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  1. #1
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    Jim's new pond and garden project!

    HI everyone, I am new to the forum but have been lurking a while. I wanted to share my pond build with everyone to get some advice and to document the build for myself also.


    So.... the pond build is part of a much larger total garden makeover although it is the main focal point.


    A bit of background, last year we converted our bungalow into a house and as time and budget ran on we had to leave the garden but now have managed to get back on to it.


    First step was getting the digger in to scrape out all the old lawn and top soil and remove a few tree stumps






    Once the garden was a blank canvas we began work on the pond build.











    This was after the first two days, garden scraped and hole dug. Ended up being three muck away loads and was finally left with a clean driveway and a hole ready for the concrete.



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  3. #2
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    My little helper testing out the new hole in his garden, keeps telling everyone we have a lake with no water or fish!










    The first day of concrete delivery was upon us and the bottom drain was fitted ready to be fixed in place.











    All concrete poured, that was a tough day with what seemed like an endless run of wheel barrows between two of us.

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  5. #3
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    I have tried to draw up something to give a better idea of the finished article but my drawing is pants. The plan for the pond is to have planted raised beds around the sides with an L shape on one end for some rattan furniture for seating. We will also have an infinity window along the long front wall.


    Along the back wall it will be higher with a water blade, the pond is set at 4m x 2m x 1.5m.


    First of many blocks arrived, 350 to hump to the back garden, I didn’t realise the weight of them! Once the first course was laid it was nice to see the pond taking shape.





    Once the walls were at the current ground level the gaps between the walls and the earth was backfilled with concrete, that day the mixer didn’t stop.


    Another day and the walls were taking shape, more concrete was added to the floor to add the slopes in to the bottom drain.







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  7. #4
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    So this is where I am today and so far I am really pleased with the progress. The pond walls have been completed and the recess has been cut for the window.









    I am going to make a template from some OSB board for the window so I know that it fits and get it ordered from Tuffx

    I have been trying to decide on my filtration and have settled on an Aqua Source Synergy Combi 25. (I think)

    This will be supplied by the bottom drain and also a skimmer with a high and low level return back into the pond.

    I am debating if to replace the water blade with a Bakki shower, but think the stainless blade would look nicer and I would need access to the shower within the raised wall which may be an issue, cost is also another negative factor on the shower.

    I have loads of questions on things but thought it would be good to get this up first as an introduction and also for anyone offering advice to refer to. I will try to keep this updated with progress and pictures and welcome any advise or feedback.

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  9. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion Ajm's Avatar
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    Welcome mate . Pond looks good what size gallon is it going to be . . Good to see the little one getting involved my little loves the pond

    Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
    Freddyboy the legend

    "we are water keepers first"

    Johnathan

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  11. #6
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    I think I have it worked out at 2534 gallons so the current planned filtration should be plenty. I am looking forward to the show this weekend to see some different options and hopefully decide for certain, as Monday I am back on the build and setting everything out.

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  13. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim239 View Post
    I think I have it worked out at 2534 gallons so the current planned filtration should be plenty. I am looking forward to the show this weekend to see some different options and hopefully decide for certain, as Monday I am back on the build and setting everything out.
    Nice one mate. Great build. Love the photo s of the little one helping out. Brill.
    Looks like you have got everything covered.
    I would chamfer the corners of the pond.
    To make sure of no dead spots.
    Great build. Look good with the window in.
    Are you fiber glassing the pond
    Fred

    Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

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  15. #8
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    Nice one mate. Great build. Love the photo s of the little one helping out. Brill.
    Looks like you have got everything covered.
    I would chamfer the corners of the pond.
    To make sure of no dead spots.
    Great build. Look good with the window in.
    Are you fiber glassing the pond
    Fred

    Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
    Thanks, yes the pond will be fibreglassed. Hoping to get that all done and dusted by the beginning of October and then have patio to lay and artificial grass and some new fencing on the back to get on with.

    So much to do with this project but I keep thinking of the end goal and look forward to getting some use out of our garden, after years of building.

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  17. #9
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    Hi everyone, it's been so so long since I have updated this thread but I guess things just got away from me. The whole project took a massive hit once winter set in and the wet weather descended.


    Once progress started to slow I definitely fell out of love with the project, which is a shame after where I left this thread being so positive about visiting a show and I remember looking at all the amazing koi and looking forward to finally getting some fish in my pond.


    Finally I have made some more progress on the whole project and It has given me a boost and reignited my interest.


    I wanted to update this thread for my own records and I guess I will have to skip a few stages and might not be so detailed on the build as I would like to be but there is certainly some mistakes that were made that I would want somebody else doing the same to be aware of.


    So here it goes…..

    After the show I started the walls for the raised beds, my plan was to just fill with some shingle and then top soil over the top. In hindsight I think it may have been wise to add a damp proof membrane and maybe line the interior of the beds. I guess time will tell if this would have been overkill or a necessary step.


    I


    This was about the time the rain set in and turned the whole garden into an absolute mud bath, after slow progress the first raised bed was completed, the half bricks were just to maintain the same level across the pond.

















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  19. #10
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    Next job was to set the skimmer in place and the returns as well as start the render on the inside of the pond. I wonder if I should have set the bottom return a little lower maybe below ground level and closer to the bottom of the pond.















    Once the render was completed it really started to look like a pond and take shape, I remember leaving the pond to go away on holiday and for the fibreglassing to be completed feeling positive that it was moving in the right direction.


    The wet weather really took a turn for the worse at this point and made completing the fibreglassing a more difficult task then expected but it was done and on my return from holiday and the flow coat was applied.





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  21. #11
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    Work was started on the filter and pump bay, my final choice of filter kept changing around which didn’t help when setting things out. I wish I had all the equipment finalised and if possible on site to make it easy knowing all the dimensions of things.


    I was getting a drum filter and bio second hand from someone closing down their pond but they backed out last min and left me searching for an alternative. I remember speaking to the guys at Burton and was impressed with their drum and bio and liked that they were a relatively local company.


    I settled on a BD-500 drum with a Bio-Tank 1200 and a Vario pump 20,000 with this finalised the filter bay was built







    I still am yet to decide how I am going to cover the filter bay, my first idea was a tall cedar clad box that was tall enough to allow me to stand inside and would keep most of the weather out.


    Currently though I think I may make something removable as I don’t want anything too obstructive to the view of the garden behind the pond where my children's play set will be.


    My focus turned to the rest of the garden while I waited for the drum and bio to be made as the wait was around 4-6 weeks, something I wasn’t expecting but my fault for not sorting it out sooner.


    I had the digger back in to re level the whole garden and I poured a concrete slab for my new shed.





    Next step was a delivery of MOT type 1 for the whole garden, it was two lorry loads to get a decent sub base down, which was then compacted with a vibrating roller. Dont think the neighbours appreciated this stage as that machine was very noisy, paired up with the dumper going back and forth.












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  23. #12
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    The rear wall for the water blade was built during this time but I am still to fix the blade in until I have painted the wall. I am unsure as to how much the blade will need fixing, I was hoping the weight of the water in the bottom of the tray would stop it tipping. It would be handy to be able to take it out when needed for cleaning


    Back on to the pond and this time it was painting the inside of the raised beds. I bought a 25l drum of bitumen paint from Selco which was good value considering the price of a 5l tin.


    I painted all the beds and filter bay inside. I shouldn’t have painted the raised beds to the top as I had to use an SBR slurry on where the render will come down to so it would stick.





    Finally my new drum and bio was delivered by Burton, it was nice to get those in place and start to plan how I was going to plumb those in.


    I only have one bottom drain so two of my inlets would be unused for now, (more on that later)


    I









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  25. #13
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    This was the last I did on the pond for a while, the weather coupled with some bad luck and lockdown thrown in the mix really put a stop to my plans. This was around November and I only managed to finish the back wall and get the filters plumbed in.


    Things picked up once restrictions started easing and I made some good progress and the positivity towards the project returned. I was never tempted to scrap it all but I did at a time really regret starting and was worried about the finances and the commitment I had signed up to.


    I managed to reclaim some bricks for my raised beds from the house build over the road and I know its not a huge thing but getting these for free and barrowing them around the garden with my three year old gave me a push to get things moving again.











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  27. #14
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    Finally my window was being fitted, so early on in this pond build I said I was going to template the window and then order. For some reason that plan didn’t happen and I just measured the gap. Between two of us measuring and checking it got messed up and when we went to fit the window it was too small.


    This was a massive low point, I was stuck with a massive piece of glass and the expense of ordering another piece. I then did the right thing and templated the gap and ordered the next piece and put the smaller bit on eBay.


    Luckily the smaller piece sold and yes I did loose money on it but I am not stuck with a huge chunk of glass clogging up the shed and even more disapproval from my patient wife.





    Fitting the window was a nervous process, we used the polyurethane sealant from ideal sealants


    https://www.idealsealants.com/ideals...ive-300ml-p141


    I would use this again, and I am going to order some more for emergencies. It in my opinion is just as good as the gold label stuff and from research on here I am glad I saved the money and got this instead. I think I used a full 6 tubes on the window, I did watch a youtube video where somebody applied the sealant to the glass first.


    I just applied the sealant to the gap and used the little blue protecters that came with the glass as spacers and to provide a bit of a cushion when offering the glass up for the first time.


    It went in ok and all the gaps were covered and the glass was left tied up and clamped in for 24 hours while I started to fill the pond!









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  29. #15
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    Having water in the pond and the window fitted was again another big boost and I could actually see it coming together and started to think about fish and what I would like to put in there.


    It was time to get the pond running and the bio media set up, I have used a mixture of burtons Bioflo+ and Biotube, 50lt of both with a further 50l of K1 to add in once everything is established.


    I set up the EA130 air pump with a 6 way manifold and added the media, I think I added too much at once and the two air stones I had in the bio chamber were not causing the media to tumble.


    I added a piece of 40mm waste pipe with some holes in and ran a 8mm air line which really helped to tumble the media and to get it started. I have turned that off now and the air stones are doing fine but with the extra media capacity available I am going to leave the makeshift tube in incase it needs a boost.


    I have noticed that the 8mm clear airline seems to hiss so I replaced some of the lines with the left over 8mm reinforced black lines that I have going in to the pond. Eventually I will replace all with the black stuff as its a little quieter.











    I thew in some EA filter start gel too for good measure as I don’t currently have any fish in the pond and thought it couldn’t hurt.


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  31. #16
    Member Rank = Tosai Jim239's Avatar
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    This ended up being bit of a waste I think as I had to switch the pump off and UV while I did some work on the electrics and got some sockets and armoured cable dug around the garden. The pond greened up really quickly and turned to horrible pea soup.







    I beaded up the pond ready for the render, I should have really done this while the level was down but I wasn’t sure if the water was going to come back and if cleaning up the sides was a pointless task.


    I made a walkway across the pond and sheeted up to apply the render beads and scratch coat, it was a bit wobbly but did the job.





    With the sheeting it would have been a good idea to tape it across as some bits did drop through and to the bottom but I managed to get most out with the net


    I decided to drop the level and clean up all the sides and run as much through the drum as possible.
    I couldn’t stand how it looked and the fluorescent green was getting on my nerves. It's made me think about the value of a pond vacuum and I am currently looking to get one before the bottom gets too sludgy again.


    The pond was refilled and frustratingly I didn’t have a meter installed to measure the output but from my measurements the pond is approx 11,520l or 2534g. I would definitely recommend getting a meter on the pond first which is something I am looking to install shortly. We are however on a meter at the road and I guess I could have checked that (keeping my fingers crossed I can sneak the water bill passed the wife)


    Scratch coat was completed and I could see that this was all worth it and the pond I designed was going to look as good as I could have hoped.


    With the cleaning my drum filter was really going for it and I realised I should have installed a top up system or a trickle in and out.


    I spoke to the guys at Burton and I bought a 4 gallon water tank with ball valve from Screwfix and I plan to install this to the spare accessible inlet on my drum.
    Hopefully when this is installed to the correct height it will mirror the water level in the dirty side of the drum and once a clean is activated it will top the water from the mains supply.


    Currently this isn’t installed yet and I am looking into a purifier or dechlorinater, doing my research I am not sure what I need and hopefully will get it sorted soon.


    This is the tank ready to be installed, It doesn’t look too bad and doesn’t take up too much room so if all works as planned I will be pleased.







    As we stand I have nearly completed the render, the ponds looking as planned and I am pleased with the most recent progress. I have been doing some shopping for lighting and have a light for my blade which I will share the details of soon.







    Apologies for the long post and a bit of a rabble, but I was keen to document the progress and also it will be nice to look back on this once its all done!

    Cheers

    Jim!

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  33. #17
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Spongebob's Avatar
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    Crikey Jim you’ve been busy! Lovely job.
    Fibreglassed/5000 gals/4.5 m Tunnel/Spindrifter/Twin drums/Bio chambers/Beads/Showers/Remora ASHP

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  35. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Nice job jim. Good work. Looks good mate.
    Once you get some fish in there lol.
    And your 3 year old lads excitement at seeing them. And getting them. Will really rub of on you. My grandkids love it. And it gives me a buzz. To see there faces. My grandkids fish with mini nets for hours
    Haha.
    Great write up as well mate.
    Enjoy it mate.
    Fred

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  36. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion dbs's Avatar
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    What a cracking job that is Jim, some very nice ideas, I look forward to seeing the final stages develop on this

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  38. #20
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai koicarpus's Avatar
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    Looks great well done

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