New member water help new pond project

[Danfromuncle]

Hello all,

We have just finnished making a pond, I've never made one before so please be gentle, there was a smaller existing pond in its place which I needed to clean out as we could never keep the water clear.
Anyway once we got all the fish out, about 10 medium carp and 5 large ghosts and hundreds of goldfish, we then decided to totally renovate and enlarge it. One thing lead to another and its finally almost done. We have flushed it out and rinsed the water fall we made for days and days emptied and pressure washed it all spotless ,we have filled it back up with the hose and now this is where we need advice before we reintroduce the fish. What treatment should we do and in the correct processes. It's well over 150,000 liters 1.4m deep with a 30m circumference.

As we have never made a pond, there was lots of unforseen hurdles to over and mistakes were made , but i dont want to make a mistake that will hurt the fish in any way.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Dan and lew

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! What a gorgeous pond!

When you say “treatments” do you mean as in chemicals to add to the water, or do you mean adding things like a pump, filter, plants, etc. A little more information would be helpful.

 

[GBBUDD]

Welcome
Very impressive looks fantastic I like how it's up close and personal to you home.

A couple questions the area behind the falls is that a bog is there water to the bottom of that area?
Peastone ?
Is it just filled in with dirt?
The 4 inch solid blocks are of concern.

what are you using for a filter I never saw any plumbing

 

[j.w]

@Danfromuncle
Wonderful huge pond! Take it really slow adding the fish back. I'd only put in a few goldfish to start. Gotta make sure your water has cycled well to prevent a huge die off of fish from shock.
https://fishponds.biz/cycling

 

[Danfromuncle]

Welcome
Very impressive looks fantastic I like how it's up close and personal to you home.

A couple questions the area behind the falls is that a bog is there water to the bottom of that area?
Peastone ?
Is it just filled in with dirt?
The 4 inch solid blocks are of concern.

what are you using for a filter I never saw any plumbing

Hello the top pool is an idea we had like a infinite pool so we have a steady flow over the waterfall there is x2 filters the u.v lights still need wiring up

 

[Danfromuncle]

Hello and welcome! What a gorgeous pond!

When you say “treatments” do you mean as in chemicals to add to the water, or do you mean adding things like a pump, filter, plants, etc. A little more information would be helpful.

Yes water treatment please, as it's just tap water do we need to add anything or just let it sit for a certain amount of time before putting the fish

 

[GBBUDD]

They have a dechlorinator chemical that is recommended

 

[GBBUDD]

is that area your calling the infinity edge 30" deep full of water?

 

[Danfromuncle]

is that area your calling the infinity edge 30" deep full of water?

I'm not sure how deep it is but maybe close to 30inches no fish will be in this part of the pond it just fills up and overflows we was hoping it would collect debris the filters miss and it would be easier to clean than the main pond and put some plants that help to keep the water clearer ,but it is quite turbulent as 24,000 lph is going in it

 

[brokensword]

I'm not sure how deep it is but maybe close to 30inches no fish will be in this part of the pond it just fills up and overflows we was hoping it would collect debris the filters miss and it would be easier to clean than the main pond and put some plants that help to keep the water clearer ,but it is quite turbulent as 24,000 lph is going in it

that secondary, fill only and overflow portion, looks to be made only of solid slabs. IMO, this is going to crack and eventually collapse. Concrete blocks/slabs are not made for sheer force, they're made for compression. What is typically done is to fill the holes of blocks and reinforce with re-rod. And even then, there should be bracing/support on the back side.

 

[Danfromuncle]

that secondary, fill only and overflow portion, looks to be made only of solid slabs. IMO, this is going to crack and eventually collapse. Concrete blocks/slabs are not made for sheer force, they're made for compression. What is typically done is to fill the holes of blocks and reinforce with re-rod. And even then, there should be bracing/support on the back side.

Yeah that's true about the blocks and there load bearing qualities it is 9" wide and only 3 courses its filled inside with concrete too to create a bowl shape so only the top half of the top block is subjected to full weight of water inside which isn't alot at the top the lower ones are not taking any force and the load is spead out I'm hoping it's not enough to shift the blockwork plus , you could be right we made so many mistakes and was scratching our heads for ages, but one thing it is, is it's super strong .. i just want to do the right thing for the fish why I've come here really after making them a new home it would be a disaster if it killed them.

 

[Danfromuncle]

is that area your calling the infinity edge 30" deep full of water?

Is that all we really need and just leave it for a week or so to become the same temperature as there holding pond

 

[brokensword]

Yeah that's true about the blocks and there load bearing qualities it is 9" wide and only 3 courses its filled inside with concrete too to create a bowl shape so only the top half of the top block is subjected to full weight of water inside which isn't alot at the top the lower ones are not taking any force and the load is spead out I'm hoping it's not enough to shift the blockwork plus , you could be right we made so many mistakes and was scratching our heads for ages, but one thing it is, is it's super strong .. i just want to do the right thing for the fish why I've come here really after making them a new home it would be a disaster if it killed them.

I'm talking the BACK of your overflow area; that is not 9". Those are 4x8x16" solid slabs. I know them well--my dad was a brick mason and I helped for a few years. The front is the same laid flat. No re-rod. All you have is mortared joints. You should calculate the force from the water pressure minimally but I'd never take that chance. Once the water cracks the wall, your integrity is gone. Again, blocks are made for compression and you have sheer forces in play.

 

[Danfromuncle]

I'm talking the BACK of your overflow area; that is not 9". Those are 4x8x16" solid slabs. I know them well--my dad was a brick mason and I helped for a few years. The front is the same laid flat. No re-rod. All you have is mortared joints. You should calculate the force from the water pressure minimally but I'd never take that chance. Once the water cracks the wall, your integrity is gone. Again, blocks are made for compression and you have sheer forces in play.

Maybe your right just have to see what happens , it's only about 4 or 5 bathtubs worth of water up there there is a little secondary wall to to strengthen it, i can grab the liner inside where there is a crease and pull it away so there isn't a huge amount of weight involved here.
I've never made a pond before so it was a abit of a guessing game what will work

 

[Jhn]

Is that all we really need and just leave it for a week or so to become the same temperature as there holding pond

Yes, pretty much, although I would go slow adding the fish. Your new pond needs to cycle. What is In The holding pond, filter wise, plants, any thing that is wet and can be transferred, I would transfer it, when you start adding the fish to the pond. All this stuff contains nitrifying bacteria that will lessen the cycling of the new pond.

Also, would think about making the top of the waterfall area a bog(the depth is about right) you could y the return to the bottom of the upper reservoir and up the back edge to the top of the wAterfall as well to divert some of the water directly down the waterfall to keep the look of water flow you want.