how to build a pond and waterfall

[littlepond]

hi all,my name is mal,i live in ireland,found this site on the internet,i am going to build a pond and waterfall using the american system,i will have lots of questions to ask ye, littlepond

 

[sissy]

well have fun learning and i'm wondering what the American way is .Is that because we use a liner .I hope you find what you need here and it will be fun to see what you come up with .So hope you post your plans here so we can see what you come up with .It will be interesting to see .Oh darn again Welcome to our pond .

 

[littlepond]

hi sissy ,thanks for the welcome.in ireland pond builders dont use skimmers or bio falls filter.yes we use epdm rubber liner. littlepond

 

[taherrmann4]

Littlepond welcome to the forum.

 

[sissy]

I seem to see ponds over there made of cement and also a lot of raised ponds .I'm afraid i don't know much about skimmers I don't have one but I have two homemade filters with lava rock as the media .How big are you going to make your pond and what kind of fish are you planning to have and also how deep are you going to go and how much of a budget do you have .I know we have a few on here from Ireland .The filter seems to be the easiest to build it is just the media you use .Some media works for one person does not work for all ,trial and error .

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the group littlepond!

 

[fishin4cars]

Welcome aboard Littlepond/Mal, Is this your first pond? If so read read read, LOL so many different ways to design a pond, I love my skimmer and filter falls, Wish I had installed a bottom drain, It's a good idea to have a good solid game plan before starting, Depth, skimmer size to pump size relationship, and fiulterfall size, also decide before you start what kind of fish, If you decide on Koi make sure you give them enough room to grow the first time around,

 

[littlepond]

hi all the size of the pond will be 6 ft wide by 2o ft long bu 2 ft deep.it will be built behind a 9in concrete wall.i will have to make my own diy skimmer and bio falls,as they are not sold in ireland.i will post photos as i go along :razz: .littlepond :razz:

 

[littlepond]

hi all here are some photos of my diy skimmer and bio waterfall plastic box :razz: littlepond :razz:

 

[taherrmann4]

How cold do your winters get? If you are going to house fish be sure that it is deep enough for the winters.

 

[littlepond]

hi all,more imfo on pond.the pond is not realy for fish,i am building a sun room on to my house,the pond is to help reflect light into the sun room,that is why it is long and narrow.the house is built near a very big hill,as you will see in my next photos :razz: littlepond :razz:

 

[sissy]

Then you will have no fish so you may not need much of a filter and you could use peroxide to keep water clear and free of green water .Are you going to put plants in the water .You want a pond just for looks and sound so a waterfall would be great as it will help keep water from being stagnant .Thats a fairly easy pond then so the hardest part will be the digging and putting in the liner and getting it the way you want it to look and sound .Been thinking that way myself for the last year much simplier to maintain and if you want to turn the pump off no biggie .I hope you post pics of your build and filter looks good .At least you are thinking ahead and it should turn out good for what you are planning on it's use

 

[littlepond]

hi all,the concrete guy is comming to morrow to cut the 9in concrete wall because it is to high,i will post photos so ye can see what i am doing :razz: littlepond :razz:

 

[littlepond]

hi all .concrete cut,as you will see in the photos i have a old pondless,i have lived in the house for 5 years and it has never worked.mini digger comming monday to shift concrete and dig hole for pond behind wall :razz: littlepond :razz:

 

[addy1]

fantastic! thanks for sharing your progress.