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  • Results 1 to 12 of 12

    Thread: Need help connecting two ponds

    1. #1
      Lynne's Avatar
      Lynne is offline Senior Member
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      Need help connecting two ponds

      DH and I are building pond#2 we would like to connect the two ponds with a pipe so that the fish could swim back and forth. The pipe will have to go through the rubber liners. Has any one else done this? What would be the best way to go about connecting them? What things would we need to use, flanges, some type of expoxy? Please help us with your ideas.

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    2. #2
      schildkoi is offline Inactivated
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      Seen it.....

      Never done it, but I suspect I woukld use 2, 6" (minimum) bulkhead fittings on vertical walls of each pond connected by 6" pipe. 8-10" would be better for really big Koi.

      Steve

    3. #3
      wanman is offline Senior Member
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      I've always thought that would be a cool idea
      Maybe its the little kid in me (yes I tried to dig to China in my backyard......then I saw the great escape, the yard was never the same)

      How far is it going to be between them?

      Is it something you could kind of fake by putting large stones over the opening or pouring cement slabs, then soil and planting on top of the slab, that way you would be just joining the liner to each pond

      I think Steves right you would need 6" minimum, maybe 12" sewer pipe, I see it laying by the side of the road all of the time (Oh, maybe thats a construction site)
      I am the ORGANIC guy now! way cool

    4. #4
      Mommajoan's Avatar
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      That sounds so cool but it also sounds like it would be hard to keep from leaking!!!!
      Mommajoan

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    5. #5
      dcny is offline Senior Member
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      Do you want to be able to separate the two side or is it just gonna function as one big pond?

      Nicco connected his two ponds with a canal. He glued a piece of liner to the floor of the canal between his ponds and whenever he wants to separate the ponds he just lifts up the liner and lock it in place. http://koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88 See posts 48 thru 53.

      Oh yeah, one more thing. Happy Birthday!

    6. #6
      Lynne's Avatar
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      The ponds will be seperate. The only way the fish will be able to go back and forth will be thru the 6 inch pipe we have.There is a five foot piece of ground between the two ponds. We can do it the way Nicco did because there is not enough liner left of the exsisting pond to do that. Hubby bought three clamps to seal the liner to the outside of the six inch pipe for each end. Do you think this will work? Do I need some kind of glue or two-sided tape? And where could I buy these?

    7. #7
      nicco is offline Super Member
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      If you cut the liner with something like 4 inch holes then slide the pipe into the hole with the liner on the same side as the water, then cut a ring of liner and slide it onto the pipe as padding before putting the ring clamps on this will hold perfectly. In fact this is what is called a pipe boot as is as strong as a bulkhead fitting.

      Then you can cut another ring of liner to slip over the clamp as a cover.

      You could even purchase (at great expense) a 6 inch gate valve to use as a lock.

      Mind you it may take a while for the fish to get brave enough to swim across.

      My canal is actually several pieces of liner bonded to the liners of both ponds using single and double sided tape and copious quantities of eurathane sealant. One final layer of liner forms the lock - not an essential item.

      One thing to bear in mind is that there will be times when there is some flow in the pipe. In fact it's a good idea since you don't want dead water in there. I delibrately have flow permanently running along my canal. With a six inch pipe you will probably be okay, but you want to be able to stick something down it to clear it if something get stuck in there or is crud builds up on the floor.

    8. #8
      nicco is offline Super Member
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      PS. Try this method with a scrap piece of liner before you cut the real thing.

    9. #9
      Mitch is offline Super Member
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      Lynne, IMHO...

      I would STRONGLY suggest you heavily weigh the percieved benefits vs. the potential risk. To me, this is just a leak or hazard waiting to happen.

      Enjoyment level ~5?
      Potential problems ~10?

      Punch your own numbers in...

      Settling Earth, seals, plus many, many more possible reasons could result in a complete disaster.

      Have you considered a stream between both ponds? (Visible, less pressure, less chance of leakage). And you could check out the action in between...

      Mitch
      My Opinion - Worth What You Paid For It...

    10. #10
      DaKid Koi's Avatar
      DaKid Koi is offline Da Royal Prince of Baddness Maddness
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      The pipe boot will work, but take ur' time doing it ,like the stated what ever ur pipe will be in dim. make a hole in the liner half the size ....so if ur useing a 6 " pipe dim. cut a 3" hole in the liner .....I would place some 100% silcone inbetween the liner and the pipe then place the clamps then place another piece of liner patch over the clamps and silcone it them use that single sided tape over the edgeing of the patch...

      I would go with a larger dim. pipe size than 6" if it where me and I wouldn't place it on the bottom, I would only place the pipe down about a foot or 1 1/2 feet below the water surface only so if for any reason it did happen to link the whole pond would not drain out .

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    11. #11
      Lynne's Avatar
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      Yes, we are only placing the pipe about 12 inches from the surface of the water Thank you for the good ideas, will show them to DH. Hopefully the liner will be going into the pond in the next couple of days. DH is working on the electric.

    12. #12
      pskorf is offline Former Member
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      If the stream would work i would try that in my opinion.The one thing that might happen is the fish just hiding in the pipe and not be seen for sure the sick ones would.I went with a two pond system with a stream connecting. top pond for the waterlilies with a stream flowing down a 20 ft stream to bottom pond with the koi and no plants.the beat of 2 worlds nice lilies not destroyed by the koi and pretty koi with out the lilies getting in the way of viewing,plus the stream has rocks in the bottom(only place with rocks in the bottom)that gets the water bouncing around for more air and should be doing more bio because it is a rapid thin layer of water in the stream.

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