My 5,000 Gal Pond Build In Photos

[koikeepr]

LOL! Call me camera shy! I'm so filled with P&L sealant, cement in my hair, etc. My hands look like I'm 80 because the cement mix is so caustic. I don't bother with gloves because I just can't pick up a piece of tile with 'em on. I've been slathering on hand lotion every night, but it seems to do little.

Well, looks like we won't be done tomorrow after all. My crew didn't show up until 3 today. We managed to move the waterfall to re-center it and we tiled the back wall with slate. We still need to do the sides on the back wall, however.

We began connecting some of the plumbing today by dry fitting a bunch. We've got the 3" BD lines fit to the sieve and then the sieve fit to the pump with the skimmer tee'd in between. That alone took 2.5 hours. Then I realized that I was missing a ball valve before the pump (this is why dry fitting is critical!), so I don't have to shut the pump down while servicing the pond. Of course, this means that I need to slide everything back a foot so I can squeeze in this mongo 3" double-union ball valve. So, tomorrow will mean digging out another foot.

I've got my UV ready to rock and built a by-pass for it. This way I can change the bulb or service it without having to shut it off. The water will just re-route through my waterfall. I tried to use a hole saw to cut through the rubbermaid stock tank, but my 12-volt battery powered drill cackled at me. It just could not swing the task as the rubbermaid is so thick. I'll try that again tomorrow with a fresh battery in place.

The guys won't be coming until very late tomorrow (if at all) thanks to a previous engagement. Rain is expected for Saturday, Mon and Tues, so it will likely be quite some time before we finish. Maybe another week or so. Kinda disappointing. The yard is a wreck. I'm sure the grass won't recover until next spring since we've trampled on it so much. I need to start getting up some of the debris tomorrow.

Sorry, no pics tonight. Too darn tired. I'll try to snap some tomorrow morning.

 

[PS3]

wow i cant belive how far you came ITS LOOKING AWESOME

 

[koikeepr]

Okay, my helpers did not show up today, and we have rain coming tomorrow, so I need to finally get the bottom drains in so as not to get water in the air line again.

Here is a brace we made yesterday that would support the tile on the back wall. The lowest tiles will be half-way in the water so they will seem to just go straight under water line. I took the photo on a funny angle, so it looks like everything is out of whack. Trust me that everything is straight:

Here's the bottom drain. During the last rain, the inside got sopped with water, so I had to suck it all out with a 1/2" pipe. I should buy stock in the P&L company. I used gallons of their Roofing & Flashing sealant on everything. It's great stuff that is water proof, but boy does it stain your hands! In this photo, I still need to cut neatly around the inside of the drain. I need to do this for the TPR's and the skimmer faceplate too. Then load up on more P&L. At around 2.59 per caulk tube, it's cheap and effective--and fish safe! Who can beat it!

Here are all the parts for my 3" aerated drain. It's a pretty simple mechanism. You have the main body which is in the liner. Then on left is the dome that snugs up 1/2" up from the liner so no fish gets in or any huge stuff. You can see I cut the little white PVC feet that fit into the dome, and then snaps into the holes on the base to hold everything together. The stick in the center is the air line pipe that goes to my air pump, which screws right onto that 9" aeration disc on the right. It all fits together:

Here's a close up of my little PVC feet for the dome:

 

[koikeepr]

Now, we just need to put everything together. In this pic, I've threaded on the air pipe. You've got to cut it short enough so that the air disc fits snugly and low on top. I confess I cut it about 1/2" too short. Okay, no problem, I ran to Lowes and bought a 1" PVC extender, and voila we were back in business. Just needed to shave another 1/2" off the pipe to account for the extra inch and we were on target.

Next I had to glue the white head that sits on the air pipe that takes the aerator. So, I had to prime and glue the pipe, quickly get the dome on and put the fitting back on quickly enough so that the glue wouldn't dry on me. Boy, what that a feat. I felt like I was 9 years old and playing a game of Perfection and I was expecting all the pieces to pop up at me after the timer rang! I had to move quick!

Well, basically this is what it looks like all put together:

It's pretty straight forward, and I had to do it all twice for the two BD's. So, now even if I get a good rain tonight, the pond can just start to take on water and I won't get any water in that air pipe.

On Sunday afternoon, if my helper comes, we need to tile the sides of the back wall. I need to figure out a way to foam up the waterfall and add P&L so that it doesn't leak around the edges of that opening we built. Right now there are gaps everywhere that I need to really fill in. I plan on treading carefully with this as I know this is a big area for potential leaks. I hope to plumb the skimmer if at all possible too. Lots to still do.

They're calling for rain on Monday and Tuesday. Sigh! I see light at the end of the tunnel....still far away.

 

[gambitmac]

Are you going to have any plants in your pond? My pond build is almost identical to yours, but in a little confused on where to put potted pond plants?

 

[koikeepr]

I will not have have plants inside the pond, no. This will not be a watergarden.

If you really want to have plants, you can do water lettuce and hyacinth as they are floating plants. Just build one of koiguy's floating plant baskets (in the DIY section), and you won't have to worry about where to put plants. There are hardy lilies that have a tuber that also basically float. There's also parrot feather, but it is highly invasive and you need to keep it in check. It is illegal to throw it in any natural body of water as it spreads like mad and can damage an ecosystem. It was so bad in one of our lakes last year, that you couldn't even go boating because the engines would get snarled in it.

I may perhaps do some floaters, but I will not do anything potted. Too much of a mess (with either soil or pea gravel) and maintenance for me. I will try to plant lushly around the outside perimerter of the pond, however, to make up for it.

 

[gambitmac]

I have another question about your footers and cinder blocks, I'm looking to pour a footer at the top of the pond approx 1' footer down and 1' accross, to the lip/edge of the pit we have dug, to hold 1 -2 layers of cinder blocks. I don't want to have to add cinder block walls like you did, do you think this will work or will i run into problems with it? Also I have so much clay in my yard digging required getting a track-hoe to complete our dig.

 

[koikeepr]

Yep. If you do what you are describing, you have a high liklihood of a cave in from the weight of the wall. What you're trying to build is called a collar--not a footer.

In order to do what you're describing, your walls cannot be straight down underneath the collar--they need to angle down so you spread the weight of all that block on top. This means that your pond floor will be smaller than your top part. I hope I'm making sense here and you understand what I mean. You're kinda building a rectangular cone, if you will.

Even with the walls angling down like that, you still do risk the earth settling under the collar from the weight. You can give it a try and see what happens. But of course, if you have an issue you're pretty well screwed.

Why can't you just dig down further to place a proper footer and build up from there? I have very tough clay dirt too. If you've got the backhoe, just go down deeper. Do 3 or 4 rows of blocks. I mean, it's not like a cinder block is terribly expensive. And you are ensuring stability. I know it's a bit more work, but it will be worth it.

I had considered doing what you describe, but I was warned away from the idea by a number of professional pond builders.

 

[gambitmac]

Yep. If you do what you are describing, you have a high liklihood of a cave in from the weight of the wall. What you're trying to build is called a collar--not a footer.

In order to do what you're describing, your walls cannot be straight down underneath the collar--they need to angle down so you spread the weight of all that block on top. This means that your pond floor will be smaller than your top part. I hope I'm making sense here and you understand what I mean. You're kinda building a rectangular cone, if you will.

Even with the walls angling down like that, you still do risk the earth settling under the collar from the weight. You can give it a try and see what happens. But of course, if you have an issue you're pretty well screwed.

Why can't you just dig down further to place a proper footer and build up from there? I have very tough clay dirt too. If you've got the backhoe, just go down deeper. Do 3 or 4 rows of blocks. I mean, it's not like a cinder block is terribly expensive. And you are ensuring stability. I know it's a bit more work, but it will be worth it.

I had considered doing what you describe, but I was warned away from the idea by a number of professional pond builders.

Good advise there, I will steer clear of the collar idea, and build it up like i was going to in the 1st place, thanks for the info. I really don't want a cone type pond, want it to be rectangular. So back to the drawing board.

 

[koikeepr]

just take that backhoe and dig, man! Don't try to lazy out! I know the digging part is really time consuming and no fun, but we did it with the dingo running straight for 8 hours. And your pond will be smaller, so get moving!

After spending so much time and money on a build, it's better to know that your pond will sit tight and not buckle or sink. Because at that point there is very little you can do and you've got live fish in the thing. Just build right the first time!

Where will you put your pump pit to account for the fact that the BD has to gravity flow! Don't forget that too!

Glad to see you getting started.

 

[linc2010]

It does look awesome! I love the idea of the bridge over the skimmer! I am going to get the wetsaw afterall! Thanks! Looks like I need to start over and get another liner. Second time's the charm!

 

[gambitmac]

just take that backhoe and dig, man! Don't try to lazy out! I know the digging part is really time consuming and no fun, but we did it with the dingo running straight for 8 hours. And your pond will be smaller, so get moving!

After spending so much time and money on a build, it's better to know that your pond will sit tight and not buckle or sink. Because at that point there is very little you can do and you've got live fish in the thing. Just build right the first time!

Where will you put your pump pit to account for the fact that the BD has to gravity flow! Don't forget that too!

Glad to see you getting started.

Lazy out is correct. Was trying to short cut the build, I know better than that. Was trying to keep the size we have and not shrink it up with the cinder blocks, the backhoe was a rental for 4hrs, just enough for us to get down to approx. 3' and I'm unsure of the actual width and length. I'm at work and the wife was suppose to text me the dimensions but nothing yet, she has been busy moving the dirt i pulled out with the trachhoe, LOL. sorry baby,

As far as the pump pit will be a pump slab next to the house, I didn't know the a BD has to gravity flow! Will is not work it attached to the pump? I was planning to attach the BD and skimmer to the pump, before the enter the pump i will have control vales on the skimmer and bottom drain to regulate the amount of inflow to the pump, because the skimmer will pull more that the BD will due to the 3' depth. If my logic and physics are off on this please let me know. I believe this should work, because I need suction from the BD and from the skimmer, returning to the waterfall and in pond jets, "i can't remember what you called them". But that is my game plan. Head to Home-depot Monday for cinder blocks and mortar mix. cont. digging the pond out, and lay down the footing.

 

[koikeepr]

sounds like you need top pick up a shovel then!

No, you can't/shouldn't feed a BD directly into a pump. The pump will shred everything that goes in. You need to feed your BD into a filter first. The skimmer water is already skimmed/cleaned, so you can feed that in with a tee after the pump. your BD will bring in dirty water tho.

I'm going to PM you my phone number so we can talk about this live.

Keep the course. No lazing about! LOL!

 

[digginponds]

I don't miss diggin the Carolina clay....lol looks very good

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the forum. Please post your location, city and state, "backyard diggin" is not a location. You can go to the User CP area to edit this.