Greetings everyone!
First off, a heartfelt thanks to many here on the forum--I have been actively reading through posts the past few months as I built my pond. The forum was very helpful in getting things up and running.
Before getting to my GFCI query, I figured I might briefly recap my pond construction process, mostly as way of introduction.
I have dreamed of having a pond since middle school (some 25 years ago!). The past few years I have made do with an aquarium, but having just upgraded to a larger house, I finally received the OK from my spouse and things got rolling.
The first step was getting rocks. In early January, I scored something like 2-3 tons of rocks from a FB marketplace poster who had just purchased a home with pond and wanted the pond gone. The rocks were being given away for free, and so the grand total came to just $120 (Uhaul fee+ gas for Uhaul).
Digging then began in about early March. Kansas clay (at least here) is wonderfully rock free and hand digging was a breeze.
I eventually settled on a 15' x 10' EPDM liner from Vevor (at least I am 99% sure it was 15 x 10', if not 15 x 12; it should be this one: https://www.vevor.com/pond-liner-c_...-fountains-water-gardens-black-p_010850877026). I wanted a bit bigger, but keeping cost done was a major goal and this one only cost something like $136. (cost of the build as a whole was about $800)
Having read the forums and watched quite a few Ozpond videos, I knew that I wanted a bog filter. The process of getting the container was almost comedic, with me shelling out $20 for food-safe 55 gallon used drums offered on FB marketplace before really realizing they had been filled with a chemical (water soluble glycol) that I wasn't comfortable having associated with the pond. In the end, I wound up deciding not to use these. Instead, and after finding out that Brute makes (at least some) of their trash cans from LPDM, I bought a 40 gallon Brute LPDM trash can, dug out part of the berm created from the digging, put a milk crate at the bottom, and then did the whole big rock-medium rock-small rock thing on top of this. I did make a mistake in having just 1'' pvc as the outflow for a bog filter with an inflow of 3/4 '' flexible tubing. This, combined with the fact that the outflow was very close to the top of the trash can, meant that the overhead pressure was not enough to stop the water from rising until it was literally 1/8 inch from the top. In the first 2-3 weeks of the pond, the bog overflowed 4-5 times, sometimes due to slight shifting of the trash can, once due to a leaf partially obstructing the outflow opening, etc. So in the end, and despite the fact that it doesn't look great, I added a second uniseal 1'' outflow (so now 2 '' worth of outflow) and the overflow problems have gone away.
The pond has been wonderful so far. The water has remained clear, with just a bit of blanketweed growth (and that has begun to subside). I have a water lily in there and some local plants from a nearby pond. The pond is approximately 8' x 5' (2.5 feet deep), perhaps 300 gallons or so with the 40 gallon filter included. I purchased four feeder goldfish and three have survived and thrived. My young son has loved the pond (we obviously supervise him carefully), as has the rest of the family. The only 'downside' has been the arrival of hordes of American toads, which emit a distinctive high-pitched, long-lasting mating call that can make sleeping difficult. But even that has its advantages--when the sound gets too much, I go out with my son, catch a few and relocate them to a nearby creek. He loves it.
I do have one question that I would greatly appreciate feedback on. Especially because of my son (who is five), I want to be sure that things are as safe as possible in terms of the electricity. As I said, we supervise him, but he loves standing on the rocks, and of course sometimes his toes/feet touch the water. When he goes after toads his hands do as well. In terms of the electrical setup, and rather than install an in-wall GFCI unit to the outside socket (which is not GFCI), I instead purchased an in-line GFCI unit (link below). I.e. this plugs into the wall and then the extension cord to the pond plugs into this. I just want to confirm that this should work the same way as an in-wall GFCI for current leaks in the pond and cut the electricity? I don't see why it wouldn't, but especially given the little guy, I want to make sure that I am not missing something. A picture of my setup at the wall is below. The pond pump connection is to an extension cord (the connection is protected by one of those plastic outdoor connection coverings), with the extension cord running exposed (but under rock) for about three feet before entering a 10 foot pvc conduit pipe that is buried; it then emerges at the house, runs 4 feet up the wall, and then up to the porch to the connection with the GFCI unit pictured here. So again, my query is to confirm that this in-line GFCI should operate the same way as a traditional in-wall one for the pond?
Pond pump is this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086QJQK8N?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Many thanks in advance for both views and comments re either the pond or the GFCI. I have better pictures of the pond and will try to post some here or somewhere else on the forum in the near future.
First off, a heartfelt thanks to many here on the forum--I have been actively reading through posts the past few months as I built my pond. The forum was very helpful in getting things up and running.
Before getting to my GFCI query, I figured I might briefly recap my pond construction process, mostly as way of introduction.
I have dreamed of having a pond since middle school (some 25 years ago!). The past few years I have made do with an aquarium, but having just upgraded to a larger house, I finally received the OK from my spouse and things got rolling.
The first step was getting rocks. In early January, I scored something like 2-3 tons of rocks from a FB marketplace poster who had just purchased a home with pond and wanted the pond gone. The rocks were being given away for free, and so the grand total came to just $120 (Uhaul fee+ gas for Uhaul).
Digging then began in about early March. Kansas clay (at least here) is wonderfully rock free and hand digging was a breeze.
I eventually settled on a 15' x 10' EPDM liner from Vevor (at least I am 99% sure it was 15 x 10', if not 15 x 12; it should be this one: https://www.vevor.com/pond-liner-c_...-fountains-water-gardens-black-p_010850877026). I wanted a bit bigger, but keeping cost done was a major goal and this one only cost something like $136. (cost of the build as a whole was about $800)
Having read the forums and watched quite a few Ozpond videos, I knew that I wanted a bog filter. The process of getting the container was almost comedic, with me shelling out $20 for food-safe 55 gallon used drums offered on FB marketplace before really realizing they had been filled with a chemical (water soluble glycol) that I wasn't comfortable having associated with the pond. In the end, I wound up deciding not to use these. Instead, and after finding out that Brute makes (at least some) of their trash cans from LPDM, I bought a 40 gallon Brute LPDM trash can, dug out part of the berm created from the digging, put a milk crate at the bottom, and then did the whole big rock-medium rock-small rock thing on top of this. I did make a mistake in having just 1'' pvc as the outflow for a bog filter with an inflow of 3/4 '' flexible tubing. This, combined with the fact that the outflow was very close to the top of the trash can, meant that the overhead pressure was not enough to stop the water from rising until it was literally 1/8 inch from the top. In the first 2-3 weeks of the pond, the bog overflowed 4-5 times, sometimes due to slight shifting of the trash can, once due to a leaf partially obstructing the outflow opening, etc. So in the end, and despite the fact that it doesn't look great, I added a second uniseal 1'' outflow (so now 2 '' worth of outflow) and the overflow problems have gone away.
The pond has been wonderful so far. The water has remained clear, with just a bit of blanketweed growth (and that has begun to subside). I have a water lily in there and some local plants from a nearby pond. The pond is approximately 8' x 5' (2.5 feet deep), perhaps 300 gallons or so with the 40 gallon filter included. I purchased four feeder goldfish and three have survived and thrived. My young son has loved the pond (we obviously supervise him carefully), as has the rest of the family. The only 'downside' has been the arrival of hordes of American toads, which emit a distinctive high-pitched, long-lasting mating call that can make sleeping difficult. But even that has its advantages--when the sound gets too much, I go out with my son, catch a few and relocate them to a nearby creek. He loves it.
I do have one question that I would greatly appreciate feedback on. Especially because of my son (who is five), I want to be sure that things are as safe as possible in terms of the electricity. As I said, we supervise him, but he loves standing on the rocks, and of course sometimes his toes/feet touch the water. When he goes after toads his hands do as well. In terms of the electrical setup, and rather than install an in-wall GFCI unit to the outside socket (which is not GFCI), I instead purchased an in-line GFCI unit (link below). I.e. this plugs into the wall and then the extension cord to the pond plugs into this. I just want to confirm that this should work the same way as an in-wall GFCI for current leaks in the pond and cut the electricity? I don't see why it wouldn't, but especially given the little guy, I want to make sure that I am not missing something. A picture of my setup at the wall is below. The pond pump connection is to an extension cord (the connection is protected by one of those plastic outdoor connection coverings), with the extension cord running exposed (but under rock) for about three feet before entering a 10 foot pvc conduit pipe that is buried; it then emerges at the house, runs 4 feet up the wall, and then up to the porch to the connection with the GFCI unit pictured here. So again, my query is to confirm that this in-line GFCI should operate the same way as a traditional in-wall one for the pond?
Pond pump is this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086QJQK8N?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Many thanks in advance for both views and comments re either the pond or the GFCI. I have better pictures of the pond and will try to post some here or somewhere else on the forum in the near future.
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