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  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Roy and Lynn's shiny new pond (one day)

    The time has finally come to start my pond build thread, to fill you all in I am an electrician by trade, I spent 8 years as a manager in an office and the next 15 years traveling the world as a service engineer/product specialist, I am now UK based service/software engineer, for the food and drinks industry, so I am getting a little soft in my old age, I have been suffering from a bad back since a teenager, I’m far from a teenager now, I will be doing 90% of the work myself, with the help from my wife, the fiberglassing will be done professionally, the pond will be dug out by hand and wheel barrower to the front of the house, the concrete comes in the same way.


    The pond has evolved from a 5.5x2.2x1.2m (3000 gallon) fully sunken pond to what is now going to be a semi raised pond 700mm above ground and I am still going for the 1000mm below ground, mainly because the new pond is in the same position as the old pond so I have the depth in that already, the fish have been moved out of their pond to a temporary pond, well actually it’s a 12'x6'x4' swimming pool with a 4” outlet to the new filter system, this comprises of a 30,000lh drum filter and a 600x600x700 moving bed bio filter, at the moment this has 50litres of K1 in it, this will all be supplemented by a UV and Bakki shower once the new pond is built, it will also be heated by a Heat Exchanger off the house boiler, this is just to keep the temperature up a little in winter.


    The old pond has now been decommissioned and the Cetus Sieve, Kockney Koi Bay Filter and Retro Bottom Drain have all been removed and sold


    Now things have changed and I need to make the pond, child friendly so its now a semi raised pond with a 2 meter by 700mm viewing window on one side, so that we can sit in the conservatory and watch the fish.


    So on to the problems, we live in a small village and are just on the outskirts of that village, this means that we have a 8 clay sewer pipe running through the back garden, also the mains electricity runs through the back garden, I found that when I dug out for the extension, it went BANG!!!, the electricity company that installed it used a mole and it went straight through my sewer pipe, I also have mains water running straight through the pond position, also the house doesn’t sit straight on the plot and the plot is 6 times wider at the front than the back, so we have some strange angles to contend with, access is tight so its all hand digging and wheelbarrows,


    The water I can divert, the electricity can also be diverted, the sewer is another problem, I couldn’t think of a way around it apart from cutting the corner off the pond, which I wasn’t happy about, until my wife said “why not follow the line of the sewer on one side and have the pond 2 meters on one end and 3.5 meters at the other end” talk about not seeing the wood for the trees, I didn’t even consider that until she said, I have to say she is also a major driving force behind the pond.


    So, this is going to be a long build, don’t expect to see it built in a few weeks, I work away a lot during the week and only get the weekend off if I’m lucky, so it all depends on work, on the plus side, everything I work with is stainless steel, nuts, bolts, brackets, tube, etc, etc, air pipe 6, 8, 10, 12 and 16mm is in abundance, so everything I have is stainless.


    Picture will be taken I things progress, I have a CCTV camera on the back of the house that overlooks the pond so I am taking snap shots with that on a regular basis, so watch this space, pictures to follow.


    Pond information as I think at the moment, it will change as the build progresses.
    • Pond size 3.57 x 5.05 x 2.0 x 5.19 x 1.6 deep (average 5.12 x 2.78 x 1.6) should give 5000 gallons, without filters and pipework, so 5500 with?
    • 2 x aerated bottom drains
    • Skimmer
    • 2 x 18,00lh pumps
    • 9” solid block walls, rendered above ground
    • Insulated walls, not floor
    • Fiberglassed (By Denby Koi Ponds)
    • Filtreau 30 Hi flow drum filter 2 x 4” in, 2 x 4” out and a 3” will be cut out and welded in for the skimmer
    • 600 x 600 x 700 bio filter with 50 litres of K1, 2 x 4” in 2 x 2” out
    • Auto top up with dechlorinator
    • Trickle fill from dechlorinator
    • 10,000 BTU heat exchanger from the house central heating
    • UV will be installed in the drum filter
    • Bakki shower or Bakki river
    • 70lm air pump
    • 120lm air pump
    • 2.1m x 700mm x 31.5mm viewing window
    • 4 x 2” returns (not sure on this one yet)

    In the picture below you will see my problems, the line correspond to services that have to be moved, diverted or completely replaced:


    Purple line - This is an 8 inch main sewer line running from the 3 houses further further up the line, this is encased in concrete
    White line - is a a 100mm concrete slab that the sewer sits on, it is about 600mm wide, i need to cut this back with an angle grinder to get 75mm away from the drain
    Blue line - is a 25mm main water feed to the house, this will be diverted around the pond
    Orange line - is a 6mm 3 core swa to the green house, hopefully i can pull some slack
    Green line - is a 110mm sewer pipe from an upstairs toilet, this will be diverted once the slab and walls are almost out the ground


    Obviously there are concrete to the fence posts and also concrete to the old fence posts to get out

    Back_of_Shed_0_20180527191436.jpg

    This is a days work, 19" deep over 3/4 of the area., it looks deceiving from the camera angle but its 6mts long x 4mts at the fence and 2.5mts by the drain, plenty more digging to do


    Last edited by RoyLittle0; 28-07-2018 at 07:37 AM.

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  3. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    My fish are in a temporary swimming pool with a drum filter and bio filter, I know I need a UV but my problem is I am limited on space at the moment whilst I am digging the pond (wont be done just yet), I am looking to install a UV when I'm done
    plw3Bce.jpg
    I have had a bit of spare time today after doing all my work paperwork at home, to wet to go outside to do anymore digging, so I have updated the CAD drawing, I have put in the drum and bio filter in the drawing and all looks like it fits, the pipe entry between them both are at different heights and at different spacing so I will use 2 90degree bends to change height and spacing, in like an s shape.


    The next thing to consider is the skimmer as I need to get the 3" pipe feed from it to the filter room, valve space will be limited, although its not a fixed size room yet, so its all movable, any thoughts on skimmer and return location, the far side will be a Bakki shower on the wall, furthest away from the filter.


    And the wife is thinking two windows is better than one, not sure on that at the moment.
    wW2LQGu.jpg

  4. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    I can only assume i'm making progress because i'm running out of drive
    Drive_Main_0_20180602112950.jpg

    I woke up to a surprise message at 5:30 this morning, "The Grab Man will be with you mid morning today", suppose I best get up and start digging then!! I only arranged 1 collection because I dumped the soil too far up the drive that he cant reach, when I spoke with him today he said if I move the Jag (which doesn't drive or have a battery) he should be able to get to the rest next time, which was a relief to say the least


    And I got a message to say the BD's and pipework will be dispatched tomorrow, so I can really start to make progress
    Po6uY7X.jpg F0km1C9.jpg
    Last edited by RoyLittle0; 09-07-2018 at 07:37 PM.

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  6. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Just got some glass prices in 2200mm x 750mm x 25.5mm Laminated, Heat Soaked, Polished Edges, there is some variation in pricing so far:


    ToughGlaze £347.00
    TuffX £396.00
    Tufwell £817.91

    I've just had a delivery from JBR Plastics, 2 x bottom drains, 2 x slow 90s, 4 x 45 bends, 12 meters 4" pipe and 12 meters 2" pipe, nearly had a hernia trying to pick up the pipe which was all taped together, that's when I realized I was too old for that and stripped it down to move individually how the driver ever moved it , i'll never know
    Last edited by RoyLittle0; 14-06-2018 at 09:23 AM.

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  8. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Finally feel I am making progress, the bottom drains are in position and the pipework is all set in place, just short on one straight joint for the 4" and waiting on the 45 degree bends on the 1", with any luck I will get the base poured at the weekend, although I cant order the concrete because I don't know where I am working next week, I may have an easy week or I may have to go to Bridgwater to cover night shift, if so I'll not be home til late Saturday, too late for concrete, so all up in the air at the moment.
    4taPjLf.jpg MEshvpe.jpg LOgP8t8.jpg

    Concrete and willing volunteers ordered for Saturday, the only day this week that it is forecast to rain
    Last edited by RoyLittle0; 09-07-2018 at 07:37 PM.

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  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Well what a day today has been, all volunteers have been organised for Saturday so I have been frantically gathering together wheelbarrows and gloves ready for the big day when the pond really starts


    The only job left to do is concrete in the bottom drains so that they don't move when the concrete goes in, we have a high water table here so I have been hoovering out the water daily to keep it as dry as possible before Saturday, I cant afford to have the sides cave in. so when I was hoovering I noticed water in the bottom of one of the drains, didn't think much of it, just hoovered it out and carried on, later in the day I noticed water in one of the bottom drains, feeling a little Déjà vu moment.


    Hoovered it out and started to mix concrete whilst keeping my eye on it, and I noticed water coming in from under the pipe inlet, I checked inside the pipe and all was dry, so now I am starting to get a little stressed at this point, nothing else for it but to get it all out and check my joints, only to find a hairline failure in the plastic weld, this is in a position that isn't double welded, now panic is setting in, can I repair it or do I call it all off for the weekend concrete pour :shock:


    So a quick email to JBR Plastics and within 3 minutes it was all sorted, a new bottom drain will be with me tomorrow and they were totally astonished that it had failed, but very apologetic, these things do happen and its how suppliers get out of it that matters, I'm still 100% satisfied with my purchase and obviously with the customer service I received

    qsxZY9J.jpgHmo5r07.jpg

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  12. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    So that's me caught up on what I have been doing for the past couple of weeks, a new bottom drain is on its way, concrete is ordered, volunteers are ready on the barrows to help move the concrete around the back, it will be starting to look like a pond soon.

    Next step of planning will be to sort out the skimmer and return locations
    Pond Plumbing.png

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  14. #8

    Roy and Lynn's shiny new pond (one day)

    Nice write up and an interesting project. Looking forward to some more updates.

    The only thing I’d change on your (autocad?) drawing is the text font, txt is soooooooooooooo horrible Roy and Lynn's shiny new pond (one day)Roy and Lynn's shiny new pond (one day)
    A nice tft would make all the difference Roy and Lynn's shiny new pond (one day)Roy and Lynn's shiny new pond (one day)


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  16. #9
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai hippo's Avatar
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    Great work ! Looks like you`ve put a lot of time in , planning your build , which is always a good thing .

    Did you think about using a damp proof membrane under your concrete base ? Thats one thing I didn't do on my build , and it led to problems with water ingress later .
    Colin

    2500 Gallon Fibreglass Pond
    Draco Solum 16 , 400l Bio Chamber

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  18. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Nice one mate and welcome
    Looking fwd to this build.

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

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  20. #11
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hippo View Post
    Great work ! Looks like you`ve put a lot of time in , planning your build , which is always a good thing .

    Did you think about using a damp proof membrane under your concrete base ? Thats one thing I didn't do on my build , and it led to problems with water ingress later .
    I am planning to put some down before I pour but from experience working in construction it gets punctured all to often the longer you leave it down, so before I pour I am going to put down some polythene sheeting, about 3 to 4 layers as its only 150 micron, but it will do the job

    But thanks for the heads up, that's what I need
    Last edited by RoyLittle0; 14-06-2018 at 09:21 AM.

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  22. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Arhhhhhh, replacement bottom drain has arrived today as planned, nice and early, perfect, now to get it in and filled with water

    WP_20180614_10_09_42_Pro_LI[1].jpg
    Last edited by RoyLittle0; 09-07-2018 at 07:38 PM.

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    Looking good Roy, Keep the progress pictures coming

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  26. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    So this is my thoughts so far with the returns, the Bakki shower will most likely be turned off in winter, but I will need less flow in winter so that shouldn't be a problem, I would rater over engineer it at this stage so maybe more returns than needed, just turned down very low to keep water flowing through them, I'm looking at 2" or possibly 1 1/2" returns from two 18,000l/h pumps, upgrading to a Flowfriend when funds allow. Any thoughts, I don't really have a clue what I am doing at this stage lol
    Pond Plumbing - Copy.png

  27. #15
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Hassai koinewbie's Avatar
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    Hi Roy I wouldn't turn your bakki shower off in winter or you'll just kill all the good bacteria that have colonised it & you will have to start all over again next year?. Some people turn off their uv in winter but as for filtration I would leave it going 24/7. I have a timer on my air pump on the bottom drain so it only comes on at night otherwise everything runs all the time. Have you thought of covering your pond in the winter?. You can still enjoy the fish through the window. I cover mine & have recently fitted a shower so will build a cover for that too for the winter.
    Pond plan looks good by the way & ask as many questions as you want there's lots of good knowledgeable people on here to help you. Good luck.

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  29. #16
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by koinewbie View Post
    Hi Roy I wouldn't turn your bakki shower off in winter or you'll just kill all the good bacteria that have colonised it & you will have to start all over again next year.
    Makes sense, It was to prevent the water getting chilled, but good point, I could turn it down to limit the water chill, The pond will be heated to a certain extent

    Some people turn off their uv in winter but as for filtration I would leave it going 24/7.
    The UV will be on a separate switch so that can be done easily

    I have a timer on my air pump on the bottom drain so it only comes on at night otherwise everything runs all the time.
    I'm setting up a PLC to control all the timers, pumps, lights etc, etc

    Have you thought of covering your pond in the winter?. You can still enjoy the fish through the window. I cover mine & have recently fitted a shower so will build a cover for that too for the winter.
    Yes the pond will have a Pergola over it which I can cove in winter, I was also planning to use Twin-wall to cover the pond

    Pond plan looks good by the way & ask as many questions as you want there's lots of good knowledgeable people on here to help you. Good luck.
    Don't worry I will lol

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  31. #17
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Kyusai Scamp's Avatar
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    Roy, great to see a new build opt up, and one that ha been given a lot of thought at the outset. Seems you are well prepared, far more than many of us when we put the spade in the ground for the first time! Good luck with it, and keep posting! Cheers

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    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion voodoo_15_uk's Avatar
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    Looking forward to seeing this develop. You have certainly thought through it. Hope all goes well with the build.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  35. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by voodoo_15_uk View Post
    Looking forward to seeing this develop. You have certainly thought through it. Hope all goes well with the build.
    I'm an engineer so I plan, plan and plan and then do it totally differently

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  37. #20
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RoyLittle0 View Post
    I'm an engineer so I plan, plan and plan and then do it totally differently

    Planning is an unnatural process; it is much more fun to do something. The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression.

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