New Pond

[Rankster]

Hello all,
Great to find this site
New to this site and pond building I did have a small pond in another home years ago but never paid much attention to it.
Have done lots of reading ,watched too many videos… am getting ready , to start digging…
Purchased a 20’x25’ 45mill edpm liner , 8500 gph pump , lights, a 36” Atlantic stainless steel spillway for a waterfall, was going to use a 50 gallon heavy gauge plastic barrel for a skimmer, which I would then pump to the spillway/waterfall, which was as going to raise with a rock berm up 2’ or so I was not planning on fish as was more thinking water feature style of pond.
I have come up with a few questions which I may be overthinking… I’m in zone 5 I believe Southern B.C. Right on Okanagan Lake between Kelowna and Penticton, very hot summers and some definite cold snaps of -20 Celcius and some snow in the winters.
Full sun , no real shade until evenings when the sun goes behind the house , can get pretty windy off the lake to. Desert style landscape with no lawn.
I’m concerned about filtering was hoping to just have the water skim , then be pumped up to the spillway to then waterfall back in to the pond. The more I read the more it seems that need some kind of bog?
Pond in the 10’x15’ range , 18” x 18” deep shelf on at least 2side down to a 4’ or so centre seems to be about as big as I can go with the liner I have. Plants to be minimal but happy to put some in if they will survive
Any further thoughts and advice.. am I missing anything crucial? Bog or no…
Thanks to all in advance for your thoughts,
Machine comes in the next day or 2 as the whole yard is being landscaped

 

[Lisak1]

It makes me so happy to read that your research has lead to the conclusion that you need a bog. When we built our pond 13 years ago, a bog was a mythical creature that most said would never work and worse, would kill our fish.

Anyway - as I read your list of preparations, you have no other filtration plans. You can filter in a skimmer - but why would you DIY that instead of buying one? If it is a filter/skimmer it needs filter pads. Are there filter pads in your spillway? If it's like the spillways we have used the answer is no. If you used a bio falls, that would be a different answer.

And honestly without fish your biological filtration will struggle. And without plants, your whole system will struggle. Then it truly is just a water feature, not a pond., What you do from there is totally unlike what anyone would do with an eco-style pond.

 

[j.w]

@Rankster

 

[Rankster]

It makes me so happy to read that your research has lead to the conclusion that you need a bog. When we built our pond 13 years ago, a bog was a mythical creature that most said would never work and worse, would kill our fish.

Anyway - as I read your list of preparations, you have no other filtration plans. You can filter in a skimmer - but why would you DIY that instead of buying one? If it is a filter/skimmer it needs filter pads. Are there filter pads in your spillway? If it's like the spillways we have used the answer is no. If you used a bio falls, that would be a different answer.

And honestly without fish your biological filtration will struggle. And without plants, your whole system will struggle. Then it truly is just a water feature, not a pond., What you do from there is totally unlike what anyone would do with an eco-style pond.

Thanks for comments I’m not against fish or plants , with the desert style landscape I’m trying to keep that low maintenance style … as I said happy to add them just trying to avoid the heavy plant very green garden pond look if that makes sense
Cheers

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum. I would vote for a bog area, especially considering your full sun. The water will attract all kinds of life-insects, birds, critters. Their waste will go into the pond and help fuel algae with the bright sun light. There have been a few posts on the forum from people dealing with/trying to eliminate algae in their fishless water features, the bog filter will help with this as well as helping trap/filter particulates.