DIY barrel ponds.

[herzausstahl]

How is the project progressing muppetdad?

 

[muppetdad]

thanks for asking herz, don't think I would ever have found my way back to this forum.
Sorry it has taken so long to update this post, I have been really busy this summer.. if its ok with you guys and girls I will try and finish off this thread, if I can even remember how to post photos.. dur.

I built a small shed/bar next to the barrels to house the filter and also to have somewhere dry for the electrics and ran 3" solid pipes under the existing ground to run the filter pipes through, these were then insulated and buried.


[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-15.jpg.html] [/URL]

hope that worked

 

[muppetdad]

I insulated the inside of the barrels using foil insulation then a layer of pond insulation, this was stapled just enough to hold into place then taped over the staples. Getting down into the barrels to get a decent cut around the 6" pipe was difficult and fairly frustrating but with a little patience I managed a tidy finish around the pipe.

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-17.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-19.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[muppetdad]

Just like to add that a this point my wife and most of my mates thought I had gone loopy!

 

[muppetdad]

Next step was the bit I was dreading.

I used a epdm liner from the local pond centre and lay it out in the back garden before very nervously cutting it in half.. I was surprised at how heavy liner is!
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos at this stage probably just to excited about getting it in the barrels.
I measured down 1 side of the barrel and then across the bottom and back up to the centre of the 6" pipe (adding a fair bit for excess) then transferred that measurement onto the liner a cut a 3" hole.
After a little bit of lube was applied to the pipe the whole liner was then stuffed inside the barrel while trying to keep the hole lined up with the pipe and then with a few swear words stretched over the pipe right down for a snug fit.


[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-21.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-20.jpg.html] [/URL]

with a lot of shuffling round and folding in the creases and more swear words I managed to arrange the liner with fairly even creases.

I then added some slabs!

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-22.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[tbendl]

Wow Muppetdad it is looking amazing!! Can't wait to see the finished project. Looks like you have worked all summer.

 

[muppetdad]

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-24.jpg.html] [/URL]thanks tbend

forgot to add this shot of the pre-liner inside the barrel.

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-18.jpg.html] [/URL]

Once the liner was in and with a bit of water as weight in the bottom of the barrel I cut a section of liner into a 14" diameter circle with another 3" hole cut in the centre, this was then stretched over the 6" pipe to act as a flange then siliconed and messily pulled tight and ironed in over the surface of the pipe and over the liner. Again sorry no photos

it took me the rest of the afternoon to get the pond liner glue off my hands!

I filled the barrels using warm water making the liner more pliable. with more weight in the barrels I managed to fold in and stretch the liner slightly to close in the creases to reasonable success although not perfect.

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-24.jpg.html] [/URL]

I used 1 of the barrel lids as a waterfall for the return pipe and to also to create a bit of disturbance on the pond surface.

 

[addy1]

Looking really neat! Love how you used the lid of the barrel.

 

[muppetdad]

Looking really neat! Love how you used the lid of the barrel.

Thanks addy, notice I didn't use a liner in the lid and it doesn't leak!

 

[muppetdad]

the water height is equal to the rim on both barrels and there were no leaks around the connecting pipes.
I also ensured there would be no weight bearing down on the connecting pipe by building up the back and front of the pipe with brick work then laying the slabs as a lintel across the top of the pipe. Any down force on the pipe would have put stress on the connecting part of the pipe and barrel.

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-23.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[muppetdad]

Hello again.. I will try and post a few more photos before I fall asleep again like last night

I added an oase pressure filter with uv light in the shed/bar but used a larger gauge flexible pipe than the 1 supplied.

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-35.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-29.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[muppetdad]

After a couple of weeks and a little bit of a kick start with some borrowed filter media I added these little guys and watched patiently until it got dark to see if they would swim into the other barrel.. they didn't but I got me some fish woop woop

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-28.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-27.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[tbendl]

Boy I wonder if they will. It'll be interesting to see. You could put all the females in one, and the males in the other. I bet they'd figure it out then.

 

[muppetdad]

I wasn't happy with the barrel lid arrangement, having to use a skirt under the barrel lid to prevent any water dropping down the back of the barrel looked unsightly. I decided to cut a piece of stainless steel into the barrel lid and siliconed it into place to act as a blade... to actually buy 1 would have cost a fortune, so although it doesn't look as good I think it was money well saved.
I then rearranged the lid and added a few plants into the mix. these were planted inside a larger mesh tub that was lined with a plant pot liner, I then cut a few small holes in the liner and gently pulled through some of the roots.. I don't know if it will work but the idea was to prevent the soil escaping into the water flow then piled up a stone wall around the mesh pot, again to stop water flow around the plant roots.

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-26.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s617.photobucket.com/user/pisnips/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-31.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[muppetdad]

Boy I wonder if they will. It'll be interesting to see. You could put all the females in one, and the males in the other. I bet they'd figure it out then.

They were added to the barrels several weeks ago but I can remember being extremely impatient.. was no need though as all the fish now swim through and I swear they even play games dashing through the pipe