Hamstermann's pond build

[jhenkel]

Couple of thought, been small garden ponding with Koi for 19 yrs and:
1. Keep ease of mainenance in mind - keep in mind future time and age to doing upkeep, at 82 simple things are now not so simple or easy - 5 minute tasks become historical events
2. don't skimp on vavling to allow you to do mainenace and modifications
3. You can never have too much filtration - keep in mind again ease of maintenace of the system and potential time involved with cleaning so as to minimize maintenance time
4. water pipe size, always pgrade at least one size - allow for later modifications (allowa easier cleaning later)
5. Run at least one extra conduit for electrical fro power source - may never need, but a few dollars now, saves big bucks later
6. Ponds: either you get addicted or wish you never had one; prepare for future pond or elated landscape ideas.
7. remember things don't happen overnight in ponds, may take some time for seeing ressults of additions or changes.
8. I use a 4 to 1 rule of thumb - if I need a 100 gph, I'll use a 400 gph pump as an example.
9. Most likely future issues will be due to installation shortcuts or short sighted thinking -

 

[hamstermann]

lets start with the facts, how tall is the wall ? and how much taller is the bog from the pond

While the tails / U ends stabilize the end wall they too can have the same issue on it's end. the idea is to have each lock in the last. Like i have said before these rocks are going to be exposed the youth climbing jumping and pulling on them everything needs to be locked in place . by pure size or by design like angled back so a rock would actually have to be lifted and not just tugged on. END GAME IS TO INSURE NO ONE CAN TOPPLE ROCKS OR WALLS AND HAVE THEM HOLD THEM UNDERWATER. Also keep in mind that those young boys if they are trying to catch a frog and while they are fast with a jump. they are not underwater and if it swims between rocks there's a good chance a small hand will follow, and we got to make sure they don't get stuck and held under water.

I think I'll do the staggered build like in my pictures, so one milk crate filled with rocks in front of two milk crates filled with rocks. on top of each level of the milk crate wall I'll do fabric, liner, more fabric, then bigger boulder-type rocks. and probably zip tie the milk crates together as I build. So the wall will be about 26 inches high plus the height of the boulders or rocks. So maybe three feet tall total? but with a base of 2 feet plus big rocks/boulders in front of the bottom milk crate to hide the liner and fabric, it sounds like I should be safe and not have it fall over.

Couple of thought, been small garden ponding with Koi for 19 yrs and:
1. Keep ease of mainenance in mind - keep in mind future time and age to doing upkeep, at 82 simple things are now not so simple or easy - 5 minute tasks become historical events
2. don't skimp on vavling to allow you to do mainenace and modifications
3. You can never have too much filtration - keep in mind again ease of maintenace of the system and potential time involved with cleaning so as to minimize maintenance time
4. water pipe size, always pgrade at least one size - allow for later modifications (allowa easier cleaning later)
5. Run at least one extra conduit for electrical fro power source - may never need, but a few dollars now, saves big bucks later
6. Ponds: either you get addicted or wish you never had one; prepare for future pond or elated landscape ideas.
7. remember things don't happen overnight in ponds, may take some time for seeing ressults of additions or changes.
8. I use a 4 to 1 rule of thumb - if I need a 100 gph, I'll use a 400 gph pump as an example.
9. Most likely future issues will be due to installation shortcuts or short sighted thinking -

Thanks! I'm not sure what vavling is - maybe that's a typo but I'm not sure what you're saying there?

 

[YShahar]

oh, I like the idea of filling milk crates with stone and putting liner and fabric around that and then caulking the edges. So simple and easy. Thanks! In my pictures I was thinking of leaving the milk crates for the wall empty so that they can add to the bog volume, but weighting the perimeter ones down with Rocks inside of them will not only make the wall more stable but allow me to use up some sharp rocks I was afraid to put directly on the liner and geotextile. That's genius!

I'll send you my bill tomorrow... ;-)

Wow, that's 1/2 inch to 3/4 of an inch - much smaller than I thought! Are you still able to backflush for cleanouts when needed?

Well I haven't had to do a clean out yet, but as the layer of gravel is fairly thin, I doubt it would hold much gunk. It's mostly there as a sort of "leveling compound" as it was impossible for me to get the floor level with the centipede underneath the liner.

 

[GBBUDD]

I'll send you my bill tomorrow... ;-)


Well I haven't had to do a clean out yet, but as the layer of gravel is fairly thin, I doubt it would hold much gunk. It's mostly there as a sort of "leveling compound" as it was impossible for me to get the floor level with the centipede underneath the liner.

Never impossible just wasn't plausible. The tools neded to do the job probably weigh as much as @Yshara

 

[hamstermann]

Progress! This is the start of the intake bay and the lower retaining wall.

That's Great Stuff Gaps and Cracks between the rocks. You can't see much of it from the front and OzPonds recommends that instead of the pond foam since it's the same stuff but yellow and (at least in my area) 1/3 of the price.

I would have made more progress the past two days but I found someone about 20 minutes away who pulled 3-inch minus river rock and dirt out of their park strip and is giving it away free to anyone willing to sift it, so my wife and I spent an hour yesterday and about an hour and a half today and I estimate we've got about 3 cubic yards free so far. When I've used that up we'll go back for more if they still have it. I also needed to get a bigger blade for my angle grinder so I could cut the blocks more cleanly.

The space between the pump vault and the milk crates is perfect for some large jagged rocks I got for free last fall too, so that's nice.

 

[GBBUDD]

Always nice to see progress on dreams but i question what ever it is your using at the foot of the walls. it looks like dirt?

 

[hamstermann]

Always nice to see progress on dreams but i question what ever it is your using at the foot of the walls. it looks like dirt?

That's the sand you suggested I cap the road base with. The walls are sitting on the sand, which sits on the road base, which sits on the liner sandwich.

There is one muddy spot where I asked my son to bring me more road base rocks and he scooped up the rocks with some clay loam and dumped it there for me to pick up, but it's not under the wall block.

 

[hamstermann]

More progress. Sorry about the lighting. I worked longer tonight so it's darker.

I got more of the wall built and backfilled behind it with some of the free river rock. Also pulled out some of the larger river rocks and put them in the intake bay outside of the milk crates to lock them in place..

The hole in my pump vault that was factory -drilled is below the level of the current wall. I'll need to figure out how to deal with that and still be able to put a lid on the vault. But that's a problem for another day. My next steps will be a retaining wall stepped back a bit from this one so the lower wall and the gravel behind it can act as a bench seat. Also need to get moving on the wall made of filled milk crates so I can finish filling behind the lower retaining wall. They'll butt right up against each other.

 

[addy1]

Looking great! My pond is so basic compared to yours.

 

[hamstermann]

Looking great! My pond is so basic compared to yours.

Thanks @addy1 ! I hope my bog works as well as yours when I'm all done building!

 

[hamstermann]

I don't want to wait for Aquascape liner primer to be shipped to me and don't want to pay the high prices. Does anyone know of something else I can use with the double-stick liner tape to seam a liner?

 

[GBBUDD]

Making some great progress moving right along, your going to love having the water right up to your patio
Whats hard to see from the picture is the right side of the wall that meets the intake is that locked in by the intake bay or does it jus abut each other. this is wear i mentioned the need for it to be locked in so it could not fall over. the concrete blocks should have staggered overlapped each other on the two walls. Hate to say it but i would go down a row or two in that corner and weave the blocks. This is important especially underwater.

 

[GBBUDD]

I don't want to wait for Aquascape liner primer to be shipped to me and don't want to pay the high prices. Does anyone know of something else I can use with the double-stick liner tape to seam a liner?

YES BUT THEY MAY NOT SELL TO HARRY HOMEOWNER WALKING IN THE DOOR SO SAY YOUR HAVING WORK DONE ON YOUR ROOF AND THEY RAN OUT AND You SAID you'd WOULD RUN TO THE ROOFING SUPPLY HOUSE. Any commercial roofing supplier like abc supply will have what you need

 

[hamstermann]

Making some great progress moving right along,
Whats hard to see from the picture is the right side of the wall that meets the intake is that locked in by the intake bay or does it jus abut each other. this is wear i mentioned the need for it to be locked in so it could not fall over. the concrete blocks should have staggered overlapped each other on the two walls. Hate to say it but i would go down a row or two in that corner and weave the blocks. This is important especially underwater.

They're woven. On every other level, the rocks of the wall have a corner or two sitting on the previous layer of blocks in the intake bay's stack. I can't do more than that because the bricks shape and dimensions don't really allow it.

YES BUT THEY MAY NOT SELL TO HARRY HOMEOWNER WALKING IN THE DOOR SO SAY YOUR HAVING WORK DONE ON YOUR ROOF AND THEY RAN OUT AND YU SAID YOU WOULD RUN TO THE ROOFING SUPPLY HOUSE. Any commercial roofing supplier like abc supply will have what you need

Do you know what it's called?

 

[Pablo]

Making some great progress moving right along,
Whats hard to see from the picture is the right side of the wall that meets the intake is that locked in by the intake bay or does it jus abut each other. this is wear i mentioned the need for it to be locked in so it could not fall over. the concrete blocks should have staggered overlapped each other on the two walls. Hate to say it but i would go down a row or two in that corner and weave the blocks. This is important especially underwater.

Stop telling him to make it so safe, it is ruining my retirement plan. I have business cards being shipped out there to be right next to the pond. "Slip and Fall, call Paul"