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  • Results 1 to 18 of 18

    Thread: Documenting the build...

    1. #1
      nrpdyer is offline Member
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      Documenting the build...

      New build basics – 3750gal free-form, RDF and moving bed bio-filter gravity fed, UV sterilization, two aerated BD’s, one skimmer, two TPR’s, waterfall, turnover once per hour (or better), 4ft depth at sloped bottom, straight sides, two plant shelves, cinder block wall construction with EDPM liner, 2.5’ below grade and 1.5’ above grade.

      It's happening! I got a hole in my yard, so I guess I'm committed.

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      Next is putting down 1st layer of block, drilling into grade beam and expoxy'ing in vertical rebar (doing this after placing the first row of block as the pond is free form and it would be hard to place rebar in advance).

      After that, placing BD's and running 4" to them from around the corner of the house. Still looking for suggestions on brand of BD (aerated) if you have opinions! This, or finish another three layers of block. Order not critical at this point.






      Other posts on the build:
      1st decision - liner or concrete https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showt...er-or-concrete
      Next topic - review of filtration https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showt...-of-filtration
      On to selecting pump and RDF https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showt...g-pump-and-RDF
      Needed - Pre-made or custom skimmer https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showt...custom-skimmer
      Last edited by nrpdyer; 07-07-2020 at 04:21 PM. Reason: Fixed the embedded links...

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    2. #2
      perniciousviper's Avatar
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      I'd move it 18 inches to the left

      Looking forward to seeing this come together NRP, and whether the plant shelves make the final edit

    3. #3
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      .
      Last edited by perniciousviper; 07-07-2020 at 02:12 PM. Reason: Stoopid dooplicate post/fat finkers

    4. #4
      icu2's Avatar
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      Lookin' good!
      --Steve



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    5. #5
      CharlieQ is offline Senior Member
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      I just bought a koi toilet one with aeration it is perfectly fine

    6. #6
      nrpdyer is offline Member
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      Haven't posed updates in a while cuz... well... it's taking me a while! A couple months in the project and still a couple to go. I'm an old man working alone a couple hours in the evenings and one day on the weekends so give me a little slack. Yes, the plant shelves still in the plan!

      I decided while I was at it to up size to 18000 gallons. That's also whats taking so long:
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      O.K. that's the wife's pool. My lil baby is in the background.

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      The wife thought I was being silly with making a sculpture of the plumbing dig. To me, it's being lazy so I don't have to remove any more dirt than needed.

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      The pile of toys is getting bigger each day too:
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      Next, plumbing... then build up behind that wall with the water fall arrangement.

    7. #7
      REVIV is offline Member
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      Did you use a grinder to cut a groove in the block for the horizontal rebar? If so, how easy / hard was that?

    8. #8
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      Simple with this:


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    9. #9
      icu2's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by REVIV View Post
      Did you use a grinder to cut a groove in the block for the horizontal rebar? If so, how easy / hard was that?
      Fwiw I just cut mine with a regular cut-off saw and a diamond blade. Pretty simple.

      nrpdyer: Looking great!
      --Steve



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    10. #10
      TX_Koi is offline Member
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      That’s a crazy deep back yard! Big enough for a soccer pitch.

      How’s the build going? Looking good so far.

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    11. #11
      nrpdyer is offline Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by TX_Koi View Post
      How’s the build going? Looking good so far.
      Going great, but slow. Thanks for asking!

      Quote Originally Posted by TX_Koi View Post
      That’s a crazy deep back yard! Big enough for a soccer pitch.
      Yeah, my next door neighbor put in a chipping green in the back of his yard.



      As for the build:

      Filter pit form built. Placed filter to make sure everything was correct before I pour (the supports under the filter will be removed and pad poured in the outer form). Return piping comes back under the filter on its way back to the pond. Behind that you can see the return header. Two pumps discharge into a 6" header which splits to three 4" return lines. This was done because I want absolute minimum back pressure so when I add a shower above the filter, it can gravity drain into this 6" header and back to the pond. All the piping to the left of the forms are for the swimming pool.
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      4" aerated Rhino II bottom drains cemented in. I got a bit aggressive on the excavation and put about 6 bags of concrete around each. Can also see the piping coming under the pond to feed the TPR's and mid water intake on the opposite side.
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      Up from under the pond to the TPR's and MWI.
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      Looking to back of pond from filter pit. The pipes rising up outside the pond will feed the multi level water falls.
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      Another view of the falls area. Each fall and TPR have a 3" gate for balancing flows. I realize gates aren't the best for flow control but I don't need fine control. Again, don't confuse the piping on the far left with the pond. That is the pool. If I ever want someone who is none the wiser to think I really did allot of work, I could tell them that was all for the pond!
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      A view of the integration of the pond into the back yard with the pool. One old man and I can keep up with a pool company on construction schedule! Not saying much for them:
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      Piping coming up to the falls. 6" pvc and access covers over the 4" gate valves will allow access to the valves although they are below grade (once backfilled).
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      View of the spaghetti going back to the filter pit. Two fence posts in the pic where I will gate off the side of the house to minimize noise and the view of the pool and pond filtration units. Again, anything left of the pit and fence posts is pool piping:
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      Installed rebar, forms and skimmer with piping. Discovered the 'repair couplings' to combine both 2" drains from the skimmer into one 3" return line. Glad I discovered these as I didn't want to concrete over a Fernco or a union and getting both legs of the piping to align and glue together would have been a disaster I'm sure. I won't use repair couplings unless absolutely necessary but these things are great when the need demands it!
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      Fountain foundation poured.
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      Although the concrete was still 'green', I went ahead and laid the first course of the fountain as I am expecting the pool company to come and form up to pour the patio which encompasses the pond as well. This brought the fountain wall up above grade to allow them to do so.
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    12. #12
      Nguyen365's Avatar
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      Wow that's some heavy duty pvc piping there

    13. #13
      johnhubbs is offline Senior Member
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      Sorry I am late to see your project, but I a serious concern about your block work. In particular is the horizontal rerod. You want to be creating a "bond beam' of concrete and rerod.
      Please look at the photo I included and note the difference between it and how you constructed yours. If nothing else, please consider doing this to your top course of block work.
      In my current, and past constructions, I have done this every other course. I have not had any issues, with the three ponds I have constructed like this.
      Regards, John...
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    14. #14
      nrpdyer is offline Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by johnhubbs View Post
      a serious concern about your block work
      John,

      I would like to explore your concern a bit more; and in doing so, let me share the pertinent details of my build:
      -There is a concrete / rebar grade beam at the base of all my block. This is 8" thick and 14" wide.
      -There are four courses of block on top of this beam.
      -The first and third course have the horizontal rebar all the way around the pond.
      -Every other vertical hole has rebar from the top course down into the grade beam.
      -The grade beam and first two courses of block are sub grade. The two top courses will be above grade.
      -There is a 4" thick concrete patio being poured all the way around this pond. The top of this concrete patio will be 1/2" below the top of the second course of block. On top of this concrete will be 30mm (1.18") travertine tile; so the pond only rises out of the 'ground' by almost 16"
      -With this patio as 're-enforcement' at this level, I don't think there is any concern for anything below this (please chime in if you disagree).
      -The third course of block (now being the first course above the grade of the patio) has the horizontal rebar as pictured. I definitely agree that your rebar work is MUCH more substantial than mine!
      -All block will be filled with concrete.
      -Not structural, but above the top course will be 2" coping.
      -The planned water level is 1.5" below the top course of block.
      -All this said, the water surface is only about 14" above the patio.

      Please don't take this as defensive, but if a kiddie pool made of thin plastic which is a foot or 1.5' deep can hold, I would think this build would suffice. PLEASE do let me know if you (or anyone else) thinks this is not sufficient after these details have been shared. I do still have the ability of re-enforcing the top course at this point. Would this really help considering there is no pressure from depth exerting an outward force at this level? Perhaps it would not be necessary for the top course but this strength could be transmitted vertically as it would act to hold everything together.

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      One tier left to go above this one:
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      Maybe a bad example as one side is bulging a bit but that's stacked beer crates! (not for structural reference, more just humorous)
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    15. #15
      johnhubbs is offline Senior Member
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      nrpdyer,
      I'm not a structural engineer. I have merely copied others work. When I built my first masonry pond about two decades ago, this was the best practice I could find, and I believe it was shared by Birdman on this site.
      That being said, you may be right and your structure is fine. I do know of two individuals whom did something closer to what you have shared, albeit at greater depths, and they both had structural failures that caused
      them to install liners once shell lost it's integrity. I'm sure soil and seismic conditions come into play here too. You are correct, that your concrete patio will certainly help reinforce the sides. Your build is impressive and
      I look forward to watching the rest of your build. Just an FYI, I am building my current pond more like a large swimming pool as we swim with the koi.
      Best regards, John...

    16. #16
      nrpdyer is offline Member
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      Got the filter pad poured a few days ago... finishing up a bit past dusk. The house cleanouts were unfortunately right where I was putting all my filtration so they come up through the pad but they wont interfere with placement of anything. Two courses of 4" CMU on edge will form the walls as this slab is right at 15" below grade. The 4" pvc coming in from the side is tied into a drain line which I have going to a drainage ditch next to the road out front of the house. This gives me a great place to discharge waste from the RDF, to pump the filter pit out to with a sump pump, and to allow my overflow line to continuously drain to. The overflow line is what will maintain a constant level in my pond as I will continually inject a metered makeup fill into the pond to overcome RDF discharge and a bit more to establish whatever % water exchange I desire. The wood in the center of the pour is not a joint but forms a sloped drain from one end of the pad to the other where the sump is located. Sump pit is just 4" deep and I have the perfect little sump pump with level sensors to keep this whole filter pit pumped out. I will eventually cover this area but I'm not sealing the CMU so I'm sure ground water will seep in a bit.
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      The electrician for the pool build recommended I bond the pond to the steel in the deck. Although I am outside city limits, I do not get inspected on the koi pond but the pool company gets permits regardless so there will be an inspector out and about. He says since the permitted deck surrounds the koi pond, the inspector may take issue with it not all bonded together. After reading up on this, its a good idea to do so. As all the vertical rebar is drilled and epoxied into the grade beam, they are not all tied together. Maybe a bit overkill but it wasn't much money or effort to tie every vertical rebar into the bonding and I can also still get to the horizontals to tie them into this as well. This whole system is then bonded to the rebar for the deck.
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      And yesterday the deck was poured around pool and pond:
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      Next steps:
      -Wall around filter pit.
      -Backfill around filter pit and all piping going out to pond; also allowing pool company to backfill all their work and finally have good access to the side of the house again.
      -Build water fall walls up with block and plumbing.
      -Build plant shelves up to proper elevation with block (yes the plant shelves are still in my plan!).
      -Fill all CMU block.
      -Smooth all block inside pond by shaving down high spots and building up recesses with SBC (self bonding cement).

      ON THAT NOTE... I cannot find SBC anywhere around me! None of the box stores carry it in this area for whatever reason. What is the alternative? Is a stucco mix or something by another name a good substitute (or just under a different name for commercial purposes)? This is what I was going to use as I am coating the CMU from very thin to upwards of .5" thick in some small areas with the curvature and stacking of the blocks.

      -Plumb up filter pit.
      -Veneer finish around outside of pond.
      -Install EDPM liner.
      -Coping stones with integrated LED lighting.
      -Fill.

      Maybe a few steps I'm missing and maybe not in this order... just listing some of the larger milestones. Should be done by end of the year... 2021!!!
      Last edited by nrpdyer; 10-23-2020 at 12:18 PM.

    17. #17
      icu2's Avatar
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      Looks terrific!
      --Steve



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    18. #18
      TX_Koi is offline Member
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      Impressive. Should be something when you’re complete with the whole project.

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