Drawing for 16x16 pond

[shanezam203]

Please excuse the poor drawing in paint, but I'd like to start working on a pond for my back yard.
Currently I have a 100 gallon with some goldfish, so this will be a big step UP for me. I'd like a larger in ground one + some Koi & a waterfall.

I'd like to dig about 3-4 feet down + use length of 2 concrete bricks for foundation & roughly 16 feet by 16 feet, then 8 foot small sides.
I'd like to have a 55 gallon drum with filtration, what other suggestions do you have? If possible, I'd like to have a bit of a bridge/ walkway between the 8 foot sides brining me to the waterfall... :bowdown:

Thanks,
Shane

 

[koikeepr]

what did you arrive at as total gallons for this pond?

What kinda pump are you thinking of? I am asking this because if you have a submersible on one side of your L shape, the other side will be dirty. Are you planning on two submersibles or an external?

 

[shanezam203]

what did you arrive at as total gallons for this pond?

What kinda pump are you thinking of? I am asking this because if you have a submersible on one side of your L shape, the other side will be dirty. Are you planning on two submersibles or an external?

For Gallons I calculated it in 3 sections (8x8x4) feet deep. 256 + 256 + 256 = 768

Then is it 768 * 7.481 = Gallons
5,745 gallons?

Haven't looked at Pumps or Filters yet, Open to suggestions, what do you reccomend?

I am willing to do 2 submersibles, can you explain?

 

[DoDad]

1 barrel would not be enough filtration.

 

[DoDad]

Do you have space to dig a filter pit?

 

[DoDad]

Be sure you get everything right before digging.
Just so you won't be sorry.

 

[koikeepr]

With a pond that size, I would not recommend a submersible. You need an external definitely to power something like that.

If I were you, and this were my pond I would have two 3" bottom drains--one on each leg of your L shape with the single pump feeding both. You will need waaaaaaaay more than a 55g drum. The rule of thumb is one 55g drum per every 1.500g of volume (if your a normally stocked and not in full sun). At minimum you'd need 4 barrels (plumbed in parallel if you are going this route). You might be better off with 2 150g stock tanks. Or one 150g one and one 100g one.

You need to think about your filtration very carefully on a pond that large. You want to make it as easy to take care of keep clean as possible, Not sure if you've read my 5000g pond build thread, but I just completed a 5k pond build. Please do search for it and give it a read for ideas.

A Sequence pump would be a good choice for you. PM DoDad here on this site for his prices as they will cheaper than what you see on the web. I would do a pump that can push at least 7000gph with your size pump. I've got the Wave II pump, which does 7200 gph. If you're interested I can give you the name of the vendor I got it from. I also called him and got a better price than was advertised. The Sequence pump, however, will be more inexpensive than the one I have--and equally as good.

 

[DoDad]

Wave Pumps seem to have less power than Sequence pumps, so their watts might more fairly be compared to the next lower HP pump of the Sequence pumps.
compared
HP Sequence Wave
1/8 21 ft 14 ft
1/4 22 ft 16.5'
3/4 79' 49'
1 82' 59'
1-1/2 84' 57'

 

[shanezam203]

Do you have space to dig a filter pit?

Yes, I have space for the filter pit + power already back there.

 

[koikeepr]

Well, there you have it from the DoDad himself. Let him give you a great price on one of the pumps. They've got a 3-year warranty and you won't regret one. I still have my original Sequence 750 as a back up pump in case my Wave II ever fails.

I agree with him that you better have all your ducks in a row before ever sticking the end of your shovel in the ground. Your pit is going to contain the heart of your pond, so you want to make sure you get it right. Don't just buy things willy-nilly--think about how you will use them, otherwise you will find you have items with too little or too much power. For example, if you want a waterfall, how high will it be? How long will your longest run of pipe be? Will you run 2" or 3" pipe (I recommend the latter based on your pond size), etc. Once you have the answers to these questions, DoDad can steer you to a pump with the proper gph.

And make gravity flow your friend, so you can take advantage of that and make your system super efficient. Have your pump suction feed from your pond so it doesn't have to work harder than it has to.

We'll help ya out. Don't you worry!

 

[shanezam203]

KoiKeeper,

Can you send a link to your project, maybe I will do similar. Thank you.

Regarding the two 150g filtration tanks, can I build them under the waterfall and frame around them?

 

[DoDad]

If you do a pit make sure you make it bigger than you want.
I made that mistake twice. One is 7' x7' and the other one is 12' x 8'

I guess I'm to old to learn.

 

[koikeepr]

Here is the link to my build for your reference. And yes, the tanks can be hidden under your waterfall.

I agree with DoDad in that make sure you aren't cramming your equipment into a small spot. You need some room to be able to do maintenance.

Are you planning on a skimmer of some sort? I didn't think I needed one, but am super glad I did (yes, thank you DoDad). It collects a mess of leaves that are continually flying around in the wind. I also have a fairly treed property, so I'm sure I'll be doubly grateful come fall.

 

[shanezam203]

DoDad, I sent you a PM about filteration and pumps.

I plan on putting the Filtration tanks BEHIND/ under the waterfall. See above back view. :frown: Will something like this work?

Koi Keeper, I haven't thought about a Skimmer but the pond will be under a big tree so I may consider one.

Thank you guys for the help!

S

 

[koikeepr]

As long as you can move around to maintain the filters, keep your pump there, and have room for the piping necessary--you'll be fine.

Talk to DoDad about the skimmer too. I got mine from him. It's the large Savio, but he may have some other options for you.