My pond build thread
- Thread starter enrgizerbunny
- Start date
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Fresh2o
Aquarium Advice Addict
You may have posted this early on, but what kind of underlayment will you be using under the liner? I've used carpet padding in the past. Tarp may help as well but not necessarily prevent roots from growing.
What kind of liner? Butyl? PVC? Other? What mil thickness?
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What kind of liner? Butyl? PVC? Other? What mil thickness?
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enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
45 mil EPDM rubber liner. Underlayment will likely be whatever comes with it, but I haven't given much thought to others. The roots will choose the path of least resistance, so as long as there is water in the pond that won't be an issue.
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enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm stumped on how you have done it by hand but I thought you were going to leaf it alone.....
Nils
Aquarium Advice Addict
Great progress! When are you planning on putting in the liner?
enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'll purchase the liner once the hole is dug and I can get a real time measurement on how big it needs to be.
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enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
PoppaRyno
Aquarium Advice Addict
4ft is great depth.
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Fresh2o
Aquarium Advice Addict
Swimming hole!
What pump/filtration do you plan on using for this? You may have mentioned it on this thread but I could not find it.
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What pump/filtration do you plan on using for this? You may have mentioned it on this thread but I could not find it.
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enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
2700gph pump most likely with DIY barrel filled with gravel. Considering a second barrel with sponges for bio media but I'd rather keep it simple. Also a fountain pump/uv sterilizer combo.
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PoppaRyno
Aquarium Advice Addict
You can just build a filter box, and stuff it full of sponges. I do this. Pump runs to filter box, runs to bog filter (full of gravel and planted) which ends in a waterfall to the first tier of pond.
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Fresh2o
Aquarium Advice Addict
You might love/hate the gravel in the first container. Traps a lot of gunk but can be a pita to clean. If you have a secondary container with some biomedia (sponges and/or pot scrubbers would work well here) then you can use a hose running tap water on the gravel in the first container. Bulkhead fitting and ball valve at the bottom of both containers for easing draining.
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enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm planning to clean the gravel with air and back flushing, which seems to be an effective method. Right now I have 75 lbs of aquarium gravel and probably 40 lbs of pea gravel for filter media.
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Fresh2o
Aquarium Advice Addict
I like the air flush idea but if the media gets too clogged or packed in, channeling may occur and areas may be left undisturbed. At the time I used expanded shale which is a bit larger (1/2-3/4") and not as heavy as similar sized gravel. It was effective but tons of crap would be loaded in it and it required a shovel and garden hose to clean. Then again, the pond was overstocked and under direct sunlight and was an algae fest. I later switched to pall rings which are buoyant, translucent, 1-2" plastic barrels. These were easier to work with (stop pump, stir with a stick, drain, refill, repeat).
Matala makes filter mats in a variety of grades (coarse to fine) and can serve as bio or mechanical filtration. http://www.matalausa.com/cat26.html Never used them but heard good stuff about them.
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Matala makes filter mats in a variety of grades (coarse to fine) and can serve as bio or mechanical filtration. http://www.matalausa.com/cat26.html Never used them but heard good stuff about them.
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enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
The digging is complete! The remaining digging will be used to level the edges, so the deep end will may be extended a little, but the entire perimeter is dug and the sides are dressed.
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Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just out of curiosity, are those big roots from a tree still standing or one that no longer is there?
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Been a while since an update, but I'm getting close. I've cut through the root and made great strides since then.
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Seeing this reminds me of my trip to Brasil. We were hand digging an 8 ft diameter hole for an in ground sump when we ran into and unexpected drain pipe from the building outside. Being where we were, I became a very inventive plumber that day.
enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
Probably still standing. I'm going to seal then with tar patch. My boss has 4 ponds, one of them RIGHT next to a weeping willow, he said just seal then with tar and I shouldn't have problems.
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