Box Pond Build

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cguarino30

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Mar 15, 2009
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So we recently bought our first home, and after years of not being able to have a project larger than fixing the hinge on a door, I finally get to make something big. My wonderful, wonderful wife said I could put in a pond, as long as I make one that the new baby won't be able to find her way into, which is a reasonable compromise as far as I'm concerned. haha. So, I decided to make a smallish box pond mostly for seasonal gardening and fishkeeping, and found a great spot for it:




I want to have a lower level for a bog garden to help with nitrates etc, and I'd like some nice waterflow feature on the side for the overflow. I was thinking something like a flume, but maybe with steps or rocks to make more of a splashing effect. Something like this (splashing effect not included in diagram):



My only two concerns are thus:
1) that gutter running along the corner of the house might be trouble to get around
2) I would have to keep the height of the open water area below the window, and I don't know if that will be high enough to deter any would-be-aquatic toddlers.

I was also thinking I might push the whole thing back to the next corner, and have basically the same design except taller and not as long. Any ideas from the room?
 
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cguarino30

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Mar 15, 2009
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and also, what would be the best way to attach the liner? I was thinking I could either tack it up with a nailed in bar of wood or maybe even bring it all the way to the top and place a bunch of pavestones or flagstones or something around the perimeter to help it match the patio. Would that work?
 

cguarino30

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Mar 15, 2009
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Roofwater safe for fish?

Ok, so now I'm thinking, to deal with the gutter, maybe I could just chop it off at pond level and feed it into the pond. Would this be a bad idea? Does anyone know of anything about the roof that would contaminate the water? I assume it would be virtually pure rainwater, since anything water-soluble would have to have washed away in the 6 years since the roof was installed. Any ideas?
 

Jennie Beth

AC Members
Feb 20, 2009
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Graham, WA USA
Cguarino30,
Not sure where you live...do you have to put moss control stuff on your roof? What about leaves, needles, etc that would normally be shuffling down the gutters? There was another thread on here somewhere with a person asking about runoff from the roof...can't find it at the moment. (It might have been old. I like to putter around in the old threads sometimes :) Would it work to catch some of the rainwater in a bucket and test it? Like you would with water before you add it to an aquarium? Or...rather than go around your gutter, why not put an elbow in the gutter to go around the pond and then to the ground...?

Hope some of these ramblings help!
Jen

Found the thread but not sure how to get you to it..
it was on 2/10/09, by snapping247. I searched the pond forum using 'gutter' and it was one of only three that came up.
 
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cguarino30

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Mar 15, 2009
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thanks, Jennie. that helps a lot. I don't think it's treated for moss, but I've decided I don't want to risk it. Instead, I'm going to find a way to route the gutter around the box.


Also, I've included an update to the design. I've decided to go with the following construction. I am going to frame the walls with pressure treated 4x4s, and on the inside of each frame, I'm going to fill the wall in with 1x6 or 1x8 or something like that. The one major design change in the new diagram is the flume. I've extended the bog garden around the corner of the larger box, and run the flume to the bottom of the bog, instead of the top. This way, I don't have to worry about the extra angles in constuction, or extending the walls above that side of the bog to keep the water from running over. Also, I'm hoping this design will help reduce splashing at the bottom of the flume, and subsequently water loss. I should be able to take measurements and start collecting materials tomorrow.

 

cguarino30

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Mar 15, 2009
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have you considered the possibility of having an underwater window into the pond, from inside the house?

Funny you should say that, I have actually been toying with the idea. Unfortunately I have decided that while it would be completely awesome, I'm not quite up to that challenge just yet. This is going to be my first pond build. Maybe in a couple years I'll try something like that.
 

cguarino30

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Mar 15, 2009
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alright, so I was thinking about my design, and it's not going to work the way I've planned out the wood, so I changed it. I'm keeping the pt 4x4 frame, but instead of putting an extra bracer in the middle and nailing in wide boards horizontally, I'm just going to make the inner boards vertical. This way, I can fit them all, and more importantly, the water weight will be more evenly distributed across more, shorter boards, and make the box sturdier and less prone to any bowing. There will also be a gap between the two boxes that will be an extension of the gutter, solving my runoff problem, and giving me a wider platform on which to put rocks.
 
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