Plans for a backyard pond

[Tuvixer]

My first problems:





Namely this huge rocks. I don't know how deep they go, so I am slowly removing earth around them (first I had to remove sand, dirt and bad earth, now I came to some good red earth, it seems) but I think that they goes much deeper. :/ It is going to be very difficult to take them out from the ground. I am now thinking of maybe switching the positions of the wetland an the stream. So now I will try to dig and remove rocks from where the stream should have started and see the conditions of the ground there, but I am skeptical. Maybe a raised wetland is a better solution, with less digging. We shall see.

 

[addy1]

Monster rocks! I had mainly shale, some quartz, did run into a wall of rocks when I was digging the big pond. And my septic tank and the lines going to the septic field. Sort of defined the one edge of the pond lol

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks for the info! It would be great if Aquascape products are on the European market.
I know that Aquascape products are available in Australia and Canada for sure, I think even Mexico, but have not found anyone that sells or distributes in Europe. :/

If you look him up on youtube or facebook, he will answer your questions. Seems to be a very nice person!

 

[GBBUDD]

Those boulders maybe a battle for you now. They look like they can easily be pulled with equipment. The way i see it the big boulder seal the pond looking very very natural. If you end up going that route ask for an excavator with a thumb . that and i did purchase what they call endless loops to help control the rocks as i was lifting and placing them. i know you may feel digging is the least expensive way but those rocks have a sore back written all over them . but i do believe i had a lot more support room around the pond then you may have . that looks like it will be your biggest challenge. All those here are always willing to help with advice. I do not have access to this forum very often but i'll answer any questions I can .

 

[Tuvixer]

Monster rocks! I had mainly shale, some quartz, did run into a wall of rocks when I was digging the big pond. And my septic tank and the lines going to the septic field. Sort of defined the one edge of the pond lol

I think mine is all karst limestone, but I am not a geologist, so might be wrong xD

 

[Tuvixer]

If you look him up on youtube or facebook, he will answer your questions. Seems to be a very nice person!

Yes
I contacted now Aquascape Inc. and I am waiting for their response.

 

[Tuvixer]

Those boulders maybe a battle for you now. They look like they can easily be pulled with equipment. The way i see it the big boulder seal the pond looking very very natural. If you end up going that route ask for an excavator with a thumb . that and i did purchase what they call endless loops to help control the rocks as i was lifting and placing them. i know you may feel digging is the least expensive way but those rocks have a sore back written all over them . but i do believe i had a lot more support room around the pond then you may have . that looks like it will be your biggest challenge. All those here are always willing to help with advice. I do not have access to this forum very often but i'll answer any questions I can .

That is why I would really love to use some big rocks.
Last couple of day I read Your pond building thread and I am amazed with what You have done. Simply awesome, really an inspiration to anyone who would like to build his own backyard pond.
Yea, I am definitely going to have to use an excavator. But I don't mine digging, better this than the gym xD
Now I have another idea, maybe place the wetland and the stream like this:



The support room is a problem, some stuff is going to have to be removed for sure. I can also bring the excavator over my neighbors terrain.

GBBUDD, now, when I have seen the prices of the snorkel and the centipede, I am thinking of building them myself. I really don't understand why two pipes, one with holes and other with a cap are so expensive. Maybe I am missing something? Did You encounter any problems with Your DIY snorkel and centipede, are they working fine? I seen that You have some fish living in your wetland, but I guess that doesn't have to with the snorkel and the centipede.

Thanks to all of you for any help and advice, it is very much appreciated.

 

[GBBUDD]

The bottom snorkel i was lucky i got them for free. i work in construction trades and i was able to get them from someone who had them kicking around. no there's no problem thus far with the set up but if i had to do it differently i would have pt the snorkel at more of an angle so the sediments fell to the vertical part of the snorkel. The water is crystal clear as the videos i posted show. i can work on the pond completely turn the water to mud and come morning the water is clear a day later it would be back to crystal clear. They also sell septic centipedes i never prices either of them as i figured my culverts with holes couldn't work any worse. so far i have been very happy. I places the cuts in the culvert facing at 10 and 2 so the bottom would be solid and in tact so any sediment would wash down toward the snorkel .
Having two streams and three falls would require some good water flow. i am pushing 12000gph and though i did not try to make the falls as paper thin as i could to make the water look like it was more then it was the two falls that dump into the pond i like. one is close to 48" and the other is around 12" the twelve was mainly as a over flow in case something blocked the main falls. but the stream from my bogs dumps into a small pond above the main pond it's only 5 foot wide and 12 foot long but it has proved to be very useful. i through babies up there after i catch them in the big pond and leave them there i don't feed them but they still grow like weeds. the algae is aprarently all they need. then when they are big enough i bring them to the garden center and trade for plants or supplies .
finding fish in the snorkel was the fry gutting sucked into the pump and making it past the strainer the impeller and then blown into the snorkel and centipede. It's amazing how life finds a way.
One main word of advice is make sure you leave plenty of extra liner in both the bog and the pond. Yes i may seem like a pain in the beginning trying to hide it but take my word for it when things startgrowing and backing up you'll be glad you have extra liner. i suggest having your rocks at the waters edge so they are half in and half out of the water and then on the back side of the rock let the liner slope up like an other 6" higher so even in winter when the snow wants to whick the pond water it will have to work hard to pull it up that high and far. cover the liner with river rock soil and or moss. The utv fork truck with the fourty foot boom was key to my build as i only had access from one side in setting the rocks . SPEAKING OF WHICH IF YOUR ARE LEANING TOWARD ROCKING THE POND INSIDE i STRONGLY SUGGEST underlayment under the liner and over the line complete layers trying to just pack under the boulders and then 3/4 rock and peastone even river rock is to risky to puncture the liner i would again cover the entire liner with underlayement before you start the rock work

 

[Tuvixer]

The bottom snorkel i was lucky i got them for free. i work in construction trades and i was able to get them from someone who had them kicking around. no there's no problem thus far with the set up but if i had to do it differently i would have pt the snorkel at more of an angle so the sediments fell to the vertical part of the snorkel.

One of my best friends is a civil engineer who now works on sewerage and drainage reconstruction projects and he told me that pipes are not expensive at all (talking about 35 cm - 14 inch diameter pipes) and that there is a special drill for drilling holes. He also said that the filtration processes that happen in a wetland filter are the exact same one that occur in nature.
Thanks for the "angle" advice.

The water is crystal clear as the videos i posted show. i can work on the pond completely turn the water to mud and come morning the water is clear a day later it would be back to crystal clear.

Is that because when you work on the pond you stir up dirt or because of something else?

They also sell septic centipedes i never prices either of them as i figured my culverts with holes couldn't work any worse. so far i have been very happy. I places the cuts in the culvert facing at 10 and 2 so the bottom would be solid and in tact so any sediment would wash down toward the snorkel .

I am definitely going to buy aquablox or ecoblox (different manufacturer) but the snorkel and the centipede can be DIY as you demonstrated so well on your pond.

Having two streams and three falls would require some good water flow. i am pushing 12000gph and though i did not try to make the falls as paper thin as i could to make the water look like it was more then it was the two falls that dump into the pond i like. one is close to 48" and the other is around 12" the twelve was mainly as a over flow in case something blocked the main falls. but the stream from my bogs dumps into a small pond above the main pond it's only 5 foot wide and 12 foot long but it has proved to be very useful. i through babies up there after i catch them in the big pond and leave them there i don't feed them but they still grow like weeds. the algae is aprarently all they need. then when they are big enough i bring them to the garden center and trade for plants or supplies .
finding fish in the snorkel was the fry gutting sucked into the pump and making it past the strainer the impeller and then blown into the snorkel and centipede. It's amazing how life finds a way.

The wetland that I am planing to build is going to be something like 12 ft long and 8 ft wide. I need to make some calculations if that is going to be enough. As I more think about wetland placement I am more inclined to place it even higher and then have a stream from it go to the pond or completely eliminate the steam and have just waterfalls flowing down to the pond from the wetland directly.
I just hope you don't get a Jurassic park situation in your wetland.

One main word of advice is make sure you leave plenty of extra liner in both the bog and the pond. Yes i may seem like a pain in the beginning trying to hide it but take my word for it when things startgrowing and backing up you'll be glad you have extra liner. i suggest having your rocks at the waters edge so they are half in and half out of the water and then on the back side of the rock let the liner slope up like an other 6" higher so even in winter when the snow wants to whick the pond water it will have to work hard to pull it up that high and far. cover the liner with river rock soil and or moss.

Thanks for the advice.
Did you seam the liner and if yes, is it hard? Somehow I think that I would do it the wrong way, leave a hole and completely mess up the whole pond. xD

The utv fork truck with the fourty foot boom was key to my build as i only had access from one side in setting the rocks . SPEAKING OF WHICH IF YOUR ARE LEANING TOWARD ROCKING THE POND INSIDE i STRONGLY SUGGEST underlayment under the liner and over the line complete layers trying to just pack under the boulders and then 3/4 rock and peastone even river rock is to risky to puncture the liner i would again cover the entire liner with underlayement before you start the rock work

Ok , so:
1. the geotextile underlayment
2. then on top of it the liner
3. after that another layer of geotextile between the liner and the rocks so that the liner is protected

There is a special type of underlayment for rocks:

Rock Pad - 3' X 3'

3-ft x 3-ft extra-thick, non-woven polypropylene fabric provides a significant cushion between the pond liner and rocks.

www.aquascapeinc.com

Could be a good investment.


Did you use foam to seal the gaps and holes in your pond? I might have missed that you mentioned using foam in your thread.

 

[GBBUDD]

Is that because when you work on the pond you stir up dirt or because of something else?
ANSWER: YES . because i was working on planting and edging and placing rocks and details . I am not too worried about getting some soil in the pond though the whole idea is for the plants to get their nutrients from the fish waste. I look at it this way it is inevitable for dirt to get in the pond period there's no stopping it. I do vacuum out the pond



The wetland that I am planing to build is going to be something like 12 ft long and 8 ft wide. I need to make some calculations if that is going to be enough. As I more think about wetland placement I am more inclined to place it even higher and then have a stream from it go to the pond or completely eliminate the steam and have just waterfalls flowing down to the pond from the wetland directly.
I just hope you don't get a Jurassic park situation in your wetland.

ANSWER: Eventually you will need to work on the bog . thats why i built the simple pipe bog along side the main aquascape blox bog . so i can shut down the bog and still have unaffected filtration it won't be able to handle the worst case scenario but it's only a short term .



Thanks for the advice.
Did you seam the liner and if yes, is it hard? Somehow I think that I would do it the wrong way, leave a hole and completely mess up the whole pond.

ANSWER: yes i seamed in many areas and not it's not that hard but it can be tricky on uneven surfaces and in the dirt. i have built many a flat roof which required seaming . but for anyone who is not comfortable with seaming theres an easy piece of mind seam .. it's simple you seam your seam . in other words when you bond two pieces together /glue.... you then take a strip of rubber and bond it over your seam and then seam it's edges. and if your really uncomfortable do the back side. If you take it that far you would have to be doing something seriously wrong to still have a leak . There are many videos on you tube on how to seam epdm roofing.



Ok , so:
1. the geotextile underlayment
2. then on top of it the liner
3. after that another layer of geotextile between the liner and the rocks so that the liner is protected

ANSWER: yes underlayment on top and below the liner if you plan to rock your pond at least thats my feeling toward it i would rather have to clean out and waste build up in the spring every couple of years then to have to try and chase down a leak ....there is nothing more disheartening then to realize you have a leak and trying to find it... trust me unless you are extremely meticulous you will have a leak at one point or another. test your pvc before you bury it try to stay with higher quality flex pvc don't use the cheap stuff. I'd go as far for those folks out there who have never used pvc glues and such to make small samples and test out your skills before you go to the big league .. your pond. opps i rambled i like Non Woven underlayment and if you have good soils a 4 or 6 oz may work for you but if you have a lot of rock or things that may puncture your liner they sell the underlayments in any thickness I had lots of Connecticut red sand stone .Very weak and when it breaks it usually broke in sharp pieces so i used 8OZ and that was after taking a hand tamp like for an asphalt patch over the entire bottom and sides. I have seen some of the pros on there videos go as far as placing a layer of sand over the bottom to keep sharps away from the liner. A good idea in poor and sharp soils.

There is a special type of underlayment for rocks:
[URL unfurl="true"https://www.aquascapeinc.com/products/rock-pad-3-x-3[/URL]

Could be a good investment.


Did you use foam to seal the gaps and holes in your pond? I might have missed that you mentioned using foam in your thread.
ANSWER.. no i never went around and filled any spaces between the boulders yes it may allow for leaves or dirt to settle behind the rocks but it's way cool watching a baby fish dart in behind on rock and come out 20 feet away from behind another... HOWEVER if Anyone is going to swim in your pond then you need to think about all those spaces can someone get a foot or an arm stuck and if that happens and they are underwater that's your worst nightmare.
I have seen on Aquascapes video for a recreational pond where after they set the boulders they pulled the liner back and filled in behind with sand filling in any voids so the liner was now tight to the boulders """" A LOT OF WORK BUT IF IT MAKES FOR A SAFE PLACE TO SWIM THERE IS NO DEBATE "
[/QUOTE]

 

[GBBUDD]

I just spent an hour or more answering your questions and more and i guess i missed the post button and lost it all... but i am guessing your not like me and planing to dig the day after x mass. so i'll answer again in the near future... S.O.B ...%#%@Y@$^Y$^%#^$&$@$%^JYJMNDTFXNFX DB%&B*N%* FYHNXTRRJV^BV%^V$RWSC $^R HJ

WOW THERE IT IS must have been a glitch in the network ......................