from organic seeds so they aren't infested with harmful chemicals. I'm in the process of collecting seeds right now to have ready to get them started when I am ready.

Mine is four foot deep at the main drain ......but I hit an ancient Oak Tree stump and I couldn't go any deeper......Deeper is better and if you are putting in a bottom drain slope the bottom of your pond to where everything wants to go to the main drain......Kool looking pond, you will love it

Ouch that must've been disappointing when you hit that oak!
I haven't decided yet on the on which filtration system I'm going to use. I like the bottom drain idea but that is something that I don't have any experience with. I have thought about using one or two of those box filters as a pre-filter sunken in the floor to somewhat act as a bottom drain filter that will lead to the bog and from the bog to the waterfall(I'm just not completely sold on that setup as I foresee problems with that idea.
As for the depth of the pond i totally agree that the deeper the better. I'm going to go to around 4.5 deep in the deep end.

 

[sissy]

I did by mini grasses for my filters and kept them in pots and trim the roots every month and cut the tops off .They are great water cleaners .But so is water hyacinth and water lettuce

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Thanks for the heads up that those grass plants can get out of control. My wife loves those lowes clearance plants and I will be sure to watch what we pick out. I will probably grow most of my plants from organic seeds so they aren't infested with harmful chemicals. I'm in the process of collecting seeds right now to have ready to get them started when I am ready.



Ouch that must've been disappointing when you hit that oak!
I haven't decided yet on the on which filtration system I'm going to use. I like the bottom drain idea but that is something that I don't have any experience with. I have thought about using one or two of those box filters as a pre-filter sunken in the floor to somewhat act as a bottom drain filter that will lead to the bog and from the bog to the waterfall(I'm just not completely sold on that setup as I foresee problems with that idea.
As for the depth of the pond i totally agree that the deeper the better. I'm going to go to around 4.5 deep in the deep end.

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

I can't remember right now what the brand name of my bottom drain is, but it is a combination drain and aerator, and I am on my second year and so far working great. The aerator head is replaceable if it wears out, just screws in. As far as the bottom drain is concerned it's all about what kind of fish you want to have......small fish probably not a issue with no bottom drain, but if you decide on Koi they do grow and you cannot expect Koi to make it on their own with what they can get out of the pond, especially if you

want plants. If you don't feed Koi they will take it out on your plants......AKA....no plants....Lol Jimmy

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Also Koi .....POOP ALOT.....just saying

 

[sissy]

I don't have a bottom drain or skimmer and never have had either ..It has really been no problem for me .People over feed fish and that is the worst thing they can do to fish and water quality

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

I did by mini grasses for my filters and kept them in pots and trim the roots every month and cut the tops off .They are great water cleaners .But so is water hyacinth and water lettuce

I have both Hyacinth and water cabbage.....but the water cabbage will overpower the Hyacinth and the water cabbage has a huge root system that eats nitrates and holds beneficial bacterial

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

I don't have a bottom drain or skimmer and never have had either ..It has really been no problem for me .People over feed fish and that is the worst thing they can do to fish and water quality

You are absolutely right......Sissy......but Sarah and I don't have the will power not to feed them......I have less than one fourth the fish I had at this time last year ...but when they come a begging we can't resist them.....lol Jimmy

 

[Nick83]

Thanks for the pictures of your drain @Jimmy Gibson i do plan on stocking it with a few koi so filtration is a big deal if I want to have a healthy pond for my future fish. I have to check my local pond nursery to see which plants i can use here in Florida other than lily plants.

I haven't been able to find much information as to skimmer placement in conjunction with the waterfall to get maximum water circulation.

@sissy I dont think that I can use water lettuce/cabbage or hyacinth here in Florida. I will have to double check what plants i can and can't use. So I will probably need a biofilter along with the bog to help each other.

Filtration and water circulation has been my biggest concern that I don't want to overlook. So right now I can take the time to plan and route all the plumbing.

 

[Lisak1]

I haven't been able to find much information as to skimmer placement in conjunction with the waterfall to get maximum water circulation.

They should be as much directly across from each other as humanly possible - that's pretty much standard procedure for pond building.

I dont think that I can use water lettuce/cabbage or hyacinth here in Florida. I will have to double check what plants i can and can't use. So I will probably need a biofilter along with the bog to help each other.

You are correct that neither is legal for sale in Florida. However, I will tell you that I saw both growing in the wild in Florida waterways, so if you HAPPENED to find some and HAPPENED to bring it home, I'm sure they would appreciate you helping to clear it out of the Florida waterways. JUST KIDDING.

However, not being able to use either of those has no bearing on whether or not you need a bio filter in conjunction with a bog. A bog can contain all kinds of plants, many of which I'm sure you can grow in Florida and will provide plenty of filtration for any pond, as long as it's sized big enough.