Thread: New Natural look koi pond build

Originally Posted by davethefish1

have you hit china yet?
not my favourite job at all digging...

no local lads in need of a days hard graft?

you'd be amazed how much work they can get done,
the father in law had a friends enterprising son who has set him self up in business, clear half his garden of weeds (3 ft tall) and gravel a 7 x 15 meter patch in just a day for £150
reckon it would have killed me and took a week doing it lol!

It bloody feels like it. I think I’m going to be 90% there tomorrow I should have got some guys or digger in really but sit behind a computer all day and thought I could do with the exercise. I played golf last week and it was like duck hunt on the Nintendo, no lower back but 500 mph pond digger ball speeds into trees there were birds flying all over the shop!


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Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper

As for air pumps, I had a 40 lpm or maybe a 60 lpm? With a 4 way manifold with valves on. This was connected to a 200 mm air disc in the pond, a pair of air discs in the IBC bio chamber, another cylindrical air stone in the pond under the filter return and another air diffuser that was in a water butt that I used for cleaning media or used pipe fittings etc. I also had a 20 lpm air pump on a timer switch that I used every time I fed the fish. It had 2 small round air stones hanging under the mouth of the skimmer which was enough to stop the food being drawn into the skimmer before the fish could eat it. Think the timer was set to about 15 minutes. Worked a treat. I also had a little aquarium air pump that ran the Tornado 2 protein skimmer.

Thanks bud, really appreciate all the info really helpful on helping me decide on kit. I have got a basket on Cotswold koi ready to go but just can’t push the button and decimate my credit cArd. I can’t believe how much everything adds up too, didn’t factor in all the extra gubbins. Good thing is I think I can lose a UV as the drum comes with a 40w installed. Slight saving there


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Originally Posted by A.B Koi

This is looking so good! Love natural looking ponds.....digging is a nightmare though

Thanks mate, I’m really hoping I can pull it off. Will take a while to get the landscaping go right. Picked up some large boulders today off marketplace round the corner for £20. About £300 quids worth of rocks. Finding so many freebies which is great. Crates of the boulders I want are crazy prices but think I’ll have to get a few in to get the real large sizes delivered off a truck.


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Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper

That dig looks like fairly clean clay with none of the rubbish I've been digging through recently.

I have to be honest it is super soft, but I’m hitting moisture now and it’s like sand. I’m not looking forward to rain I think it’s going to turn it’s a giant mush pit and be impossible to concrete in the bottom drain and pipework


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Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper

Haha Brill.

Have you hit China yet

That's about the only thing I haven’t hit digging my pond, stones, blocks, clay, roots, disc cutter blades, old t shirts, tiles, roots, bits of wood, bits of metal and MOT so far

I’ve found some really old China style ceramic bits all smashed up about 2 foot down. God knows how it got there, and some really old green thick glass. Still hoping to find some Roman Chester gold


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Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper

Well I said I found an old t shirt but if my luck had been a bit better it would have been the Turin Shroud lol

Blocks are here, my original beam was pissed as a fart, which luckily means Iv gained some depth one end . Was going to try and get it in this evening but the red wine has started. Might try and get it sorted in the morning.



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Originally Posted by davethefish1

are those thermalite blocks?

mate, i hate to be the one to say this but thermalite blocks are no good.
they only have strength in compression and break apart under lateral pressure.

No thanks so much for the warning, there’s are aerated blocks. Are these the same as mentioned? I have another delivery coming on Thursday of 40 solid concrete blocks (I basically ran out of patience and got a wickes next day order in) I’ll put these aside and maybe mix them in with the filter house build? Phew


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Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper

Yes totally agree with you there Dave, Bigcarpchaser built his recent pond with the 9" x 9" x 18" versions of those and his wall failed fairly quickly. You want concrete blocks laid flat to give it some strength or hollow blocks with rebar down the holes and possibly fill the holes with cement?

Roger that! I’ll hold tight and wait for the full concrete blocks at least it’s helped me get the guide height sorted. Constantly learning. Haven’t got a clue how I’m sorting the filter house yet


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Originally Posted by james9489

No thanks so much for the warning, there’s are aerated blocks. Are these the same as mentioned? I have another delivery coming on Thursday of 40 solid concrete blocks (I basically ran out of patience and got a wickes next day order in) I’ll put these aside and maybe mix them in with the filter house build? Phew


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I’m also backfilling the dead space. FYI. Would they stilll fail under water pressure?


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Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper

Looks like you're making good progress just shame about the blocks.

I can see water in the bottom of the hole, have you hit the water table or a water pipe? I'm surprised I've not hit the water table yet but maybe with clay it's deeper than you think? Saying that I'm very close to a reasonable sized tree and there's loads of bushes etc all round the garden drinking all the available water. We've not had much rain if any for weeks which is probably another reason there's no water in the soil although the clay and sand was dampish when I first dug it out but dried out pretty quickly.

I started to hit sand, like proper sharp sand?! Then the water came. Must be the water table? I the winter under heavy rain I do get pockets of ground water. I’m hoping my plans of a sump in the filter house all work out. Haven’t really considered heavy rain and the potential flooding of areas I’m creating…. Still working it all out. Thanks for the heads up bud


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