Going for it! phase one 12,000 gallon pond.

[Lisak1]

I'm no help with pumps and equipment - not my thing! But I sure do admire your enthusiasm to keep moving forward in spite of the cold!

 

[j.w]

I am going to enjoy watching this build! Rocks are so much my friends

 

[brokensword]

I am going to enjoy watching this build! Rocks are so much my friends View attachment 107825

We always knew you were a rock and roll chic, @j.w

 

[GBBUDD]

As a conservative estimate and the 6 ton trailer I used to haul all these rocks/ boulders and not being able to lift the dump body on a couple loads ... oopps.. at 9,000 pounds a load my back is killing me just saying this 63,000 pounds.... Excavator rentals are part of the plan but the majority is all going to be layed by hand . Worst part is I plan on bringing in even more rock and boulders I must have rocks in my head.

 

[GBBUDD]

A 40 degree day and I was able to pressure wash most of the piles of rock. Definitely have some choice pieces Especially with the river rock its a shame they will probably become uniformly covered in positive algae. The largest of the boulders are all the same type they are dark gray granite with chips of white Quartz about an 3/4" wide and 1 1/2" long. The nice part there is the river rock has many of the same type as does some of the split stone . This should help blend the three rocks together with some careful arranging. The third type of rock which I plan to use along the pond and stream edges is a fresh split type of shale I believe but it is hardly soft. and is not layered in straight splits but is more volcanic with lots of swirls. It is rock that was drilled out of casion foundations 8 foot diameter on average and very competent rock with some veins of iron.

 

[Lisak1]

You are a true rock lover - I can tell from your exacting descriptions! Learning to keep driving any time we passed a rock yard was the hardest part of having our pond build done... I LOVE ROCKS!

 

[JamieB]

Pick some of the best looking small rocks to mix in around the boarder. Like smaller than a fist, as I’m sure you’ll find some.

 

[GBBUDD]

Pick some of the best looking small rocks to mix in around the boarder. Like smaller than a fist, as I’m sure you’ll find some.

Trust me Jamie the river rock piles have everything from 400 pound down to fits in the palm of your hand, after loading and digging out all the rock from the spoils piles the little ones are a welcoming change from the back breakers..

You are a true rock lover - I can tell from your exacting descriptions! Learning to keep driving any time we passed a rock yard was the hardest part of having our pond build done... I LOVE ROCKS!

Mother nature is by far the best artist I have ever seen !!!!
The granite counter tops I surprised the MRS with this past fall is among some of that.
Another load today and stopping at the self serve car wash to hose todays catch sorta speak down to see what we got found some green schist with quartz veins along with a white quartz boulder 1x2x4' very cool peace's with some iron striations. I'm afraid to stop collecting as this rock is not something I can go to the local quarry to get . Its not that it's all that " the rock " I just want the finished product to look like it grew here. all from the same area. Having worked in construction all these years I know if you don't get all you need in the first "order" the second will not match fully the die lots or source locations will differ. So i'd be willing to bet when I am done I will have a pretty good pile left over.

 

[addy1]

Mother nature is by far the best artist I have ever seen !!!!
The granite counter tops I surprised the MRS with this past fall is among some of that.

I love the patterns and colors in rocks!
We put in granite has the most beautiful pattern, swirls of colors.

 

[GBBUDD]

addy with your bog did you lean toward the water a couple inches below the surface or water a cople inches over the gravel. seems to be a debate on this from what I have read so far. I did catch your videos fortunately PHOTBUCKET HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THOSE. hoping they die a slow painful death. They couldn't have started off nice and slow like ten dollars a month like photoshop and light room. Thinking we'll see them on American greed in a year or so. your shubunkins pond is crazy I couldn't get over how many of them you have in there and how clear the water is. I'm actualy leaning toward shinners or similar as I love schooling fish and shinners are like a flock of sand pipers when they all shift together they give off that shine a couple hundred would make a show.

 

[GBBUDD]

I only hope I'm half as successful with this water garden as I was with the Planted fish tank , one of the photos is the imogee I have as my profile photo. if I said that right.

 

[Lisak1]

I won't answer for @addy1 but I will tell you that we built our bog so the water was slightly above the level of the gravel. No reason why, really - just a preference in how it looks. We have added gravel several times as things have settled to keep the level where we want it.

 

[addy1]

addy with your bog did you lean toward the water a couple inches below the surface or water a cople inches over the gravel. seems to be a debate on this from what I have read so far.

I did not plan on it one way or the other. It ended up have some of the gravel below water, some of the gravel above water. I did add some bags of gravel after the first year, the gravel did settle. The long wall between the pond and the bog, I thought, would be above the water, but it has ended up being a weep wall, here and there the water weeps over. That worked out to be great, more circulation more filtering, the moss grows great on the wall.
I do make sure there is a shallow stream like path to get the majority of the water flowing towards the water fall rock.
I do yank plants out off and on so it does not get totally plant clogged. The plants don't seem to care if their crown is above or below water, they just grow like weeds.

 

[GBBUDD]

I said it before and I'll say it again I must have rocks in the head I brought home another 10,000 pounds of rocks again today. I believe its fractured granite with Iron veins. some of the pieces are 3.5 feet tall that have a semi circle edge on one side, i'm thinking these might make for an interesting succession of steps leading into the pond. but I't may be to formal. I better start this project soon " if the weather gives me a break" before I'm swimming in rocks.

Instead of spending crazy asking prices for a plastic tub with more plastic shaving or Plastic bio balls at the main water fall to diffuse the waters flow. I think I'm going to just make a small pond one that will allow the water to flow evenly over the edge this should also allow for some plants to help break up the volcano look. Supplies are rolling in Pond foam, gun, Lap cement, tpk bushing's, Helix skimmer and Rhino bottom drain have arrived. Also found some drift wood along a rivers edge that will make for a natural look. Though one piece is hard to believe even is. Like I said in a quote above mother nature is the best artists I know well here is one such example. I know wood rather well after being a carpenter for 25 years and I have a hard time putting this drift wood together in a tree.

 

[JamieB]

That piece looks like the skeleton of some strange Dino. A head like some kind of pterodactyl, a rib cage, a hint of legs...