Pond construction, from dreams to reality!

[myswtsins]

Thanks so much Jen! That's so good to know, I was ready to dip into the mommy & daddy fund for plants. I can't wait to see your pond again in Spring mode BTW!

Today was hot and humid & a hard day of working. Tonight all I wanted to do was sit outside by a pond with my dogs securely running around in the cool night air.....I can't wait!

 

[Bonne46]

So how many gallons will the NEW pond be?

What kind of vechiles do you have by the way? This may sound redneckish but we had several stumps in are yard that needed to go, and because money was kinda tight at the time, me and my buddy decided to cut the stump down to a resonable height, digged around the stump some bit, and wraped a chain around the stump and through some big roots. We then hooked it up to his truck, pressed the gas and POOF! its out! lol

I looked at it as, price for tree cutter to come down to remove stump on average was $75, I had 4 stumps, so that would be $300 round about. Now my route costed a little sweat on our part, and a 30 pack (believe it was around $20) and some food (around $20) so thats $40. Yea my way was the way to go after that math lol

 

[Jennie Beth]

Forgot to add a bit...I usually put a layer of gravel in the bottom of the nursery pots, just to block the larger holes so the dirt doesn't pour right out as soon as it gets wet. If you are planting something tall, like cat tails, it is a good idea to use a bigger pot than you need and put a big rock or brick in the bottom so the wind doesn't knock your plants over all the time. I spent most of the summer picking up my horsetails last year

One last thing...you want PLAIN yard dirt, no grass or weeds, as little organic stuff as possible (no leaves or tree needles, that kind of thing), because that stuff will rot in the pot and smell terrible, as well as foul your water. The plants will get plenty of organic matter from fish poo, and some people fertilize them with aquatic fertilizer tabs each spring, too. Also make sure no one sprayed weed killer or fertilized in the area you are using for your dirt, so no chemicals end up in the pond.

If you don't have nursery pots lying around, but you have a plant nursery near you, they often have a monster pile of old pots out back, and will either give you a few or sell you some for pennies.

Have fun!
Jen

 

[myswtsins]

Well I only have so big of a liner to work with so if I did not use a bog garden (which I may add still) I could have about a 12 x 17 x 3 (max depth) pond for about 3,000g. Now I know once I add some curvature to the rectangle, add rocks & shelves, leave some wiggle room etc. I will have a slightly smaller pond but plenty big enough for my goldfish.

I have many vehicles in my yard a matter of fact, I like old muscle cars & big beautiful trucks but that's other topic & sadly I am selling ALL of them. :cry: We plan to do exactly what you say for pulling the stump, this won't be our first stump but I wish it were the last!

Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate them!!

 

[impetus]

It looks like a great start. Im sure you have inspired more than just a few of use.

 

[myswtsins]

If you're inspired now just wait till I actually have something built! :lol2: Thank you for the compliment but there are many others here that have inspired me & I just hope my pond will turn out half as nice as I have envisioned it.

 

[dawnynz70]

Hi have been following your tread can't wait to see the end result , have become addicted to reading up on water ponds and water features/gardening LOL but it's all different over here in New Zealand with weather and some of your pond plants in america are banned here in NZ

 

[Arkangel77]

Looking forward to seing how it turns out

 

[myswtsins]

Talk about late with the replies!

Hi have been following your tread can't wait to see the end result , have become addicted to reading up on water ponds and water features/gardening LOL but it's all different over here in New Zealand with weather and some of your pond plants in america are banned here in NZ

Thanks for following & I can't wait to see the end result either!

Looking forward to seing how it turns out

Thanks, me too!


I am SOOOO anxious for my pond, especially because it is pond season and I am taking care of my mother's friend's koi pond for the next 17 days so it really kicks it up a notch!

We got the fence up all around this area, which is GREAT because the dogs can run around but not away & they will keep predators away to an extent & it is required for the pond anyways. We also got the shed down and the floor broken up but the broken concrete needs the be hauled away and we have been working on building the replacement shed so still no POND progress yet. Mind you I did take a 2 week vacation to Myrtle Beach too so that cuts into the progress a bit!

Problems I foresee.....

-Big tree stump is gonna have some big roots too, but I'd rather do the work now for a better location than the entire life of the pond in a worse location.
-LOTS of sun here, about 8hrs of direct sunlight & 2-4hrs semi-shaded sunlight. I think we will have to plant some smallish (20ft) trees near the pond to provide some shade in the summer and allow sunlight through in the winter.

Side note - My 165g preformed pond had to be moved to build the new shed and while building the shed we got some insanely strong winds and 1.5ft diameter tree came down onto my pond! :cry: Last picture, under the blue sand box, just the top of the tree hit the pond but it was enough to crush it!

 

[Kentucky Koi]

Hello. When I first started reading this, i thought to myself, she is making a hug mistake! If I understand correctly, you haven't started your NEW pond yet have you? If not, I would suggest investing another $70-80 into getting a bottom drain for that pond. When I first got into koi ponds, about 6-7 years ago, I didn't have a bottom drain in it, and one fall I got the flu, and couldn't clean it, and that spring was a PITA!!!! It had at least 6" of poop, leaves, and all other nasty stuff! I still don't have a PROPER BD in this pond, but a DIY, and it works OK. The reason i don't have a real BD yet is because in order to do that, i would have to move 3, 1.6 ton boulders, and I don't want to do that at the moment.

You can get a 3" PVC bottom drain here,http://waterartsconsulting.com/bottom_drains__intake_screens, just over a little halfway down the page.

Also, get an external pump. They are a little more expensive to buy, but they use 1/2 the energy of a submersible and they get much better flow rates.

I would not suggest using the waterfall as your only filter. If so, buy a couple of bio balls at HD or lowes, and put them in there as extra bio, but DO NOT clean them off when you clean the filter. rinse them in a 5 gallon bucket of pond water by swishing them around, but don't let them touch chlorinated water.

I don't know how many gallons you are planning, but if you want koi, I suggest a min. of 1,500 gallons,(2,000 would be a lot better) and 4' deep. To determine how many gallons your pond is, L x W x H x7.5.

Koi grow to their environment, and they can grow up to 4' long. The general rule of thumb is 10 gallons for every 1" of koi, or 300 gallons per koi.

Also, if you don't want green water, get a UV light. They do wonders on getting rid of all the algae, AND if you get one rated high enough, it will kill any waterborne parasites.

I hope this helps you a little bit, and if you have any questions, shoot me a PM or email, Eric@KentuckyKoi.com, or post here, and I will try to watch this thread.

Thanks,
-Eric