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Thread: Pond Mk 2

  1. #1

    Pond Mk 2

    Evening folks,

    I've had my pond for just over 2 years now, but for all the reasons I documented here - https://www.koiforum.uk/koi-carp-cha...ning-pond.html, it's in desperate need of a re-design. There are a few reasons listed in there, but the stepped bottom and pump fed filter are probably the biggest reasons for wanting to change it. Currently, the pond is approximately 6m x 3m and then depth ranges from 0.45m to 1m over the course of three steps. Here's a picture of it on a rainy evening last month.



    So, having thought long and hard about it, and chopping and changing between keeping it ground level or having it raised; I've finally settled on what I want (I think). I'm going to keep it at ground level, but hopefully with a bit of work on the filtration, reap the benefits of a gravity fed filter.

    Current thinking is:


    • Level the base of the pond by removing 2 of the steps
    • Dig out trenches for 2 aerated bottom drains
    • Cover with a 4" slab of concrete
    • Off the slab build a wall using 7N concrete blocks on edge back up to just above ground level
    • Backfill gap between soil and wall with concrete
    • Fiberglass


    To retain the benefits of the gravity fed filter I'm thinking about submerging either a DIY sump filter or a sieve into which the 2 bottom drains and skimmer will feed. From that pump through my UV (or heater when needed) to my existing KokneyKoi multi-bay (which hopefully will have to work far less than it is currently) and from there gravity return back to the pond via a couple of underwater returns.

    That's the basic set up. I've got plans to add to it like creating a trough for plants that will sit above the pond and a waterfall feature to add a bit of interest. But for now, I was interested in anybody's thoughts on the construction or filtration and most importantly any flaws that people can see. Thankfully I've got you guys to bounce ideas off this time so hopefully Mk 2 should be a lot better than Mk 1.

    Cheers
    Adam


    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Adster; 19-06-2018 at 11:46 PM.

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  3. #2

    Day 1

    So I'm a bit behind; day 1 was actually Sunday.

    With some assistance from some friends and the family, got the all the stone edging removed and dismantled the waterfall.



    A fair chunk of the afternoon was spent setting up the temporary home for the fish which you can just about see in the background. My mate has a large paddling pool that must hold around 2000 litres. Relocated the filter from the pond and got it all hooked up but it wasn't overly watertight. Did some sealing up and left it overnight.
    Last edited by Adster; 19-06-2018 at 11:51 PM.

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  5. #3

    Day 2

    Having left the sealant on the temporary home to cure, we had another go at trying to get the setup working. But we weren't having much joy. There was a lot of pressure in the system from the pump and it kept blowing the fittings off. We had more than one soaking. Eventually clocked the fact that the pump we were using had a flow rate of 13,000 lph. We were using the pump from the waterfall and I'd mistakenly assumed that it would have a lower flow rate than the main filter pump; what's that saying about assuming stuff?

    Anyway, after we realised that we switched over to another pump I had which had a considerably lower flow rate and that seems to have done the trick.

    With the new setup running, the fish were transported to their new home. I haven't got any pictures of them in there just yet as they didn't enjoy the experience and they're pretty mad with me right now so I'm just leaving them alone for the time being.

    Finished pumping out the pond and that was it for day 2.

    Last edited by Adster; 19-06-2018 at 11:53 PM.

  6. #4

    Day 3

    Got the liner and underlay out tonight. Not a very exciting update but took all evening and was knackering. That was a lot of liner and it's heavy stuff, especially when you've still got some water in it and 4 buckets of pebbles that have fallen in over the past few days that had to be scooped out.



    All done now though:
    Last edited by Adster; 19-06-2018 at 11:55 PM.

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  8. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Making good progress, it took me ages to get my liner out, I ended up cutting it up into little bits as my energy started to drain away

    If it was me I would grab an extra sneaky 12" all the way around and dig it another 12" deeper whilst I had the chance, if you do it now you wont lose any size of the pond when the slab and brickwork goes in, also I would consider 6" of concrete just to be on the safe side, you need to be careful around the bottom drain pipework as the concrete will be fairly thin, so dig deeper and let the concrete go all around it, you will be loading it with 18 tonne of water, but it all depends on soil condition I'm just in the process of building my pond and its coming in at 28 tonne of water

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  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Gosai Brandlin's Avatar
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    Watching this with interest as I have a 20 year old in ground goldfish/wildlife pond. I have been considering building another linked pond, or refurbishing the one i have or potentially extending the current one upwards out of the ground. Whats the old adage? "Don't start from here!"

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  12. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    I'm on my third and final pond, I wont be doing it again, so it needs to be done right this time and as big as I can go

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  14. #8
    Cheers for the interest guys.

    Quote Originally Posted by RoyLittle0 View Post
    Making good progress, it took me ages to get my liner out, I ended up cutting it up into little bits as my energy started to drain away
    Yep, it was flippin' heavy.

    Quote Originally Posted by RoyLittle0 View Post
    If it was me I would grab an extra sneaky 12" all the way around and dig it another 12" deeper whilst I had the chance, if you do it now you wont lose any size of the pond when the slab and brickwork goes in, also I would consider 6" of concrete just to be on the safe side, you need to be careful around the bottom drain pipework as the concrete will be fairly thin, so dig deeper and let the concrete go all around it, you will be loading it with 18 tonne of water, but it all depends on soil condition I'm just in the process of building my pond and its coming in at 28 tonne of water
    I'm not sure about the extra 12". Digging has started tonight and if I didn't have to do any more I'd be more than happy

    However, I had thought earlier in the week that 4" concrete might be a bit thin so when I got my quote for the concrete I did it on the basis of a 6" slab. My mate and my brother in law have both expressed concerns about the single skin walls though so I'm starting to think that laying the concrete blocks flat may be the way to go.

  15. #9

    Day 6

    With the help of my mate and my daughter, the digging started tonight. Didn't go at it for long, but we hit it pretty hard. Think we've cleared about a meter off the second step. Thankfully the ground seems to be quite sandy and not clay like I was expecting so it's not too hard to break up but barrowing it out of the hole, through the house to the skip is hard work.



    Also encountered a bit of a snag early on. Found a drain pipe in the side wall of the pond. Worse still; it's leaking.



    You might be able to see in some of the pictures above that the pond isn't currently completely square (well rectangular); the front edge has a bit of a kink in it. The plan was going to be to square off the pond and remove the kink. This drain pipe is exactly where that work was going to happen. The leak will have to be fixed but not sure what to do now. My mate is more than capable of doing the work to move it, but the fear is the amount of extra work that could generate. I'll have to sleep on it.
    Last edited by Adster; 19-06-2018 at 11:56 PM.

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  17. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adster View Post
    However, I had thought earlier in the week that 4" concrete might be a bit thin so when I got my quote for the concrete I did it on the basis of a 6" slab. My mate and my brother in law have both expressed concerns about the single skin walls though so I'm starting to think that laying the concrete blocks flat may be the way to go.
    Its a job you only want to do once, so that extra 50mm of concrete may prove a good decision, it probably equates to about a cubic meter of concrete, so about £120?

    I would also be concerned about the single thin wall, the pressure is at its greatest at the bottom and wanting to try to push the blocks outwards, so on their side would be a good call, to give extra strength you can add rebarr drilled through the first block into the slab and back fill the first two rows with a good concrete mix, that is what I intend to do and our ponds are a similar size

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  19. #11

    Day 7

    More digging. As I've decided to lay the blocks flat now rather than on edge, decided to take the 12" border off the left hand side of the pond (bottom of this photo) as well as the back (left of this photo). That should offset the reduction in capacity caused by laying the blocks differently.


  20. #12

    Day 8

    More digging. Managed to get rid of most of the back border. Only stopped because the skip is now so full that I've had to shut the front loading door and I haven't got anything lined up for me to be able to get the wheelbarrow into the skip.


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  22. #13

    Day 10

    Thought I'd do a bit more digging. Progress was slower tonight though as I was on my own and had to start going up a plank into the skip which was hard work. Finished clearing out the back ledge (as much as was visible) and got rid of another chunk of the second step.



    Unfortunately I've realised tonight that the temporary home for the fish has got a leak somewhere. It's not in the plumbing so I think the pool itself must have a split somewhere. Adds a bit of pressure to get the work done.

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  24. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Welcome adam. Good progress mate. And well put down as a thread. Photos are good to. Best of luck.

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

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  26. #15
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Steve1984's Avatar
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    could you not dig the mud into bags, barrow the bags round to the skip and empty the bags in, may be easier than trying to get a barrow up a ramp.

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  28. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    Welcome adam. Good progress mate. And well put down as a thread. Photos are good to. Best of luck.
    Cheers Fred.

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve1984 View Post
    could you not dig the mud into bags, barrow the bags round to the skip and empty the bags in, may be easier than trying to get a barrow up a ramp.

    Hadn't contemplated that. I got my technique sorted tonight so it wasn't so much of an issue. It's an option for when there's not much room left in the skip though, cheers.

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  30. #17

    Day 11

    Thought I'd have a break from digging tonight so did some shovelling instead

    Had some assistance as well tonight so it was a bit easier. Doesn't look like much from the picture but we got a fair bit shifted again.


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  32. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Nice and neat

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

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  34. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Making good progress, I got to the point where I didn't have the energy to push the barrow up the ramp and found it easier leaving the barrow on the edge and shoveling it in from there, I did 40% of my pond that way.

    I have the same problem as you with the sewer pipe running at the side or my pond, which leaks like a sieve when it rains I'll have to find a way of sealing it before i'm done
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  36. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by RoyLittle0 View Post
    Making good progress, I got to the point where I didn't have the energy to push the barrow up the ramp and found it easier leaving the barrow on the edge and shoveling it in from there, I did 40% of my pond that way.

    I have the same problem as you with the sewer pipe running at the side or my pond, which leaks like a sieve when it rains I'll have to find a way of sealing it before i'm done
    The run up out of the pond is fine at the minute though eventually I'll have to do something different when I chip away the last bit. The skip is the trickier bit but I pretty much mastered that last night; just have to give it some beans on the run up .

    Thankfully Roy, mine isn't a sewer pipe I don't think; just seems to be linked up to the roof guttering down pipes so hopefully shouldn't be anything too horrendous in there when I try and fix it.

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