Need advice/ideas for small partially above ground pond

[JBailey]

Capping stones will work but unless you bring the water up to the top of the blocks you will see a lot of rubber above the water line. Also unless you get good fitting stones (not natural stones) you will see the liner between the stones. As far as the dogs drinking out of the pond you will have to keep the water low which in turn allows more liner to be seen. At all cost you should do what ever you can to conceal the liner. IMHO.

I might get crazy and try some homemade 90 degree angle cap stones that fit down over the liner side more. Like these.

And doing 18-24" sidewalls should help with dog issues, and keeping the gate to the garden area closed

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I might get crazy and try some homemade 90 degree angle cap stones that fit down over the liner side more. Like these.

And doing 18-24" sidewalls should help with dog issues, and keeping the gate to the garden area closed

I have used similar fake rock coping stones before. They are normally used in a swimming pool venue and probably too large for your application. The general idea will work, however. The ones that I used were fiberglass.

 

[morewater]

I might get crazy and try some homemade 90 degree angle cap stones that fit down over the liner side more. Like these.

And doing 18-24" sidewalls should help with dog issues, and keeping the gate to the garden area closed

No offense, but they're fake and they look fake.

I don't think that anything fake should be used in any landscape setting (apart from interlock, that is....and even that should flow with the design).

If you're determined to build a partially above-ground pond and are going to use wood (as you stated), then a mitered wood coping would be the logical choice. If you're going to use block as the retaining wall feature, then the liner sholuld be pulled almost to outer edge of the retaining wall, then the coping stones attached to the retaining wall using construction adhesive or Quickcrete. Make the coping quite a bit wider than the wall to overhang the water surface, and it will hide any exposed liner perfectly.

Cutting stone is relatively easy. Buy a diamond blade for a worm-drive circular saw, or rent a diamond saw. Wear hearing protection and eye protection.

Plastic stuff in a garden setting is like wearing running shoes with a tuxedo...............it works, but it ruins the look.............

 

[JBailey]

I will take your suggestions under advisement. I've been doing landscape design and construction since I was 18, so I have some ideas to work with. Also, integrating a water feature with my homestead/farm set up gives me some alternatives besides the standard "naturalistic" hole in the ground type ponds. I actually want it to look like an old repurposed farm trough, so wood coping is not on the list. Visible liner isn't a deal-killer either.

The fake stones are make from concrete too, so depending on level of artistry used in fabrication, would look no more fake than the usual big box store products.

 

[JBailey]

I have used similar fake rock coping stones before. They are normally used in a swimming pool venue and probably too large for your application. The general idea will work, however. The ones that I used were fiberglass.

I'm thinking hypertufa with minimal or no peat moss in the mix, and less 'natural' shape to them. Closer to a poured concrete look, but lighter weight. We'll see though, especially if I want to be able to sit on the edge. Probably for the best that I can't get building for a few months. Lots of time for research.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Research is often the most neglected part of creating any Water Feature, yet it is the most important.

 

[JBailey]

Research is one of my favorite parts of a project

I've been reading about bog filters on a koi forum. Wow! Such hostility. But I think building a bottom drain into a raised bog filter will allow me to flush it out periodically, right into my garden beds. Same with water changes in general. There is enough of a drop from the above-ground part of the pond to pipe in a hose bib on the back side, facing the garden.

Does anyone use collected rainwater to top up ponds?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Research is one of my favorite parts of a project

I've been reading about bog filters on a koi forum. Wow! Such hostility. But I think building a bottom drain into a raised bog filter will allow me to flush it out periodically, right into my garden beds. Same with water changes in general. There is enough of a drop from the above-ground part of the pond to pipe in a hose bib on the back side, facing the garden.

Does anyone use collected rainwater to top up ponds?

The idea of a bottom drain in a 'bog' might have some merit. The only problem that I envision is the bottom drain will require some type of mesh covering to prevent the gravel from clogging the plumbing. This, in itself, will likely create its own clogging issues due to the accumulation of organics. If this happens, the entire 'bog' would need to be dismantled.

The use of collected rainwater can be questionable depending on the surface it has been collected from. Some roofing materials leach chemicals that may pose a possible health threat to aquatic life

 

[slick]

the water ejected from the bottom drain is wonderfull for the garden, this year i connected the pond to the green house and used the water to grow plants and the plants to help clean the water hydroponics with good success, i do collect rain water from a polycarbonate roof a lot of British koi keepers cry at me, in the wild it happens in life it gets cold etc etc bog gardens are fantastic filters total nature,a mesh to suspend the bog garden above the bottom drain will still let poop in i use a 110mm bottom drain and has never become blocked

 

[JBailey]

Good idea with the mesh subfloor!
The other day I took some cuttings from an old elderberry I need to remove, and am trying to root them in jars of pond water on the kitchen window sill. I'm hoping the extra nutrients will make a difference, and it will be interesting to see if it works better than rooting powder and dirt method.

 

[mgmine]

"I actually want it to look like an old repurposed farm trough" In that case you might want to consider wooden timbers such as old railroad ties instead of concrete block. That would eliminate a lot of the problems.

 

[MitchM]

"I actually want it to look like an old repurposed farm trough" In that case you might want to consider wooden timbers such as old railroad ties instead of concrete block. That would eliminate a lot of the problems.

Old railroad ties are soaked in creosote wich is a carcinogen. (cancer causing agent)

.

 

[JBailey]

Yeah, we have a stack of old RR ties we use for other landscape projects, but never for food & water gardens. We also have some lovely locally-milled cedar 2 x 10's that are supposed to be a new raised garden bed this spring, but maybe I could poach them for a trough wall. They were expensive though, and I would only use them if the exposed wood look won the design challenge
I'm already getting side eye from my co-farmer for diverting my obsessive planning superpower to a non food or shelter project, but I haven't caught up to her recreational cornet bill yet. I think a small fish pond is equal to a nice horn, lots of lessons, case, stand, sheet music...not to mention my courteous enthusiasm for bravely learning a new instrument at age 50.

 

[slick]

With hydroponics you need water movement I also use a small air blower connected to a few air stone's not a clue if it helps anything or not but it seams to work I got the idea from another forum member who grows plants in planters suspended in ther pond

 

[mgmine]

As long as there is a rubber liner between the water and railroad tie there would be no problem with the creosote. Being wood it would be easy enough to attach a liner to it.