Box Pond Build

[cguarino30]

It looks great! Why can't you progress? Just too much trouble after you move?

A couple reasons. Mostly, it's because I still live 500 miles away and won't be back until August. The other reason is that the HOA needs 30 days to approve any pond construction (which I didn't know when I started) but I was talking to a couple of my neighbors and they say that shouldn't be too much trouble. Mostly, it's just the 500 miles thing. That's ok, though, it just gives me more time to plan the rest out.

 

[serissime]

Oh... I see. Have you thought about what's gonna live in there?

 

[Sploke]

Wow how have I missed this? Looks great! How are you going to plumb it to get water back up into the pond? for the liner, I would definitely use 2x4s or something across the top screwed down to basically clamp the liner along the top edge.

 

[cguarino30]

Thanks, all. The 2x4 idea was one way I might go, but I was thinking it might look better if I found some pavestones that match the patio and use those to hold down the liner all along the edge. As for plumbing, I'm just going to run a flexible tube from the pump through that gap that you see in between the house and the inside wall of the large box. In terms of what is going to live in there, I think I'm going to use it for seasonal, tropical fish, (either breeding colonies of cichlids or livebearers to make babies that I can harvest or maybe just a summer home for some oscars that I can move back inside for the winter) but this year, I'm going to use it to grow out some baby koi that I will put in my parents' much larger, in-ground pond when it gets cold. I think that this pond is way too shallow/exposed to use for any fish that would want to over-winter in the pond (eg goldfish/koi) and I'd be nervous about the ice formation splitting open the wood, so I think I'm going to drain it and cover it for the winter months.

 

[Desertponder]

I really like where you are going with this.
I like the idea of putting some pavers or stone of some type on the top to cover your liner.
I hope the HOA doesn't give you any grief. I hate HOA's. Won't live anywhere that has 'em.:mad2:
It appears that your yard is not fenced? They may not like the pond being open to where anyone can get to it. That's not good for you either. You may also have city building codes that have requirements on ponds. Some cities require that they be enclosed by fencing.

 

[cguarino30]

Well, my nextdoor neighbors are on the board of directors for the HOA and they seem pretty nice, and say that the HOA is mostly an informal body in this neighborhood. As for the fencing issue, that is one of the HOA's concerns, but I would maintain that since the box is over 2 and a half feet high, it constitutes its own fence. I designed it specifically with child safety in mind, as I have a seven year old and another on the way. As for "anyone getting to it" I'm not really that concerned. I won't be putting in anything skittish enough to be affected by little fingers, as I'm sure my own kids will be the greatest antagonists to the pond as it is. All you can do is try to keep everyone informed of the rules. There's no real way to definitively stop kids from getting into things. I feel I made the box so that it was just high enough that any kid who wanted to get into it would have to be big enough to stand up inside it. haha. We will just have to see.

 

[7itanium]

have you considered coating the inside with epoxy rather than using a liner?

 

[jpappy789]

Wow, this is a really cool build!

 

[cguarino30]

Thanks. I did consider something like Pond Armor (page 2 or 3 I think) but I've decided that with this particular construction, there are too many small gaps to make it as effective as I'd like it to be. Not to mention that the entire pond doesn't really have a bottom, as I built it on top of my patio, and I don't really want to spread pondarmor straight onto my patio. I'm kinda counting on the liner to fill them in for me. I'm still thinking about it, but I'm pretty sure that I can just take one, solid liner, and cut an L shape on the edge (without completely removing it) and use that one, solid liner to waterproof the entire poind, which would be great if I can just pull it off.

 

[7itanium]

ah.. yes the pond not having a bottom would put a damper on the epoxy idea... as you would NEVER be able to see the concrete again if you wanted to lol

I look forward to seeing how this liner works out