Liner Creases

[VanDiesil]

You never want your pump on the bottom ,if you get a leak some where you could drain your pond .

This is where everything gets all complicated. I understand what you are saying, but you want all the water to be circulated through the filter, which would make having the filter box and outlet sending the water back in to the pond at one end , and at the opposite end the pump at the bottom so all the water is circulated rather than just the upper layers. The excrement from the fish and other detritus is also removed with the pumps at the bottom as it goes through the filter sponge/matting.

I understand that having the pump off the bottom will give that protection should there be a leak, but placed on a brick so it sits 6" off the bottom is enough of a safety barrier so that not all the water is removed, as well as being able to pull the water & detritus from the lower levels of the pond, circulating it properly through out the whole filter system and the pond.

 

[sissy]

I have 2 filters and 2 pumps and use a swimming pool net to scoop stuff from the bottom .I had my pump one year dead of winter and snow and wind drain and if I had not noticed the caved in ice my fish would have frozen to death .I raised my pump up after that scare .I was running water into the pond from the basement tap and glad I had one installed inside .When you go through it you never want it to happen again .My 1 pump I keep running was just aboat 8 inches off the bottom and the one that burned out was the one causing all the problems and this all happened in 2 hours .I had just checked the pond 2 1/2 hours before that and it was fine and my pond is 25 x10 by 4 feet deep .So never ever will I take that chance again and I also bought low water cut off switches also .

 

[slakker]

I kinda like the creases... underwater, it looks like natural rock once the film of algae grows on it...

 

[addy1]

I kinda like the creases... underwater, it looks like natural rock once the film of algae grows on it...

so do I this is how mine have ended up looking

 

[sissy]

look like natural rock ledges addy .

 

[addy1]

agree sissy, that is the wall the bog is sitting on, goes up then in around 12-18 inches then the bog starts.

 

[Waterbug]

This is where everything gets all complicated. I understand what you are saying, but you want all the water to be circulated through the filter, which would make having the filter box and outlet sending the water back in to the pond at one end , and at the opposite end the pump at the bottom so all the water is circulated rather than just the upper layers. The excrement from the fish and other detritus is also removed with the pumps at the bottom as it goes through the filter sponge/matting.

I understand that having the pump off the bottom will give that protection should there be a leak, but placed on a brick so it sits 6" off the bottom is enough of a safety barrier so that not all the water is removed, as well as being able to pull the water & detritus from the lower levels of the pond, circulating it properly through out the whole filter system and the pond.

To get circulation the pump only has to be present some place in the circuit. If pump output is directed at the bottom of the pond you get the exact same, maybe better, circulation with the pump near the surface. So pump at surface pulling in water that goes to filters - waterfall - whatever - and water from the last of those is directed to the bottom of the pond rather than just dumping on the surface.

 

[sissy]

I have 2 hose coming off my pump when has a ball valve that floats ontop and is tied to the bridge to keep it in place and other one is weighted 4 inches off the bottom .But I still net the bottom because the bottom one points towards the lowest part of the pond .That is the main reason I have 2 pumps but came in handy when I had a problem with one pump also .The top one points one way and bottom one points the other way .I think since I started that and put plants in the filter the water has been lots cleaner
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[Kristi Kelty]

For small ponds I just muscle it. To reduce the work I mark the mid point on at least one edge of the liner (yellow crayon works good) and I mark the mid point on the wall that liner side will go. When I set the liner I line up those two marks first and anchor the liner there. The rest of the liner is kind of forced to be right.

For large ponds, like where it takes more than one person to carry the liner, the liner can be laid out on a lawn or whatever, and folded up so the bundle can be placed in the exact center of the pond and then just unfolded. The extra effort up front makes for an easier job overall.

Folds are what they are. You can screw around some, but for oval type ponds doesn't seem to matter much. I generally mortar rocks over the liner because I don't like the look of bare liner or folds. But that's just me.

What do you use to mortar the rocks on the edge of the pond?

 

[Waterbug]

Normally just standard mortar mix. If you mean like Type N vs Type S, it doesn't really matter that much. Most first time DIY masons want strong strong strong so think Type M is best. But that's not what mortar is all about. Weaker mortar is often better than stronger because it's less likely to crack.

If you have really weak rock, like you can break with your hands, you do want a really weak mortar and I'll add more clay to the mix to get a really weak mortar. With a strong mortar the rock will crack and erode while the mortar stays the same and pretty soon looks really bad. With a weak mortar it erodes with the rock and you get a very nice aged look.

Depends on what you want. If you want last forever use a really hard rock like granite and Type M. But the other types would be fine. I mean I wouldn't run all over town to get Type M.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Thanks so much Waterbug! Very helpful! Will Quickcrete do the job? Also, how does the spray black foam compare to using the mortar?