New pond

[Robert04]

Well good news my dad approved my plans to rip up the whole yard and fix the grading and do whatever I want pretty much as long as I do the work.. We live in a toronto,ont suburb and we have a fair sized backyard
probably 40x60 ft.. I have to put a patio and build a large picnic table for my mom so she can invite the family over.. and we need to fix the level of the backyard since we had the walls around the house resealed, the water runs toward the house.. and it pools in the middle of the yard..anyways the fun part is its my gig so iiiiiiiiii gettt tooooo buiiilldd a ppooonddd :thm::thm::thm::thm::thm::thm::thm::thm: (i've been waitin for my parents to let me have some fun before I move out in a couple years..)my dad loves and has kept fish and my grandfather had around 40 tanks.. so it wont be an issue when I leave.. its mainly the labour involved that he cannot afford or do.

I've kept fish for quite awhile and I figured its time to move our koi to a pond this year, all about 8 inches long now.. My father and I will be excavating the backyard and cutting down some large tree's and branches that threaten to fall on our house or worse the neighbours house..

This is going to free up alot of room for me to work with.. I'm willing to dig for days.. I want this pond to be larger and winterized. It will probably be atleast 4-5ft deep(is this deep enough) It is going to be somewhere around 700-1000g.... I have not figured all of this stuff out.. I was curious what kind of custom pond liners you can get..(something i can shape to what i want) also what other equipment I will need. I've assumed Im going to need a couple power heads and a nice sized tank heater..I'm looking at skimmers because I've read this can actualy really improve the water quality especially since water will probably drain into it from the lawn etc.. btw my backyard is very low light.. alot of tree cover.. plans to build a summer/fall roof for the pond.. some sort of canopy.

I guess to sum it all up.. I don't know what I'm getting into, this is my first pond... Any suggestion and information to make this step a little smoother would be greatly appreciated.. I will be sending pictures of my backyard so people can see what I'm working with.. and the area I have.. (ill have to check the dimensions once the bushes get ripped up.. unfortunatly I have to wait 2-3 weeks for the guys to come do the tree then I can begin my digging.

[Fish-Addict]

I dont have any advice, but good luck with it!

[Jennie Beth]

Robert04,
Congrats on your pond-to-be!! Some things from my first pond build...

Check your building codes. Some places, especially in towns, there are rules regarding depth, fencing around the feature (like the 6' required around swimming pools), that kind of thing.

Plan for some predator protection. Racoons and herons can take your full summer of work and trash it in a night or two.

Be careful of run off from your lawn if you use any fertilizers or weed killers. Pond critters and plants don't like that much. Also, you need somewhere for pond runoff. When it rains, your pond may overfill a bit and you need somewhere for that water to go. If your pond is the lowest point in the yard, it will end up with all the yard water, too, and nowhere for it to go.

Big rocks are better than small rocks. If you are going to line your pond with rocks, or just use them for edging, bigger is better. Small rocks, unless they are mortared in place, shift and fall in to the pond everytime they get bumped...by the dog, cat, kids, weedwacker,racoon, etc...small rock is fine for the bottom and plant shelves, but not for the walls and edges.

Ponds are alot of work, but SOOOO worth it. Hope this helps some.
Jen

[cguarino30]

I'm willing to dig for days.. I want this pond to be larger and winterized. It will probably be atleast 4-5ft deep(is this deep enough) It is going to be somewhere around 700-1000g

You may want to consider renting some sort of small, digging vehicle (like a bobcat or something) I had the same attitued when we started out pond, until I was about 3 hours in and the thing was only half way done to about 6 inches deep. It's totally worth it, and shouldn't cost too much money. As for the depth, I can't speak for Toronto, but in Philadelphia, our general rule of thumb is 3 feet can overwinter. You may want to consider putting a smaller part in the middle with an extra foot or two of depth, just in case you have an extra harsh winter.

Also, I wasn't aware that Skimmers worked (or at least all that well) in fresh water. The thing about a pond is that it usually has enough mass to handle most bioloads, and you can always add plants to help. Just try to limit runoff as much as possible, you never know what can wash into your pond.

The last bit of advice I can give you is to build some sort of sump system, preferably a bog garden. You can look up all kinds of designs for those. The sump will help eliminate anything that sits on top of the water (it sounds like there will be a lot of leaves and things in your pond) And the bog garden will really help to strip all the nitrogenous wastes out of your water, and there are plenty of pond plants that will thrive in shade, but you'll have to do your homework.

Congratulations and good luck on the project.

[serissime]

sounds like quite an undertaking! I love to hear about ponds. good luck!

[ChrisK]

Be sure to keep us updated with pics sounds great

[red_wall]

Make sure you have your stock planned out.

+1 for awareness of chemicals, especially if someone around your house uses them too.

+39834 for predator protection. Raccoons suck.

[timbo83]

rent a backhoe. its much more easy to dig a hole with and you dont have to move it as much as a bobcat. that will keep you from tearing your yard to pieces. you could even use a mini excavator. its not as big as a backhoe but will still work just as good. make sure you paint out what you want it to look like before you dig because its easier to change what it looks like with paint then it is to change once you have all ready dug.

[Robert04]

Well we have a gate my father built on the side of the house so we could park our gokarting trailer and since they will be bringing vehicles in the back to cut down this large tree and other trees, wont be an issue to drive a backhoe around. just the financial part.... we will also be dumping clean fill to adjust... they dont allow for pestisides or anything in toronto anymore.. only all natural remedes.. the pond will be built at the top of the lawn and the run off will go down the fence to the bottom of the yard.. it slopes down at the bottom of the backyard.

My father is kind of hesitant right now about some of the stuff.. we will be getting a 200+ g in the basement for now untill we figure out the legal work and in toronto that can take awhile.. I'm hoping we will be able to start the project this summer. I'll post pics of the backyard soon, got my hands on my sisters camera.. :)

[skeletonhand]

Here's a link to Pond Eco. We use their equipment all the time for residential ponds/waterfalls/waterfeatures. It's good stuff and you can customize your liner and underlayment sizes. This will give you a better idea of cost, when and if you decide to go for it.

http://www.itsparadiseathome.com/