Portable plastered polystyrene pond projects [Archive]

ohbly

07-06-2010, 6:45 AM

This is an idea I had a long time ago, and I've moved on to experimenting and making things.
The first little thing I did was simply plaster a polystyrene box with hypertufa and paint the inside with black pond paint-
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/S54LSPDxMqI/AAAAAAAAAEk/fdcAhC1f5pQ/P1030510.JPG
pretty uninteresting I know, but what if I made a much bigger one with built in plumbing I thought. So I got a couple of big bits of insulation poly, cut them up and glued them together like this-
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMPr0cZM1I/AAAAAAAAAIg/_S6eq3Fm_LM/m1.jpg
I melted channels into the foam for a bottom drain and some pipes and valves. Its to be hooked up to mains water, and its going to be used to irrigate a little vege patch.
I wrapped it in welded wire, which I separated from the foam with coreflute strips.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/S8Gjn6_f8_I/AAAAAAAAAGM/9NdO-TDJ6GM/IMG_2099.JPG
Then I plastered It with cement render
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMP9I38obI/AAAAAAAAAIk/2qaH20UEo3I/IMG_2120.JPG
I wrapped it in plastic to keep it moist while the cement cured. Then I painted it with liquid rubber pond paint and it was finished
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMPrDwkktI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/tP3tgkmwzSI/P3160530.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMPrbBZ7dI/AAAAAAAAAIU/4na4812rXo4/P3160529.JPG
I wasn't happy with it for a number of reasons;
1. I shouldn't have cheaped out and used thin poly pipe. I should have spent a whole lot more and used bigger-bore pvc pipe.
2. I shouldn't have used to thinner layers of poly glued together in a herring bond pattern. I should have just used one thicker piece, and glued it together like a big aquarium.
3. Wrapping it in welded wire took more work than the rest of the build put together.
4. The coreflute strips made the wire too far away from the poly, resulting in the render being about 12mm thick. While its extremely strong, the pond weighs nearly 90kg. Its heavier than it needs to be.

ohbly

07-06-2010, 7:04 AM

For the next one I worked out the maximum size pond I could make out of 2400x1200x70mm piece of polystyrene foam
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMPronCdqI/AAAAAAAAAIc/Acu1NARvZyY/m2%201.jpg
I came up with a better plumbing system, so that old pond water from the bottom of the pond is flushed into the garden by new clean water entering the surface of the pond
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMPrY3QNWI/AAAAAAAAAIY/SOQybjPgrig/m2%202.jpg
This time I used a combination of 32mm and 40mm pvc pipe. I tested for leaks with the help of some extra pipe, which is sticking up for the middle of the pond in the next picture
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMEuCQIy5I/AAAAAAAAAH4/myeTyGyjaIA/IMG_2209.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMZrpqn1CI/AAAAAAAAAIw/fYczSN4DNMs/IMG_2210.JPG
The plumbing parts cost more than all the other materials put together!

I wrapped it in chicken wire instead of welded wire this time. I imagined it would be easier to work with.... I never want to work with chicken wire ever again:swear:
I didn't take any pictures of that stage, I was in a pretty pooy mood.

I had a hard time rendering this one because its rained nearly every single day over here all winter:( Buts its done now so I will post a pick tomorrow.

ohbly

07-06-2010, 7:14 AM

This is my latest idea
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDMcHpUhM7I/AAAAAAAAAI0/ogb9Dqcf8MI/nft%203.jpg
Its an all in one aquaponic pond, made from polystyrene and rectangular pvc down pipe.
It will have a compartmentalised filtration system built into the pond wall. The top edge of the pond will be nutrient film technique channels for growing vegetables in.
This one will be plastered with fibre reinforced render, with fiberglass reinforced edges.

But before I start this project I'm going to have to finish my outdoor frog enclosure. But that is another thread..

ohbly

07-07-2010, 4:43 AM

Here it is plastered
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDRJ6I6zaKI/AAAAAAAAAI4/N8Kp3NwAcsU/IMG_2226.JPG
I had to patch it because the render was damaged by rain. Hopefully it will even out and won't be noticeable when its all cured.
This one has thinner render on its sides and on the inside bottom. It has thicker render on its base and on the top for extra strength. This pond holds about a hundred more litres than the first one, but only weighs two thirds as much when empty.
After its cured I will fill it to soak out excess salts, then I will paint it like the first one.

Rbishop

07-07-2010, 5:13 AM

Unique.

clgkag

07-07-2010, 11:58 AM

I like it. I may try this when we relandscape the backyard. Should allow for a decent sized pond without too much cost.

Ozymandias

07-07-2010, 2:52 PM

looks good i really like the aquaponic aspect of this build should be nteresting. btw why use plaster? i thought plaster breaks down with water?

The Zigman

07-07-2010, 4:03 PM

pretty friggin cool!!

XanAvaloni

07-07-2010, 10:05 PM

ohbly, I love them all but to tell the truth the first one is my favorite. It looks like it could have sat in a Roman courtyard about 2k years ago. :)

What's your recipe for hypertufa? And has anybody else ever heard of "black pond paint"? Or is that an Aussie thing? Does it have waterproofing qualities or was it purely esthetic, to have the inside black?

ohbly

07-07-2010, 11:35 PM

I like it. I may try this when we relandscape the backyard. Should allow for a decent sized pond without too much cost.
I wouldn't make too big a pond with this method. I worked out if I used two 2400x1200x70mm foam sheets I could make a pond that holds a little over 800ltrs. All the materials would cost a bit over $200nz.

looks good i really like the aquaponic aspect of this build should be nteresting. btw why use plaster? i thought plaster breaks down with water?
Yeah the aquaponic aspect is what I'm most interested in. Unfortunatly in NZ we don't have any freshwater fish that can be legally grown for food. So I'll have to use goldfish.(lots of bones, but they taste alright:goldfish:)
I've also made a little vertical aquaponic herb garden which I will post in here in the next few days.
btw 'plaster' is the term kiwis use for render or cement render. Its the same stuff as mortar.

pretty friggin cool!!
ta:)

ohbly, I love them all but to tell the truth the first one is my favorite. It looks like it could have sat in a Roman courtyard about 2k years ago. :)

What's your recipe for hypertufa? And has anybody else ever heard of "black pond paint"? Or is that an Aussie thing? Does it have waterproofing qualities or was it purely esthetic, to have the inside black?
I like the look of the hypertufa too, but it has very little strength compared to mortar. I guess if you plastered it with mortar first, then plastered it with a top coat of hypertufa on the outside and top, that would work. I might try that with the next one.
I think I used two parts peat, one part sand, and one part cement. I've seen it made with perlite instead of sand, and I think that looks better.
I used this to paint ithttp://www.gripset.com/construction/product.php?productid=4
I've used other brands before but this stuff was the cheapest. Its basically the same stuff as rubber pond liner, but in liquid form.

Ozymandias

07-08-2010, 7:57 AM

Yeah the aquaponic aspect is what I'm most interested in. Unfortunatly in NZ we don't have any freshwater fish that can be legally grown for food. So I'll have to use goldfish.(lots of bones, but they taste alright:goldfish:)
I've also made a little vertical aquaponic herb garden which I will post in here in the next few days.
btw 'plaster' is the term kiwis use for render or cement render. Its the same stuff as mortar.

wow really not even tilapia? good to know about 'plaster' being cement makes more sense.

WeedCali

07-08-2010, 9:34 PM

Thats awesome! now i want one!

ohbly

07-10-2010, 10:10 PM

wow really not even tilapia?
Nope and we can't even farm trout, even though the rivers are full of them and we have the perfect climate to farm them.

Here's a little vertical planter/patio pond I made from the same materials as the second pond-
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDkwsxu6UgI/AAAAAAAAAJA/JSVV6EZ2MUE/s512/IMG_2236.JPG
I'm experimenting with open cell polyurethane foam as a growing medium. It seems to hold the perfect mix of air and water for growing plants. I got the idea from a piece of foam laying around outside that was growing mosses and weeds. This is a closeup of the foam with the pump running-
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_edxTGyBqIUI/TDkwtAsCzZI/AAAAAAAAAJE/SD6soY0-tA4/IMG_2234.JPG
I'm going to leave it running around the clock for a few weeks, to flush out gasses that are present in the new foam.
I'm going to plant basil, coriander, parsley, chives, and fancy lettuce seeds into the foam and see what happens. I want every square cm of foam covered in plants. I don't know what fish I'll put in there, maybe young goldfish before they go into the bigger ponds?

I made this as a warm up before making the much more complex frog enclosure that I'm working on here-http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=223467
I'll be starting up again with that build soon.

WeedCali

07-11-2010, 11:20 PM

thats really cool! the foam will act as a great surface for beneficial backteria to colinize as well. looks like a lot of oxygen to help seed it too.

and where did you get the open cell foam?

pbeemer

07-12-2010, 12:19 PM

Wow! This and your Tree-root making thread have forced me to totally revise my concept for a backyard pond.

Have you considered saving yourself a step by blending the mortar for the inside surfaces of the pond with the polymer / asphalt emulsion product, as suggested in their product data sheet? I would expect that at the heavy emulsion load they suggest the mechanical strength would be down a lot, but then the load is really being carried byt the steel and the outside reinforced cement. (a pond liner isn't really load-bearing either.)

re: your local fish stocking issue, would they allow you to have a largish, purely decorative pond, stocked only with local fish (trout, perhaps?), the population of which you must occasionally thin (around barbecue time) just to keep the pond healthy?

ohbly

07-12-2010, 10:33 PM

thats really cool! the foam will act as a great surface for beneficial backteria to colinize as well. looks like a lot of oxygen to help seed it too.

and where did you get the open cell foam?
I got the foam from a plastics store, its the stuff used for swabs and cheap cushions. You just have to make sure it doesn't have any flame retardant and/or anti mold chemicals in it. Although it still has nasty stuff in it from it manufacture than needs flushing out before growing anything in it.
It should work as a pretty effective filter, especially once the plants grow in. I just wonder if it would be ok to have the pump on a timer? could it cause big ph swings and depleted o2 levels?

Wow! This and your Tree-root making thread have forced me to totally revise my concept for a backyard pond.

Have you considered saving yourself a step by blending the mortar for the inside surfaces of the pond with the polymer / asphalt emulsion product, as suggested in their product data sheet? I would expect that at the heavy emulsion load they suggest the mechanical strength would be down a lot, but then the load is really being carried byt the steel and the outside reinforced cement. (a pond liner isn't really load-bearing either.)

re: your local fish stocking issue, would they allow you to have a largish, purely decorative pond, stocked only with local fish (trout, perhaps?), the population of which you must occasionally thin (around barbecue time) just to keep the pond healthy?

I didn't realise that the pond paint could be mixed with the mortar. I will have to look into it. For the next one I might make it with a thin coat of fibre reinforced mortar all over, then do a thin coat of the blended mortar and polymer below the waterline, and a thin coat of hypertufa for above the waterline.

btw the larger ponds aren't purely decorative, I'm going to plump them into irrigation systems to water vegetable gardens with.
It would be very nice to be able to incorporate trout into a big system, but I would have to move to Aussie to do that legally:(

WeedCali

07-12-2010, 11:38 PM

I wouldnt think puttin the pump on a timer would have any negative affects. is this to save energy?

ohbly

07-13-2010, 7:45 AM

Pretty much. The pump for my other vertical garden is currently only running for one minute every hour. That pond has another smaller pump running 24/7 into a couple of bio-filters though.
If I had the smaller foam one running15 minutes per hour, do you think that would be enough filtration and oxygenation?

Ozymandias

07-13-2010, 8:19 AM

personally i think you will be alright to run it like that (say 15 to 30 min).

also NZ laws on wild life are insane

ohbly

07-13-2010, 8:59 AM

dixienut

07-13-2010, 9:35 AM

whats the shipping to USA ?:rolleyes:....

pbeemer

07-13-2010, 4:58 PM

Ozymandias

07-13-2010, 9:50 PM

Ok I'll do a no-fish cycle with the pump on for 15 minutes per hour and see how the ammonia and nitrites go down.

Also the wildlife laws are insane alright. The two creatures that I would like to own more than any other- peacock mantis shrimp and dart frogs aren't aloud either:irked:

wow i know the laws thought the not being able to get geckos from NZ. stupid because some of them are dieing off and at least if thay where in the pet trade there would be people trying to bread them. So there would be a viable population in captivity if thay go extinct in the wild. hell the look at the crested gecko a little while ago thay thought it was extinct but look at them now there are fricking tons of them. gerrrr but not being able to own something like a dart frog is insane (it's not like thay are poisonis if thay are captive born and thus easy pray)

also aren't goldfish not native to say anywhere i mean thay are domestication of fish at it's finest.

ohbly

07-14-2010, 1:01 AM

do your laws prohibit possession of listed species indoors or out, or just raising them in outdoor ponds, or what?

surely you can keep tropical fish (and one hopes your native blue eyes) in an aquarium?

are goldfish are uniquely exempt?
I would say goldfish are uniquely exempt. Introduced perch, rudd, koi and catfish are all common in NZ waterways too, but it illegal to possess live specimens. You can fish for them, but if you catch one you have to kill it. Returning them to the water alive is against the law.
With trout, you need a licence to fish for them, and you must release fish that are below minimum size. The laws are there because of the powerful fish and game body that is only interested in protecting the trout fishing industry.
We do have most tropical aquarium fishes, but tilapia are banned, and they are the best food fish for aquaponics.
I'm not sure what you mean by native blue eye?

wow i know the laws thought the not being able to get geckos from NZ. stupid because some of them are dieing off and at least if thay where in the pet trade there would be people trying to bread them. So there would be a viable population in captivity if thay go extinct in the wild. hell the look at the crested gecko a little while ago thay thought it was extinct but look at them now there are fricking tons of them. gerrrr but not being able to own something like a dart frog is insane (it's not like thay are poisonis if thay are captive born and thus easy pray)

also aren't goldfish not native to say anywhere i mean thay are domestication of fish at it's finest.

Gecko laws are funny too. First you have to build a regulation enclosure, then you have to apply for a licence to keep them. You can't take them from the wild, but you can't buy or sell them either. You have to be given them by someone else who has captive bred them. There are large captive populations of geckos in nz, and there has been some talk of legal exporting recently.

pbeemer

07-14-2010, 2:15 AM

my bad. pseudomugil ("blue eyes") are native to New Guinea (and Australia), not New Zealand. i didn't use to be so geographically challenged

Ozymandias

07-14-2010, 3:16 PM

I would say goldfish are uniquely exempt. Introduced perch, rudd, koi and catfish are all common in NZ waterways too, but it illegal to possess live specimens. You can fish for them, but if you catch one you have to kill it. Returning them to the water alive is against the law.
With trout, you need a licence to fish for them, and you must release fish that are below minimum size. The laws are there because of the powerful fish and game body that is only interested in protecting the trout fishing industry.

We do have most tropical aquarium fishes, but tilapia are banned, and they are the best food fish for aquaponics.
I'm not sure what you mean by native blue eye?

that sort of messed up

Gecko laws are funny too. First you have to build a regulation enclosure, then you have to apply for a licence to keep them. You can't take them from the wild, but you can't buy or sell them either. You have to be given them by someone else who has captive bred them. There are large captive populations of geckos in nz, and there has been some talk of legal exporting recently.

wow just wow hope thay do decide to export them, what are the laws for non native gecko species?

ohbly

07-15-2010, 12:36 AM

wow just wow hope thay do decide to export them, what are the laws for non native gecko species?

Don't hold your breath, its only just started to be discussed.
Non native geckos are leopard geckos at about $1800 each, but the price will drop as their numbers increase from captive breeding. Some people have day geckos but you need a special permit to own them I think.

WeedCali

07-15-2010, 1:28 AM

Don't hold your breath, its only just started to be discussed.
Non native geckos are leopard geckos at about $1800 each, but the price will drop as their numbers increase from captive breeding. Some people have day geckos but you need a special permit to own them I think.
are you kidding me???? that sucks!

Ozymandias

07-15-2010, 8:08 AM

ohbly

04-12-2011, 10:05 PM

Updates..
I replaced the foam with acrylic felt because the foam started to break down in the sun. I planted a mixture of plants to see what would grow-
173633
There is a paradise fish and a couple of baby goldfish in there. Not enough fish to produce much fertilizer so the plants are growing very slowly.

I made three planters out of polystyrene, plastered with a thin coat of mortar and a thin veneer of hypertufa. I converted the third one into a pond pot by rendering the inside with mortar and painted it with pond paint. I used fibreglass mesh tape to reinforce the edges and seams.
173634
They are 1200mm long by 480mm wide by 400mm high and hold about 170ltrs. They are pretty light and can be picked up and carried by one person.

I made a little scale model for a 1200x440x800 pond-
173635
This pond used only one piece of 40mm foam to make.
The finished pond-
173636
It has built in feet that raise it above the ground so the valve to drain the pond is hidden. This pond is nowhere near as robust as the first two I made, but it was much easier and cheaper to build and only weighs about 40kg when empty, so its very easy to carry. I didn't use any wire reinforcing, I used reinforcing fibres mixed with the mortar and fibreglass mesh tape instead. all up it took about two days work to make minus curing time.
I'm going to try and grow herbs and lettuces along the back in a nft pipe that should act as a vegetable filter. Haven't decided what sort of fish to put in there yet.

ohbly

04-12-2011, 10:16 PM

I'v started to make another pond thats a cross between the little patio-pond/vertical garden and my most recent one. I'm going to make it like the latest one but with a 1200mmx1200mm living wall attached to the back. Its also going to have a built in filter system that is stalling the build as I try to work out how to make it.
Heres a scale model to show what it will look like-
173637

heres the foam pond minus wall and filter-
173638
This ones going to be very awkward to render because of the wall. It will have to be sturdier than the last one too because of the stresses the wall will put on the pond.

ConnerFish

04-13-2011, 12:33 AM

ohbly

04-13-2011, 4:44 AM

I love your patio pond/vertical garden! Was it very hard to make? Do you have directions or something someone could look at that might be interested? ;) Also how did you pick out the plants to go in it? I would have no idea what would be able to grow. I love having plants and fish but live in a condo with a super tiny patio/back yard and a vertical garden attached to a pond could bring some of both to my tiny space!
Hi yeah that patio pond/vertical garden was pretty difficult to make. I made it at the same time and same way as I made the first pond in the thread. The next bigger one I'm making should be a lot easier to make. I'll try and take pictures of the different stages of the build. Its pretty difficult to try and explain it in words.
As for plants I didn't really know what to plant so I just tried a varitly of different plants. The small one gets a lot of sun so I planted succulents as well as geraniums, mondo grass, babies tears, orchids and other plants. I have another vertical garden pond that is shaded most of the day that has bromeliads, ferns and fuchias.. The felt isn't as absorbent on that wall, but it does ok in the shade.
173673
I would just experiment and not get too upset if some plants don't perform.

ConnerFish

04-13-2011, 2:19 PM

Ok Thanks!

ohbly

01-28-2012, 6:37 PM

I finally finished the latest pond, no thanks to the worse summer I can remember. Sorry but I did a poor job at documenting the process.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/ohbly/P1010546.jpg
I used some old wire spools as feet. I cut a bottom drain into the foam that leads to a filter and then into an overflow and drainpipe. I can isolate the filter from the bottom drain to back-flush it for easy cleaning.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/ohbly/P1010548.jpg
I plastered the base first before I put the back wall on. I reinforced the mortar with fibreglass mesh and reinforcing fibres.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/ohbly/P1010550.jpg
Here it is all finished. I didn't take any picks of the process sorry. The wall made it much more difficult to render, because the weight of the wet mortar put a lot of strain onto the weak foam core. I used steel and multiple layers of fibreglass mesh to reinforce where the wall joins the pond. I wrapped it in cling-film to keep the mortar and hypertufa moist while it cured. Its pretty stiff and strong now that its cured and can be moved around by two people easily.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/ohbly/P1010552.jpg

I drilled a couple of holes into the styrofoam wall for the two pumps. There is one powerful pump thats on a timer to water the wall, and one low powered pump for constant circulation.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/ohbly/IMG_0014.jpg
Heres the pond all finished and planted.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/ohbly/IMG_0012.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/ohbly/IMG_0013.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/ohbly/IMG_0028.jpg
The wall has 4 layers of green acrylic felt that the plants are stapled to. Now I've just got to wait for the pond to cycle before I add fish. I'm thinking it should cycle pretty fast thanks to the bacteria on the plants roots that will spread all through the felt, turning the wall into a giant vege + bio filter.