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  • Results 1 to 15 of 15

    Thread: Newbie Pond 9 x 13 x 4ft deep

    1. #1
      goclassv's Avatar
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      Newbie Pond 9 x 13 x 4ft deep

      Hi Everyone,

      Please go easy on me as this is my first pond and I'm on a budget.....

      So I decided to dry stack 2 layers of cinder block without filling them. This picture is from before I expanded it another foot and made it a perfect oval. Not sure how this will hold up in NY, but my soil is pure sand. Hoping this will last for at least 5 years.... Concrete in the ground is more expensive, lots of work and would require a permit (my neighbors are already asking questions about permits...)

      I installed a 4" Koi toilet 1 in concrete and connected the drain to a 3" flex pvc and air to a 1" flex pvc that will run to my future pump house. I bridged that gap between the pipes outside of the concrete with a fernco so that if I ever decide I need a 4" pipe, I can do so (with some excavation).

      I also installed 3 tpr's in the bottom layer of cinder blocks that are currently capped off for future installation.

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      I have a 100 gallon stock tank and a 55 gallon barrel. Was planning to make it a gravity fed settling tank and bio filter. For now I will just use a 1200 gph pump I currently have to pump the water back to the pond until I purchase a larger pump and hook it up to my tpr's.

      I also will use an old alita 20L air pump to hopefully drive the aeration.

      For now, a skimmer is out of the budget, but would someday be hooked up in a separate circuit.

      Would love to have 6-8 koi to grow out and enjoy!

      Any feedback? Will my walls collapse? Air pump too small? Recommendations on return pump? I'll take better pictures tomorrow.

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    2. #2
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      I would suggest going one more row of blocks, to keep ground water from running into your pond. I would also add a skimmer, waterway make's a nice little skimmer that fits in the space of one block. You can run your BD to the stock tank as a settlement tank. Pipe the skimmer into the outlet of the stock tank, then your pump to the 55 gallon barrel. I would go with a sand/gravel filter. Later on you can get a bigger pump, add a 2nd S/G filter. Don't forget the UV, unless you want green water you will want a UV.

    3. #3
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    4. #4
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      Thanks for the replies so far. I do plan to have it slightly above grade. I am adding 2 layers of 1.5 inch blocks to hide the liner better. Here is a diagram I just drew:
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      I do plan on adding a skimmer eventually that might drive a waterfall. Thanks for the link. That one is more than affordable......I just need a pump to drive it. What size pump would one that size need just to keep the water surface clean?

      Lastly here is a picture of the fernco connecting the bottom drain to the 3" flex tube. Hope this will hold up under the edge of the pond and a couple feet of dirt..I actually inserted the flex a couple inches into the PVC to prevent the fernco from squishing....
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    5. #5
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      Quote Originally Posted by goclassv View Post
      Thanks for the replies so far. I do plan to have it slightly above grade. I am adding 2 layers of 1.5 inch blocks to hide the liner better. Here is a diagram I just drew:
      Name:  Pond Edge.jpg
Views: 912
Size:  7.7 KB


      I do plan on adding a skimmer eventually that might drive a waterfall. Thanks for the link. That one is more than affordable......I just need a pump to drive it. What size pump would one that size need just to keep the water surface clean?

      Lastly here is a picture of the fernco connecting the bottom drain to the 3" flex tube. Hope this will hold up under the edge of the pond and a couple feet of dirt..I actually inserted the flex a couple inches into the PVC to prevent the fernco from squishing....
      Name:  photo(5).JPG
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      For anything buried underground, I would avoid a Fernco type fitting. Also I wouldn't reduce the size of the bottom drain line prior to your prefilter. And lastly, the flex PVC inserted deeper into the hard PVC is a no brainer. Any derbris/waste/leaves now has a place to catch and create a blockage.

    6. #6
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      Quote Originally Posted by goclassv View Post
      Thanks for the replies so far. I do plan to have it slightly above grade. I am adding 2 layers of 1.5 inch blocks to hide the liner better. Here is a diagram I just drew:
      Name:  Pond Edge.jpg
Views: 912
Size:  7.7 KB

      I do plan on adding a skimmer eventually that might drive a waterfall. Thanks for the link. That one is more than affordable......I just need a pump to drive it. What size pump would one that size need just to keep the water surface clean?

      Lastly here is a picture of the fernco connecting the bottom drain to the 3" flex tube. Hope this will hold up under the edge of the pond and a couple feet of dirt..I actually inserted the flex a couple inches into the PVC to prevent the fernco from squishing....
      Name:  photo(5).JPG
Views: 777
Size:  143.3 KB
      I have my skimmer tied into my bottom drain line after my prefilter. Skimmer line has a ball valve to adjust flow. One pump sized correctly can be tied to both circuits. Your max gallonage is 3500, so I would be looking at a pump that can turn over the entire water volume at least once per hour. Inexpensive (relatively) pumps in this range are approximately 250$ Evolution ESM 3500 is a good place to start. ESM 4500 would be even better. The skimmer I linked to would benefit from enlarging the piping to 2".

      As far as building this, with the plan to change things later is futile. Build it correct the 1st time. Plumb in the skimmer before cementing the collar. Run the main plumbing with the idea of never having to dig it up later. If items like a UV is not in your current budget, leave a section of PVC exposed and sectioned and held together with two unions so you can plumb it in easily at a later date. Also a knife valve on your bottom drain line so you can disconnect your settling chamber for servicing.

    7. #7
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      Well the pond is up and running. I have a temporary filtration in using a 55 gallon barrel while I work on the rest. I added a 2 inch return line that breaks out to 3 TPR's. I still need to cut the cap stones and make them a little more tidy. I also managed to get a sequence 750 4200 pump used for $75, so that will drive my filtration in the future. I'm a little worried it's too strong for a single S/G filter and I'm wondering what I should do with the extra flow if I was to split it into two. 2 S/G's? Or 1 S/G and 1 bio?

      Also, I did not install a skimmer. I decided I wanted to try a no niche pond skimmer. Not sure if anyone has any recommendations here. Ebay has two brands, OASE and Jebao..... Can't find any reviews on the Jebao, but it's half the price.....

      Oh, and I have 8 Koi :-)

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    8. #8
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      Your off to a nice start. I'm far from an expert but I'm questing 2 sand and gravel filters would work better than a single one. I just put in 2 of them on my skimmer circuit. I have a PerformancePro 4700 gph pump pushing the water to them and I have to cut the flow to them with that pump. I don't know anything about those type of skimmers but have owned some Oase equipment and always thought they were quality products.

    9. #9
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      Stick with the Aladdin brand no-niche skimmer. The Oase has to be set on the bottom of the pond and well weighted to keep from toppling over. The Jebao, well, you get what you pay for. I'm sure many of the dealers here, in their MarketPlace have this skimmer available. You will be glad you installed one FOR SURE! The pump you got will do the job just fine. I would install a ball valve on the discharge side for two reasons. One, the obvious one, is that it will allow you to control the flow output in case needed, and two, you can turn off the pump and close the valve so you can clean the leaf trap of the pump when needed (which is usually at least weekly)!
      Mike

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    10. #10
      goclassv's Avatar
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      This might be the slowest pond build ever, but I'm making progress. Just need to hook up pump. Water level is actually 8 inches higher than you see in the picture.

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    11. #11
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      This is good to draw diagrams before you start to build your pond.
      Hope you will complete it soon.......

    12. #12
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      This might be the slowest pond build ever, but I'm making progress. Just need to hook up pump. Water level is actually 8 inches higher than you see in the picture.
      Slowest? I think you have made tremendous progress in a very short amount of time, i'm on year three going on four. It looks really good!

      Cheryl
      Last edited by Cheryl; 09-22-2014 at 11:16 AM.

    13. #13
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      It look's like you've done a great job on a budget. I also built mine on a budget, but I'm hoping to change things up again before too long.

    14. #14
      goclassv's Avatar
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      Filters are all installed and pump is working. Trying to get the enclosure done before the real cold weather sets in. Next step is a hoop enclosure over the pond with conduit. Got a free solar pool cover :-)

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    15. #15
      Rich L is offline Senior Member
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      Considering your small pump, you should keep the load less than 250 gpm/fish! That's around 8 average sized koi!, You have a long way to go.

      Take Birdman's suggestion and add the skimmer now. Install a ball valve to control the flow into the pump suction line, as he said, to adjust the skimmer water. You will want to have most of the flow returning waste from the bottom. A 3" return line will do you fine!

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