Trying to educate myself on best pond setup has made me more confused

[brokensword]

Now that's a pond! Do you have pictures of it on this forum?

that was the size of the liner; the pond is approx 20 x 14'. Showcase is here;

My Showcase

 

[GBBUDD]

If there's one thing I am good at is getting under peoples skin. But in this case @brokensword I am in total agreement with codes and money etc bull sht. Trust me what I may say here to someone may have a disclaimer to protect my azz because I trust NO ONE and as you yourself have seen time and time again what is commonsense for the two of us is definately not so for some of the posters here on the forum . So if I give advice on something I know could be an issue for code I'll say give a check with your area. It sure as he'll doesn't mean I did. But I have been a builder my entire life. So like your self I would not ask permission in my house too install a French drain. But when Joe shmoe come in and says they want to put a pond against the house that could be a big problem quickly depending on tge lot and soils.
This was the first I saw a little of myself in your words high five

 

[brokensword]

If there's one thing I am good at is getting under peoples skin. But in this case @brokensword I am in total agreement with codes and money etc bull sht. Trust me what I may say here to someone may have a disclaimer to protect my azz because I trust NO ONE and as you yourself have seen time and time again what is commonsense for the two of us is definately not so for some of the posters here on the forum . So if I give advice on something I know could be an issue for code I'll say give a check with your area. It sure as he'll doesn't mean I did. But I have been a builder my entire life. So like your self I would not ask permission in my house too install a French drain. But when Joe shmoe come in and says they want to put a pond against the house that could be a big problem quickly depending on tge lot and soils.
This was the first I saw a little of myself in your words high five

heh, rebel brothers to the core, then? I tend practical and like you, see more agenda in government than protection. I DO think there was a good intent initially, in protecting people from flim flam (an actual title and something prob only us oldsters can remember) men way back when. I know there's unscrupulous peeps in the skills industry and thank God my dad did a lot himself and I learned too. Would never have even thought of building my own house without his example. And of course, best practice is to get references so you know the person working on any part of your house/life, is not going to deliberately mess you up.

Being able to do most everything certainly has it's advantages but not when it comes to city building departments. At least not where I live. I'm sure it's more lenient outside the burbs and city, though. I admire those that live there and adhere to taking care of things themselves AND helping neighbors in need. A very lost bit of culture in this day and age, imo, where even I don't know a lot of my immediate neighbors. When I was a kid, I knew everyone on both sides of the block and most behind. Times sure have changed.


But I echo your words; you SHOULD know the codes even if it's to insure someone else doesn't create a problem for you.

 

[brokensword]

hmm, didcha miss, GB? I don't see a reply, just my own post in your 'reply'!

 

[GBBUDD]

In my area the towns and cities all want you to pull a permit to change the color of your walls to paint or paper. I say gfy. in the last 30 years we have gone from where the government works for the people to the government wants to rule the people . Bad idea for sure.... kid rock just did a tag team song with a group called monster truck a group i never heard of before . now the song is even a bit rough for even my self but i get the point to the song "Ain't no body going to tell me how to LIVE"

 

[big ron]

I would be willing to bet your town building codes might have something to say about the house foundation being part of the pond.

You came to the right place for ideas.

TAKE SOME PICTURES OF YOUR AREA this will give others get a real feel of your project and not what they interpret from your words. my pond build is a bit long but can be found here

My Pond build can be seen here ---> https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/going-for-it-phase-one-12-000-gallon-pond.22563/

 

[Fruit loop]

In my area the towns and cities all want you to pull a permit to change the color of your walls to paint or paper. I say gfy. in the last 30 years we have gone from where the government works for the people to the government wants to rule the people . Bad idea for sure.... kid rock just did a tag team song with a group called monster truck a group i never heard of before . now the song is even a bit rough for even my self but i get the point to the song "Ain't no body going to tell me how to LIVE"

Yeah like everything else... it's a good idea gone bad. We pulled a permit when my husband built our addition, it costs a couple hundred bucks. The guy barely looked at anything when he came out. He did ask for load calculations along with our plans and never really looked at those either. We wonder if he really knew how to check them. Hee hee
Craig (husband) is not green around the gills (pun intended) with construction and macgyvering, just with fish ponds.

 

[Fruit loop]

Hello again! We're still working on our pond and bog. I thought I would post some updated pictures. We've had a few hiccups but hopefully our pond will be done in a month or so.

Thanks to everyone who contributed their advice here, we went ahead and purchased the better liners. We really appreciate everyone's input.

I had already put all of my rocks in the bog but we had a small leak in the one way valve (it's brand new, can't understand why it leaks) and another leak in the bulkhead we handmade. That's my fault, I was impatient and didn't want to a few more days for a proper bulkhead. Lesson learned, it's been rotten having to rip it all back out.

So because we ripped up the asphalt driveway for the pipe between the bog and pond we then decided to lay brick pavers on the driveway... all 3,000 of them!! Backbreaking!!

But we poured the concrete for the pond walls and my honey made me a bench so I can sit and look at the fish. We're going to cover it in slate tile.

 

[Fruit loop]

Feedback on anything you think we need to change would be appreciated!

the inside dimensions on the pond wound up being 4'deep x 88"x 57"
it grew.

 

[poconojoe]

That's a lot of work!
It looks great!
Keep the pictures coming!

 

[Fruit loop]

That's a lot of work!
It looks great!
Keep the pictures coming!

Thank you! Yes it is! I haven't taken many pictures at all of the process. I'm terrible about that I hate stopping work and then I forget to but I'll try better.

@combatwombat I noticed you were thinking of getting those lights from volt did you and how are they? I was thinking of getting the 3 mini ones. I don't want it really bright, but I would like to see the fish. I wondered if we could add a dimmer switch in case they might be too bright.

 

[combatwombat]

Thank you! Yes it is! I haven't taken many pictures at all of the process. I'm terrible about that I hate stopping work and then I forget to but I'll try better.

@combatwombat I noticed you were thinking of getting those lights from volt did you and how are they? I was thinking of getting the 3 mini ones. I don't want it really bright, but I would like to see the fish. I wondered if we could add a dimmer switch in case they might be too bright.

I did get some Volt lights, but not the mini string ones. I can’t say much about them because I still haven’t installed them! The build quality looks quite good.

I will probably do the mini string lights in the short stream I’m building. Maybe the waterfall too. The strings weren’t long enough to be useful in the main pond.

I’m sure you can find a 12v dimmer, though I’ve never looked for one myself.

 

[Fruit loop]

I think that's what I'm gonna go with. They do look well made and are similar in price to others I've seen. I'm sure you've posted pictures of your project. Where can I look to see them?

 

[Fruit loop]

I think that's what I'm gonna go with. They do look well made and are similar in price to others I've seen. I'm sure you've posted pictures of your project. Where can I look to see them? Found it! Sorry I'll watch your video

 

[GBBUDD]

Thank you! Yes it is! I haven't taken many pictures at all of the process. I'm terrible about that I hate stopping work and then I forget to but I'll try better.

@combatwombat I noticed you were thinking of getting those lights from volt did you and how are they? I was thinking of getting the 3 mini ones. I don't want it really bright, but I would like to see the fish. I wondered if we could add a dimmer switch in case they might be too bright.

I LOVED MY ORIGINAL 1 WATT LED lights but the algae and the small size they didn't last thast long im now running 3 watt and when algae gets on them they are perfect