Koi pond advice. New to all this.

[sissy]

My neighbor used lava rock and bought open bags at lowes and got the bags for 2 dollars a piece .

 

[Daemonshi]

So, it's kinda hard to visualize what you want to do, and plan accordingly, with all the old stuff in the way. Spent a good chunk of yesterday clearing it all out. I can build something decent in there I think.

 

[GBBUDD]

i would save my money and build the box and a bog hands down in time the beauty will far outway the cost or delay. but there is nothing that says you couldn't use two of your preforms . if you flip them over and you took a piece of rubber and cut it about an inch small then the tub and carefuly cut the rubber you can slip the rubber up to the lip pf the preform . let the preform sit at the top of the pond or what ever height you want.basicaly making a quick seal around the tube let the rubber run down into the pond and you then have a splash proof waterproof area

 

[Phaewryn]

Is there a reason for that extra little round concrete pool? I'd be taking a sledgehammer to that and ripping that concrete out and put the bog there.

 

[Daemonshi]

I think that small pool was being used as his fertilizer. Can't be sure since I didn't build it. I"m pretty sure that hose is running into the pond through the foundation. I've looked and so far I haven't found the other end of it, so it isn't just looped over the edge. I can always reroute the hose back into the pond though. But, I do kind of like the pool, it's a good source of fertilizer and there are plenty of plants that need it. So my plan was to keep the 'fertilizer pool', and raise the box over it. Some cinder blocks were left on the side of the house, so I'm going to use those. I'll need to sink a couple posts for the back corners. Maybe a couple boards longways across the blocks, a board between the posts for the back, and I'll have a pretty sturdy foundation to support the box. I hope; this really isn't my forte.

Also, I found some gravel I forgot about the gravel in the banana tree section.

 

[Phaewryn]

I think that small pool was being used as his fertilizer. Can't be sure since I didn't build it. I"m pretty sure that hose is running into the pond through the foundation. I've looked and so far I haven't found the other end of it, so it isn't just looped over the edge.

Is there any way you could contact your town hall and find out who the previous owner was, and look them up online so you can ask them about the little details of the set-up? I know my local town clerk is happy to direct me to my neighbor's names and phone numbers from the town records and knows everyone who has owned every property in town personally for the past 50 years. Might be worth trying to find the original owner/builder.

 

[Daemonshi]

Might be able to. I did speak with him when we first saw the house, and he did mention that it was great fertilizer, so I'm pretty sure that's what the intention was. I should have asked more questions though.

 

[Jhn]

Agree with GBBUDD, would box that entire area in to create a bog, which would add much more aesthetically as well as functionality to that area.

 

[Daemonshi]

Can someone please post a link to the kind of filters you use in that homemade crate/box filter for the pump? I am unable to find any biodegradable filters here, the nearby Lowes or Walmart don't have any.

 

[Jhn]

Quilt batting is what many use in their filters to catch the fine particulate matter floating in the water column.

 

[GBBUDD]

milk crate line it with the batting place discharge hose from your pump into the center of the batting and add more batting around and over the discharge hose . best if the milk crate can be out of the water and let the water fall back into the pond

 

[j.w]

You can make them different ways. I chose to just line my pot w/the batting inside. Some people cram it full. The pot has a hole in the bottom. When the pot start to overflow due to crud buildup in batting you need to take it out and hose it all off and then put it back and keep doing till your pond is of the clarity you wish.

I found hanging it on a piece of old metal fencing stabbed in the ground worked pretty good for hosing it off.

You can use a milk crate or anything similar w/holes.

I have switched now to using this Matala media in mine now as it does not plug up as fast as the batting and I don't need it that clear anymore.

I use the green in winter as the black plugs up faster and I just want a long lasting flow thing going on in winter so no cleaning in the cold weather. I have in the pond all the time.
Actually this winter I just took out all the Matala media and am using the screen by itself as not much gunk anymore.

Bought this large plant basket. Lined it w/ fiberglass screen door material from H-depot or Lowes.

Stuck that basket in a nice big plant pot w/holes in bottom. Then started adding the Matala media. I put a circle of it on the bottom and then lined the sides only and stuck a hard plastic paver I had on top to hide the insides, oh and stuck a rock on the bottom of that bottom circle piece to hold the pot from falling into the pond if any wind should come around. Stuck the hose from my pump that lays on the bottom or on the shelf of the pond and the pump sucks up the water and runs it through the hose to the pot where all the gunk collects. Cleaning this set up is much easier than clean all that batting but if you have really fine particles that you are trying to collect, then the batting works best.

Water comes slowly out of pot at bottom. My pump is only a smaller one so as not to push too much water at one time. Can't remember how many gph the little pump is and I think it is a Pondmaster pump.

You'll have to clear your pump once in awhile to clear the input.

I have the perfect little picker tool to clear it out when I pull of the end screen thingy from the pump. Digs out the crud from inside the pump inlet great!

 

[Daemonshi]

Are those green filters just a/c filters? That's all I'm able to find around here. Idk if they are fiberglass or not but I do know they are not biodegradable. So, atm I have a milk crate full of lava rock sitting in my tool shed :/

Anyhow, the UV filter I got started to do it's thing last week, and now the pond is crystal clear. I added a couple of lily pads the other day, new ones that had to be planted. Look what the koi did to them. That was the second one, the first was tipped over so I figured maybe it just fell and the rocks spilled out. Now I know what happened. And I found bits and pieces of the seed husk floating in the pond. Ten bucks each, so $20 down the drain. Sons of bitches...

Not much progress on the bog garden, I have the support frame done, so I just need to build the actual box and fill it with rock. Have to put it on hold for now though, other expenses are needing to take priority. Like the IRS

Also throwing in a pic of the koi since they decided to come out. They tend to congregate under the floor of the gazebo, maybe because it's more like a cave or something. Of course I snapped it while they were right where the rough water is. The goldfish (we call him Sideways) is in the upper left. We also went to PetCo and got a couple turtles and like 20 small minnows/goldies. This has to be the cleanest this pond has been since we've been here.

 

[addy1]

Good job, it is nice when the water clears.

 

[j.w]

The green pads are Matala media, not fiiberglass and can be ordered online in sheets and then cut to your specs. Here's a link to show you what it is: https://webbsonline.com/Category/Matala-Filter-Matting
You can find it at other places also in pond stores etc. Maybe Amazon etc.

Great your water is now clear!