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  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Winter Polycarbonate covers for a Wooden Sleeper Pond

    POST 1 of 2


    Having had some tips and advice on here, especially from Smartin, here's how I built very simple but effective winter poly covers.

    Because my pond already has fabricated mesh covers I wanted to avoid having to frame polycarb which would make it unnecessarily heavy and awkward to store.





    I found Varico the cheapest by far for brand new 25mm and 35mm clear multiwall polycarbonate sheets. After a fair bit of deliberation I decided to go for the 25mm sheets because much of the heat loss is caused by wind etc on the surface and I didn't think the difference between the 2 sizes would make a real difference with insulating the pond, and obviously the 25mm is easier to handle and store. Also whilst deciding which thickness to get, Varico put their 25mm polycarb on offer making it around £150 cheaper than the 35mm overall, so that clinched it:

    https://www.varicoltd.com/

    As I wasn't going to bother making wooden frames I decided to screw the polycarb directly into the wooden capping on the pond. This capping tends to get mucky so I replace it every couple of years anyway, so a few screw holes into it isn't going to bother me. I bought the following fittings which were cheaper than on Varico's website but were actually delivered by Varico!

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Polycarbo...72.m2749.l2649


    In order to assist with water run off I wanted the covers to be slightly raised in the middle and since I already benefit from having metal covers I bought some 20mm thick all weather adhesive backed foam which I cut into strips and stuck down the centre of the polycarb at the point where my metal covers join together, thus raising the centre of the covers by a few millimetres which isn't enough to see in the photos but it is enough to assist rainwater run off.




    The adhesive backed foam I used is on this page, EFP30:

    https://www.efoam.co.uk/closed-cell-...ylene-foam.php


    And here the 1m2 piece I ordered. The adhesive properties are immense. When I fitted some incorrectly it took a good strong pull to peel it back off the polycarb:






    By running strips of foam down the middle it meant the edges of the polycarb were raised around the circumference of the pond and you can see the gap in this pic:




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  3. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    POST 2 of 2

    20mm thick adhesive backed foam filled the gap giving a perfect seal between the cover and the pond:






    I bought some breather tape (again from Varico) to go around the edges of the polycarb sheets, and then stuck the strips of adhesive foam around the full circumference of the pond (covers) which gave an airtight seal, so round back of the pond where the wind won't catch I left a few gaps between the foam strips to allow the pond to breathe.






    Obviously I didn't want to screw the entire cover to the pond so needed a solution to make 2 of the covers removable for access and feeding. After coming up with various ideas using hinges, hooks and bungee straps etc I wondered what the simplest and easiest solution would be..... If only there was a tape strong enough to stick the removable covers down whilst also acting as a hinge.

    Well there is a tape, this Hippo Ultra Power tape is super strong:

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIPPO-ULT...72.m2749.l2649


    So I stuck it between each panel except between the 2 panels I want to fold over for access so it would act as an additional seal:




    And that is it with 3 panels screwed/fixed directly to the pond (screwed through the adhesive foam to allow flex and to bring edges lower than the centre for rain run off) and the 2 opening panels attached by tape, leaving no overhangs so wind can't get under the covers to try and lift them.





    Around 3 hours work in total to get everything cut to size (using a jigsaw) and fitted to the pond.

    The best part is, prior to fitting, the pond had gone down to just 12C. Because I had to try and increase pond temperature ahead of collecting a new Koi from a heated pond I added a 300w fish tank heater and managed to get pond temp up to 13C after a couple of days but that was still not enough.

    Then I fitted the covers and just 5 days later, with the 300w aquarium heater still going, I'm now at an incredible 17C.
    Last edited by RS2OOO; 06-10-2020 at 01:38 PM.

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  5. #3
    Very tidy and a great write up Winter Polycarbonate covers for a Wooden Sleeper PondWinter Polycarbonate covers for a Wooden Sleeper Pond thanks for sharing.
    I'm not covering the brand new pond this year, but will be next year so I'm getting loads of ideas.
    Cheers
    Jay

    Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

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  7. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Koiz's Avatar
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    Grand job Good to see that Varico are still the most competitively priced polycarb suppliers since I bought a few years back. Thanks for those links. They've been bookmarked for future reference!
    Quick question about your 300w heater - where exactly have you placed this? Is it in the pond by a water return or in the filter somewhere?
    11,440L Raised Pond, BD, Oase ProfiClear, Bitron 55W, 2x10k Aquaforte Varios, Skimmer to Waterblade

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  9. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Koiz View Post
    Quick question about your 300w heater - where exactly have you placed this? Is it in the pond by a water return or in the filter somewhere?
    It's just hanging by it's wire in the outlet section of the Nexus.

    It's only there temporary as I tried and failed to temperature match a heated pond so I could transfer a koi, but left it too late and not going to achieve the required temps so will collect it next year now.

    I will gradually let temps go ambient by swapping the heater for a 100w one later this week, then on the next warm day I'll switch the 100w one off.

    if in the unlikely event the 100w one is able maintain temps a worthwhile amount above ambient then I might just leave it there till spring just to hopefully buffer the day/night temp swings.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

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  11. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Tom Koi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    POST 2 of 2

    20mm thick adhesive backed foam filled the gap giving a perfect seal between the cover and the pond:






    I bought some breather tape (again from Varico) to go around the edges of the polycarb sheets, and then stuck the strips of adhesive foam around the full circumference of the pond which gave a nice airtight seal, so I left a few areas around the back of the pond with no foam to allow the pond to breathe.






    Obviously I didn't want to screw the entire cover to the pond so needed a solution to make 2 of the covers removable for access and feeding. After coming up with various ideas using hinges, hooks and bungee straps etc I wondered what the simplest and easiest solution would be..... If only there was a tape strong enough to stick the removable covers down whilst also acting as a hinge.

    Well there is a tape, this Hippo Ultra Power tape is super strong:

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIPPO-ULT...72.m2749.l2649


    So I stuck it between each panel, removable and non-removable so it would act as an additional seal:




    And that is it.





    Around 3 hours work in total to get everything cut to size (using a jigsaw) and fitted to the pond.

    The best part is, at the time of fitting my pond had gone down to just 12C. Because I had to try and increase pond temperature ahead of collecting a new Koi from a heated pond I added a 300w fish tank heater and managed to get pond temp up to 13C after a couple of days but that was still not enough.

    Then I fitted the covers and just 5 days later, with the 300w aquarium heater still going, I'm now at an incredible 17C.
    Cracking Job, reading this has made my life a hell of a lot easier now, about my intentions to close off pond for winter, Top Job and Thread.

    Cheers RS

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  13. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Tom Koi's Avatar
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    I bought all my Polycarb from Roofing Megastore, wish I knew about Varico before now, would have saved enough to buy a couple of decent fish. We live and learn

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  15. #8
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Cheers Tom, glad it was helpful.

    I'm not shy when it comes to DIY but after the amount of time and effort it took making the bubble wrap tarpaulin sandwich last year I wasn't looking forward to this, particularly considering the higher cost of materials and not wanting to mess it up doing a rush job.

    I'd also been looking at wood sizes to make a frame and working out how much wood I'd need to make a sloping roof and how I'd design it.

    But the reality was completely different. The Jigsaw went through it like butter (3m lengths cut down to 2.66m) and the whole job was a piece of cake.

    The 25mm carries it's own weight pretty well but with a large span you'll probably need some support running down the centre of the pond.

    This support could come in the form of a long aluminium box section (paid £30 off eBay for my 14mm box section) and you can see the metal covers resting on it in first pic, then use the adhesive foam around the edge of the pond to raise the height of the covers to match the height of the box section (or a few mm lower to stop water pooling), adding practically nothing to the weight.



    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    Last edited by RS2OOO; 06-10-2020 at 12:27 AM.

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  17. #9
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion Ajm's Avatar
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    Fantastic and informative thread as always matey . Cracking job rs hope you read them a bed time story when you tucked them in
    Freddyboy the legend

    "we are water keepers first"

    Johnathan

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  19. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai g mac's Avatar
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    Great job and a thorough write up RS, cheers.

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  21. #11
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    Hi RS,

    Lovely job there looks great, good idea with the rubber for seals, i want to change my seals as the product i used within a year has folded in places and allowing too much air to get in, being flexible the rubber will solve the issue of the wood thats also warped slightly through storage and water ingress from last winter, its only very slight but i can see it...... the covers do make a difference for sure, i was at 13.9c and now at 16c with no heating, interested in your 300w aquarium heater, are you going to use any form of heating during the colder months or go ambient? Steve.
    2200 gallons,infinity window,
    Evolve 4k combi,spindrifter,
    2x20k pumps, BD,Skimmer,
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  23. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Hi Steve,

    Pond was at 17.1C today so I turned the 300w heater off and replaced it with a 100w heater.

    Will see what happens to temps and report back before deciding if it's worth leaving it on permanently.

    Have been very surprised on what a combination of proper covers and a tiny heater can do.

    As for the adhesive foam, the one I used and linked to doesn't sound cheap, but it really is top notch and I'm almost certain if you stick it to Polycarb it will stay put permanently. Easy to cut straight with a good Stanley blade.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

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  25. #13
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    Hi Steve,

    Pond was at 17.1C today so I turned the 300w heater off and replaced it with a 100w heater.

    Will see what happens to temps and report back before deciding if it's worth leaving it on permanently.

    Have been very surprised on what a combination of proper covers and a tiny heater can do.

    As for the adhesive foam, the one I used and linked to doesn't sound cheap, but it really is top notch and I'm almost certain if you stick it to Polycarb it will stay put permanently. Easy to cut straight with a good Stanley blade.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    Yes will be interesting what you can achieve or not achieve with the 100w....... the rubber you have used i have used before at work and also on my fishing tripod heads to avoid the carbon fibre getting scratched, also aided with grip, like you say expensive but very good with great adhesion,
    2200 gallons,infinity window,
    Evolve 4k combi,spindrifter,
    2x20k pumps, BD,Skimmer,
    Shower, ASHP

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  27. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    Cheers Tom, glad it was helpful.

    I'm not shy when it comes to DIY but after the amount of time and effort it took making the bubble wrap tarpaulin sandwich last year I wasn't looking forward to this, particularly considering the higher cost of materials and not wanting to mess it up doing a rush job.

    I'd also been looking at wood sizes to make a frame and working out how much wood I'd need to make a sloping roof and how I'd design it.

    But the reality was completely different. The Jigsaw went through it like butter (3m lengths cut down to 2.66m) and the whole job was a piece of cake.

    The 25mm carries it's own weight pretty well but with a large span you'll probably need some support running down the centre of the pond.

    This support could come in the form of a long aluminium box section (paid £30 off eBay for my 14mm box section) and you can see the metal covers resting on it in first pic, then use the adhesive foam around the edge of the pond to raise the height of the covers to match the height of the box section (or a few mm lower to stop water pooling), adding practically nothing to the weight.



    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    Nice job mate.

    Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

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  29. #15
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Spongebob's Avatar
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    Cracking job! Im spurred on to order the polycarbonate sheets now Then work out how im going to make a round frame? Looking at this job I may just screw them to the copings, I think I can tolerate a few rawplug holes over summer, and may even make those the holes for a summer jump guard?
    Fibreglassed/5000 gals/4.5 m Tunnel/Spindrifter/Twin drums/Bio chambers/Beads/Showers/Remora ASHP

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  31. #16
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Tom Koi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    Cheers Tom, glad it was helpful.

    I'm not shy when it comes to DIY but after the amount of time and effort it took making the bubble wrap tarpaulin sandwich last year I wasn't looking forward to this, particularly considering the higher cost of materials and not wanting to mess it up doing a rush job.

    I'd also been looking at wood sizes to make a frame and working out how much wood I'd need to make a sloping roof and how I'd design it.

    But the reality was completely different. The Jigsaw went through it like butter (3m lengths cut down to 2.66m) and the whole job was a piece of cake.

    The 25mm carries it's own weight pretty well but with a large span you'll probably need some support running down the centre of the pond.

    This support could come in the form of a long aluminium box section (paid £30 off eBay for my 14mm box section) and you can see the metal covers resting on it in first pic, then use the adhesive foam around the edge of the pond to raise the height of the covers to match the height of the box section (or a few mm lower to stop water pooling), adding practically nothing to the weight.



    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    Hi RS, is that foam compressible, because I want to fit it around the pond vertically would I be able to push the polycarb into the foam, to avoid any gaps between the ends and the slabs on to of pond wall etc?
    Thanks again.

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  33. #17
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Koi View Post
    Hi RS, is that foam compressible, because I want to fit it around the pond vertically would I be able to push the polycarb into the foam, to avoid any gaps between the ends and the slabs on to of pond wall etc?
    Thanks again.
    The particular foam I opted for is high density and slowly springs back to shape so doesn't compress like a sponge would for example.

    If you squuezed a 20mm thick piece between 2 fingers quite firmly you would get it down to around 10mm thick.

    Obviously it will compress if screwing Polycarb down onto it which is what I did to bring the edges a few mm lower than the centre to aid water run off, but it won't compress at all just from the weight of the Polycarb.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

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  35. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Tom Koi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    The particular foam I opted for is high density and slowly springs back to shape so doesn't compress like a sponge would for example.

    If you squuezed a 20mm thick piece between 2 fingers quite firmly you would get it down to around 10mm thick.

    Obviously it will compress if screwing Polycarb down onto it which is what I did to bring the edges a few mm lower than the centre to aid water run off, but it won't compress at all just from the weight of the Polycarb.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    Oh right Thanks. maybe it'll give when I push it into place, trying to get a goodish seal allround to be honest to prevent to much heat loss, although I may put one of two vents in to allow the inside of pond to breathe

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  37. #19
    My covers are now aswell rs and are doing a excellent job as we have been having the odd out of sun which i think is defiantly heating it. I went outside just now (1 o’clock in morning) air temp is 8c pond temp is 15.5c so I’m well happy with that. I took the jump guards out and used the exciting holes to screw in a strip of timber on one side so I have a nice air gap and also the poly sheets are tilted which is great to let the rain run off. Useful to know about using a jig saw though I used a Stanley to score it the pressed to snap it, which worked well but was abit of a ball ache


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  39. #20
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    My pond is at 15.9C right now.

    Air temp highs were briefly at 13C but averaging 11C today, so it's definitely holding temps to some degree.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

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