New Pond Construction

[Taneli]

Some updates and questions. I ordered my 40mil RPE liner through BTL liners. Great company super-fast should arrive on Tuesday. I had them make a factory seam from my pond to stream/waterfall hopefully it's in the right place.

Now the questions. Intake bay calculations. Im going to have about 11000 gallons per hour worth of pumps. So according to aquascape a would need to be holding 183 gallons. IS that equation just for the aquablocks or is that for the entire bay? The rocks on top of aquabocks, about 6 inches of water in the weir damn and the vault will all hold a bunch of water too. Speaking of weir damn is there a calculation for the width of the dam in proportion to the GPH pumps

 

[GBBUDD]

making more like 15-20 inches deep the whole way.

i should mention there can be a draw back to the long shallow and narrow stream if a hero gets you on the radar thats a perfect ambush area for the birds.

 

[Taneli]

Figured I would post an update of the pond taking shape, please critique and let me know if I need to change anything

 

[GBBUDD]

I'm feelin it.. i love the large rocks blending in with the small. I will make a strong suggestion and that is to foam between the smaller rocks . yes i know it will be below the water line it is like giving each rock a big hug though they are not the strongest bonding agent the fact it forms around the rocks locks them in pretty good. don't worry about it expanding and sticking out past the rocks. Start with a small area get use to how much foam to place to where its not going crazy on you. Once it had dried FULLY i took a multi tool with just the putty knife and cut the foam back where it has blown out between the rocks. IT IS " INCREDIBLY FAST AND EASY " this will save tons of aggravation over the years when the walls start slipping.

NICE WORK

 

[Taneli]

I'm feelin it.. i love the large rocks blending in with the small. I will make a strong suggestion and that is to foam between the smaller rocks . yes i know it will be below the water line it is like giving each rock a big hug though they are not the strongest bonding agent the fact it forms around the rocks locks them in pretty good. don't worry about it expanding and sticking out past the rocks. Start with a small area get use to how much foam to place to where its not going crazy on you. Once it had dried FULLY i took a multi tool with just the putty knife and cut the foam back where it has blown out between the rocks. IT IS " INCREDIBLY FAST AND EASY " this will save tons of aggravation over the years when the walls start slipping.

NICE WORK

Brilliant idea, I will definitely do that. in areas where I have to build more stacked walls do you foam as you build up or did you find it easier to just shoot it in there once you had a larger area complete?

 

[GBBUDD]

My wall was more OR LESS leaning back and the rocks stood up on each other for the main support but often it was just a corner or the center and the foam took over from there in your case i would probably use the foam where needed when it was needed. if you think the foams not strong enough long term in certain spots throw a dab of polyurethane caulking . but i did not have any areas where the foam didnt do the job. but keep in mind it is not a structural product at all.

the areas i did add some foam while building BECAME A STICKY MESS ON MY HANDS

 

[Taneli]

My wall was more OR LESS leaning back and the rocks stood up on each other for the main support but often it was just a corner or the center and the foam took over from there in your case i would probably use the foam where needed when it was needed. if you think the foams not strong enough long term in certain spots throw a dab of polyurethane caulking . but i did not have any areas where the foam didnt do the job. but keep in mind it is not a structural product at all.

the areas i did add some foam while building BECAME A STICKY MESS ON MY HANDS

Got it thanks

Has anybody run into problems having the water run off from their patio into the pond. I would like to do this but am worried about the additional debris/contaminants that will run into the water as well. Or am I just overthinking this and with good filtration and an overflow drain I should be fine?

 

[Lisak1]

It depends. Runoff into a pond is rarely a good thing and can be devastating if there’s anything toxic on the patio - cleaning products, weed killer, etc. Those things can’t be filtered out.

 

[Taneli]

It depends. Runoff into a pond is rarely a good thing and can be devastating if there’s anything toxic on the patio - cleaning products, weed killer, etc. Those things can’t be filtered out.

Thank you, makes sense i will plan on putting drains in then.

 

[Taneli]

Doing some more ordering of pond supplies and just discovered the ridiculous prices for BIOFalls. So doing some more research looks like i could just make an additional small bog (already have a 4X14 bog planned) to feed the waterfall. If i have an 8or10k gph pump can i essential plum it so that 1/4 of it would feed the bog and the other 3/4 would just go on top with a spill way? if this is possible what is the smallest bog i could really make? Or is the filter pads in the BIOfalls a necessity to filter larger particles if i only plan on filtering using the bog

 

[Lisak1]

You can forgo the bio falls - our original build did not have one and worked great for us for many years.

We modified it after 10 years because we found that we were lacking mechanical filtration. The bog is great for biological filtration, but ours was not stopping the fine floating particles that filter media will trap. We racked our brains trying to figure out where we could add filter pads - we have a down flow rain exchange at the pond outlet that might have worked had we designed it differently. I rigged up janky homemade filtration with a garbage can and quilt batting - that worked, but was ugly and required constant clean which was a pain. We purchased a box filter and used that one whole season and realized that the filter media added an element we were missing - the fine floating debris was quickly under control.

Eventually we needed some waterfall rebuild work done and decided to add the bio falls to the system at that point. All that to say - you don't NEED it, but you might WANT it.. someday!

 

[Taneli]

You can forgo the bio falls - our original build did not have one and worked great for us for many years.

We modified it after 10 years because we found that we were lacking mechanical filtration. The bog is great for biological filtration, but ours was not stopping the fine floating particles that filter media will trap. We racked our brains trying to figure out where we could add filter pads - we have a down flow rain exchange at the pond outlet that might have worked had we designed it differently. I rigged up janky homemade filtration with a garbage can and quilt batting - that worked, but was ugly and required constant clean which was a pain. We purchased a box filter and used that one whole season and realized that the filter media added an element we were missing - the fine floating debris was quickly under control.

Eventually we needed some waterfall rebuild work done and decided to add the bio falls to the system at that point. All that to say - you don't NEED it, but you might WANT it.. someday!

i decided to go with a biofalls. Thanks for the Input. Made a little progress figured I’d share a video. Having a hard time uploading a video but I made a TikTok so maybe that link will work. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8dfW2R5/

 

[GBBUDD]

Got it thanks

Has anybody run into problems having the water run off from their patio into the pond. I would like to do this but am worried about the additional debris/contaminants that will run into the water as well. Or am I just overthinking this and with good filtration and an overflow drain I should be fine?

Not over thinking at all run off can be a food source for algae . I still have a couple spots that I have to adjust.
My patio was not built with a pond even i n my dreams. All the water was made to run to what is now the pond. But I did use pavers so it's just a matter of pulling up them and making a gutter sorta speak so the water runs the edge of the pond but does not go in.

This is one of the leading reasons for algae in a pond. Letting run off in.

 

[j.w]

i decided to go with a biofalls. Thanks for the Input. Made a little progress figured I’d share a video. Having a hard time uploading a video but I made a TikTok so maybe that link will work. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8dfW2R5/

Pond looks nice and so clear!

 

[GBBUDD]

Doing some more ordering of pond supplies and just discovered the ridiculous prices for BIOFalls. So doing some more research looks like i could just make an additional small bog (already have a 4X14 bog planned) to feed the waterfall. If i have an 8or10k gph pump can i essential plum it so that 1/4 of it would feed the bog and the other 3/4 would just go on top with a spill way? if this is possible what is the smallest bog i could really make? Or is the filter pads in the BIOfalls a necessity to filter larger particles if i only plan on filtering using the bog

Bogs can be made to virtually any size.



Yes you can definitely split the water into different pipes and directions. A 3 inch line goes to my bog and shower. A two inch branches off the three for two return lines that push circulation at the surface of the pond.

Bogs can be made to virtually any size.

Yes you can definitely split the water into different pipes and directions. A 3 inch line goes to my bog and shower. A two inch branches off the three for two return lines that push circulation at the surface of the pond.

Bio falls like a bog can be both biological as well as mechanical. Bogs less so because there's no filters to pull out and rinse.