Here we go...

[rebelangel_3733]

woo hoo looking good!

 

[addy1]

Great job! looking good, it is fun to build and watch it come together

 

[pondlover]

Addy, I have gone back and looked at your build again and i see all the labor that went into placing each and every rock. Makes me realize that I will do some arranging and some rearranging on the rocks. I would like to build a type of rock wall. I am concerned about the building of the waterfall. But I am super excited to have added the bog area.

 

[koiguy1969]

pondlover...just plan on spending the next 20 years tweaking and redoing parts of the pond and maybe all of it... its just the way this addiction progresses. lol... most of us probably cant count the times we've redone the falls, a couple rocks at a time....lol....enjoy the process!
Mark

 

[pondlover]

Mark I am definitely enjoying it. Just wish I could work on it daily. Husband did go get another load of cobblestone rock that I hope to incorporate in the shelving areas. I can see in my mind how I want it to look and I know it's going to be a long process and very much a labor of love. I love working in the yard and this has been a wish for several years and now I'm actually enjoying all of it. Even the moments when I am SO sore :razz: If the days would just begin to stay lighter just a little longer, I could get something done after work. lol

 

[CountryEscape]

It is a labor of love, Lena. We have all learned that as we did our build, and then as the years go by, all the tweaking and changing and adding that gets done. My pond is about a year old, if I go by the planning process, which started about this time last year, when I purchased the 55 gal aquarium with goldfish. I joined this forum, and have learned soooo much in this past year! My love of ponding has blossomed and grown as well, and the respect of the fish, and the other critters that have come to love the pond area is wonderful. It's great to see someone getting their "pond fix" especially this time of year. The days ARE getting longer, just not quick enough for your liking, I'm sure. Hopefully you will have another sunshiney weekend to work on the pond and the rocks.
Did you get the water in your pond last weekend, or at least part of it? I know there was a hose in the pond, and I'm pretty sure you were filling it, just not sure if you got it completely full or just started.

 

[pondlover]

Ok.... one more question. What is everyone using for the pvc in the pond? Flexible PVC or Kink-Free Tubing? We are getting the Laguna Max-Flo 4200 pump from Webbsonline and am a bit confused about the tubing. It seems like it might be hard to clamp the Kink-Free Tubing. This is the tubing they recommend for the Laguna pump.

I was going to run the flexible pvc over the edge of the bog instead of cutting the liner. It makes me nervous to think about cutting it. LOL I've read Waterbug's idea on clamping the pvc to liner in another thread and will discuss with husband further. Right now we plan on going from pump and using a T to run to waterfall and bog with shut-off valves on both sides of T.

CE.... Friday it's supposed to be 70 here unfortunately I have to work (to fund pond) and they are calling for rain this Saturday. Hopefully I'll be back at it on Sunday!!!

 

[CountryEscape]

I started out with clear tubing found at Menards, mainly because it was the right inside diameter, and we felt it was the most stable. Well, found out clear is not good, lets the sunlight in, which lets algae grow inside, which can clog. So, toward the end of the summer, I replaced it with really cheap (so cheap if it cracks this winter, even though I've drained it, it would be very easy and cheap to replace) sump pump tubing, I think that's what it was called. The bad thing about what I bought was that you HAD to use the part that was made to fit to the fittings, which is only every 10' or something like that. Turns out that was perfect distance for my stuff. It is black and flexible tubing, ribbed type. I bought some at the end of the year on clearance that was solid black more rigid tubing, made by a pond company, but there was no way it would fit the fittings that store also sold, and hard as I tried (soaking the ends in hot water, cutting the end to make it wider to fit, etc.) I ended up returning it all and getting the flexible ribbed type. It was VERY easy to work with, but as I said, you have to use the "joints" every 10' to put on your fittings. You probably have something better where you are. Just make sure that the pipe/tubing will fit onto your fitting pieces, or you will be in a living hell when you get home, like I was! That was the most frustrating day! I thought I was doing something wrong SURELY, but turns out others had tried that other tubing and had the same problem.
In the end, whatever works best for you, THAT is what you will use. Remember that if you bury your tubing in your bog, that part will stay there, and if it gets a hole, no problem, as you will be making holes in it anyhow. I put a connection just outside my bog, and took that piece of tubing off and drained it and put it inside for the winter. Same thing for my waterfall, just unhooked it from the DIY Skippy filter, hung it over to drain, unhooked other end from the pump and since it was downhill it naturally drained out. Voila! Winterized.

 

[sissy]

with the kink free tubing you can use zip ties ,but get the tightening gun .You just keep clicking the trigger and it really snugs up the zip ties and double the zip ties up if you can .

 

[pondlover]

I picked up 20 ft of the ribbed pond tubing at Lowe's today. Still haven't really finalized how we will build the waterfall. I've racked my brain trying to figure something that we could use temporarily as a weirWe are using the koiguy style tank filter and haven't figured out how we will attach some kind of weir to it.

Husband has started the construction of that. Has anyone used the lava rock in the tank?. I think we will be getting another ton of rocks this weekend. Since its nearly dark when I get home from work, I've really enjoyed reading some of the threads on here. Great ideas that everyone is sharing.

 

[pondlover]

Sissy where did you get the gun to tighten zip ties?

 

[sissy]

I got the zip tie gun at lowes ,but i think most hardware stores carry it .It usually comes in a kit with the zip ties with it .You can google it to see what it looks like ,it is just a small gun looking tool and you just put it around the nub of the zip tie after you hand tighten it and keep clicking it until it gets the zip tie as tight as you want it .I use lava rock in my filters and love it .Cheap for the bags of it at 3.50 a bag here and I used 4 bags in 2 filters .You do have to rinse it real good and pick out all the tiny pieces and get the dust off them or you will have red water .I soaked my lava rock in peroxide for a week .I did buy 10 bags of lava rock and at the time lowes had it on spring sale 5 bags for 10 dollars . It was a valentines sale and not sure who buys lava rock for a loved one ,but oh well to each his own LOL. I hope they have it on sale like that again because I want to use it in one of my gardens .

 

[pondlover]

Thanks Sissy. Very helpful information and zip ties don't rust!

 

[sissy]

I'm not sure where you got your kink free hose ,I got mine at lowes and it was for my spitters .Well guess what I just came in to tell you what happened ,I wanted to move the spitters so I could work on the pond and when I moved the hose and took it out it kept breaking .I had it cut for 3 spitters in my pond .It is only 2 years old and is so brittle I was shocked .It was stiff and every move of it kept breaking it must have gotten this way over the winter and this stupid hose was not cheap .I still have the rubber hose that I took off the spitters so will put it on them ..I'm amazed this stuff was so stiff and hard .

 

[pondlover]

Oh no. I got mine at lowe's too. It's the Tetra 1 1/2" pond hose. Wonder if I should get something different?