A ton isn't much when it comes to boulders. I'm betting almost 2.5 to 3 tons to ring your pond and make your water feature
Emily's Pond Build Log
- Thread starter rainbowcharmer
- Start date
Yeah that is kind of what I'm thinking. The guy I talked to at one of the stone yards said he counted 24 garden boulders on a 2800 pound pallet the other day when he was inventorying. He says the boulders average 50-100 pounds apiece. I just have to figure out how big they actually are so i can determine how much space they will cover. I don't want to buy too many and have a ton (literally) left over, but at the same time, I don't want to have to pay the delivery fee twice if I don't get enough. Decisions, decisions...
WARNING! theory, not experience!!
a 75 pound boulder is about 1 foot in diameter, and you'd have about 27 of those in a ton. you pond perimeter looks like about 55 feet around right now, so you would need 55 1-foot rocks or about 2 tons just for that (smaller rocks would give you more border per pound).
you'll need about half that much again (1 ton) to surround your 100 gallon filter tank, and again at least half that much (another ton) to make a waterfall assuming you're putting one in.
that works out to about 4 tons total.
can you get a ton or so of smaller rocks (5" - 10")? a ton of those will be more efficient per pound for surrounding the pond. You can use them to space out and fill in between the 1 foot guys, which would probably look more natural. they would also make for better packed / more stable structures for your filter and waterfall.
a 75 pound boulder is about 1 foot in diameter, and you'd have about 27 of those in a ton. you pond perimeter looks like about 55 feet around right now, so you would need 55 1-foot rocks or about 2 tons just for that (smaller rocks would give you more border per pound).
you'll need about half that much again (1 ton) to surround your 100 gallon filter tank, and again at least half that much (another ton) to make a waterfall assuming you're putting one in.
that works out to about 4 tons total.
can you get a ton or so of smaller rocks (5" - 10")? a ton of those will be more efficient per pound for surrounding the pond. You can use them to space out and fill in between the 1 foot guys, which would probably look more natural. they would also make for better packed / more stable structures for your filter and waterfall.
Thanks. That at least helps me to determine an approximate amount. Honestly I only want one ton of the larger rocks. I would rather use them as accents and smaller ones (football sized or so) as the bulk of the rock work. i will also be using cement or mortar to keep everything in place.
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Posted on mobile.aquariacentral.com
you won't need so much (in tons) with smaller rocks
btw, i'm eyeballing your hole as being about 8' x 18' at the top; guessing at the average depth profile gives me estimates of 1500 - 2200 gallons
unless you can get a water meter (maybe your local water company will let you use one of theirs? can't hurt to ask) the easiest way to measure the actual pond volume is to measure the amount of time it takes to fill a 5 gallon pail 10 times, get an average gallons per minute, and then just time how long it takes to fill the pond
btw, i'm eyeballing your hole as being about 8' x 18' at the top; guessing at the average depth profile gives me estimates of 1500 - 2200 gallons
unless you can get a water meter (maybe your local water company will let you use one of theirs? can't hurt to ask) the easiest way to measure the actual pond volume is to measure the amount of time it takes to fill a 5 gallon pail 10 times, get an average gallons per minute, and then just time how long it takes to fill the pond
the hole is 15 by 8 with about half of it at 4 feet deep and the other half around 2.5 feet deep. plus the stairs take up space at the shallow end.
Posted on mobile.aquariacentral.com
Posted on mobile.aquariacentral.com
hmmm. the stairs look to be about 1/8 of your total area (say = 1' deep on average), with 3/8 at 4' and 1/2 at 2.5 feet, which gives you an average depth of ~2 feet.
considering the pond as an ellipse (actually it's indented a little, but squarer at the ends, which i guess about cancel out) this gives us roughly 180 cubic feet or 1350 gallons
considering the pond as an ellipse (actually it's indented a little, but squarer at the ends, which i guess about cancel out) this gives us roughly 180 cubic feet or 1350 gallons
on an earlier topic, you were worrying about the Hydroton clay balls falling thru the eggcrate. i suggest just putting down a single layer of "river rock" (smooth, flat stones 2 - 3 inches across and then dumping the clay balls on top.
alternative light-weight hydroponic media might be foamed recycled glass (trade name "growstones")
http://growstone.com/horticulture/frequently_asked_questions.html
or diatomaceous gravel like Hygromite
http://www.higromite.com/
i would expect they would all work in a pond filter like you are planning
alternative light-weight hydroponic media might be foamed recycled glass (trade name "growstones")
http://growstone.com/horticulture/frequently_asked_questions.html
or diatomaceous gravel like Hygromite
http://www.higromite.com/
i would expect they would all work in a pond filter like you are planning
Actually, the 4 foot section takes up a good half of the pond. The 2.5' section is relatively small. According to the pond calculators that I've been using (which, I know are not terribly accurate), I am somewhere around 3000 gallons.
The measurements I'm using are: 15' length, 8' width (both ends are 8', with a 7.5' section in the middle where it comes in slightly - this is INSIDE the plant shelf, FYI). The 4' deep section is about 8' x 8', while the 2.5' section is much smaller since it includes the stairs. When I use this calculator:http://www.gardenponds.com/kidponcalc.htm...
If I use these dimensions: 8', 8', 7.5', 15', 4', 3' - I get 3300 gallons
If I use these dimensions: 8', 8', 7.5', 15', 4', 2.5' - I get 2900 gallons
I'm not sure if either of these are superbly accurate though, so I'd really like to try using a water meter if I can get my hands on one when we're ready to fill. If not, I'll do the 5 gal bucket fill method and time it to get the gallons. What I may do this weekend if we get the last of the digging done is measure individual sections to use in a pond calculator - so I'll measure the sections on either side of the stairs at the 2.5' depth to get the gallons in those sections, then the 4' section as a separate entity, etc. Might be more accurate that way.
As for the growing mediums, I will check those out. I haven't yet found a local place to get the hydroton. Not sure if I'll find a local place for either of those either, but we'll see. I probably won't do the river rock thing because I want the roots to grow down into the filter if the plants feel the need, but we'll see how it goes. We will at least get the section for the filter dug this weekend, but it's rained an awful lot the last few days and there's still quite a bit of water IN the pond (clay drains VERY slowly), so I don't know if it will be dry enough for us to dig in the pond this weekend.
The measurements I'm using are: 15' length, 8' width (both ends are 8', with a 7.5' section in the middle where it comes in slightly - this is INSIDE the plant shelf, FYI). The 4' deep section is about 8' x 8', while the 2.5' section is much smaller since it includes the stairs. When I use this calculator:http://www.gardenponds.com/kidponcalc.htm...
If I use these dimensions: 8', 8', 7.5', 15', 4', 3' - I get 3300 gallons
If I use these dimensions: 8', 8', 7.5', 15', 4', 2.5' - I get 2900 gallons
I'm not sure if either of these are superbly accurate though, so I'd really like to try using a water meter if I can get my hands on one when we're ready to fill. If not, I'll do the 5 gal bucket fill method and time it to get the gallons. What I may do this weekend if we get the last of the digging done is measure individual sections to use in a pond calculator - so I'll measure the sections on either side of the stairs at the 2.5' depth to get the gallons in those sections, then the 4' section as a separate entity, etc. Might be more accurate that way.
As for the growing mediums, I will check those out. I haven't yet found a local place to get the hydroton. Not sure if I'll find a local place for either of those either, but we'll see. I probably won't do the river rock thing because I want the roots to grow down into the filter if the plants feel the need, but we'll see how it goes. We will at least get the section for the filter dug this weekend, but it's rained an awful lot the last few days and there's still quite a bit of water IN the pond (clay drains VERY slowly), so I don't know if it will be dry enough for us to dig in the pond this weekend.
For measuring the water-volume, is it not plain easy to shut off all your other running water appliances in your house. Connect the hose to a tap to fill the pond.
Check your normal (in house) water-meter before you start.
Fill and check the water meter again after you are done...
(That is, if your house has a water-meter, which I assume is the case).
Or is there something I'm missing here?
Check your normal (in house) water-meter before you start.
Fill and check the water meter again after you are done...
(That is, if your house has a water-meter, which I assume is the case).
Or is there something I'm missing here?
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