So it begins, 300 gallon pond.

matthewr262

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2015
207
134
61
Willowick. OH
Finally putting my Rubbermaid in the ground. The wife and I are extending out the retaining wall. As for filtration, I haven't thought that far ahead. I may buy new pumps for my indoor pond and use what I currently have on that. Planning on lots of vegetation. William Tricker isn't far from me, so awesome Lilly plants for sure

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Warborg

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Sep 2, 2009
3,337
2,154
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Austin, Texas
Are you putting the entire thing level/below the ground? That type of rubbermaid would be the type I'd prefer above ground but it could look ugly.
 

matthewr262

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2015
207
134
61
Willowick. OH
Well, it's in. Filled it up. We gotta get cinder block to do the upside down tank feature. Looks nice from inside the house too.



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matthewr262

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2015
207
134
61
Willowick. OH
My pond is finally running. I opted for the harbor freight 628gph pump ran to the bottom of a pot filled with lava rock. Can't wait to see if it clears up.
Currently stocked with 5 Rosie minnows and a pair of guppies.

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CarpCharacin

Probation Member
Probation Member
Sep 20, 2014
1,521
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Salt Lake City
A lava rock filter isn't going to cut it. With a pond you really want to have a prefilter before your biological filtration. Lava rock has a tendency to plug up after a year or so. You will have to take it out and spray off and that will kill off your beneficial bacteria. Get a 154 or 30 gallon drum and make a moving bed filter that uses k1 kaldnes. Get an air pump that pumps A MINIMUM of 25 liters per minute. Also get yourself a real pump. Get an evolution es1500 with 2 inch unions. You also should get a retrofit bottom drain that sits on the bottom. You could run the pipe coming from the drain through a bulkhead fitting through the side of the stock tank, or your could run the pipe directly out of the stock tank. Running the pipe over the edge probably won't look as nice as running it through the side using a bulkhead fitting, but both will work. With your current setup, you are going to have to drain it and clean it out every year. With a bottom drain setup, you will not have to do that. What size is your pipe? I am guessing it is too small. If it is any smaller than 2 inches, leaves and debris are going to get caught in your pipe. You also need to have a priming pot on your pump. I built my pond without a priming pot and leaves got caught in the impeller of the pump. I have a priming pot that i am going to add pretty soon. I f your filtration is not good enough, you are going to get an algae bloom. If your filter is not processing enough ammonia, algae is going to grow and do that. You do not want green water. The algae will die off once you have a good enough filtration system, but the rotting algae that caused the water to turn green is going to cause an ammonia spike. You need a better filtration system, or you are going to get an algae bloom.
 

matthewr262

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2015
207
134
61
Willowick. OH
A lava rock filter isn't going to cut it. With a pond you really want to have a prefilter before your biological filtration. Lava rock has a tendency to plug up after a year or so. You will have to take it out and spray off and that will kill off your beneficial bacteria. Get a 154 or 30 gallon drum and make a moving bed filter that uses k1 kaldnes. Get an air pump that pumps A MINIMUM of 25 liters per minute. Also get yourself a real pump. Get an evolution es1500 with 2 inch unions. You also should get a retrofit bottom drain that sits on the bottom. You could run the pipe coming from the drain through a bulkhead fitting through the side of the stock tank, or your could run the pipe directly out of the stock tank. Running the pipe over the edge probably won't look as nice as running it through the side using a bulkhead fitting, but both will work. With your current setup, you are going to have to drain it and clean it out every year. With a bottom drain setup, you will not have to do that. What size is your pipe? I am guessing it is too small. If it is any smaller than 2 inches, leaves and debris are going to get caught in your pipe. You also need to have a priming pot on your pump. I built my pond without a priming pot and leaves got caught in the impeller of the pump. I have a priming pot that i am going to add pretty soon. I f your filtration is not good enough, you are going to get an algae bloom. If your filter is not processing enough ammonia, algae is going to grow and do that. You do not want green water. The algae will die off once you have a good enough filtration system, but the rotting algae that caused the water to turn green is going to cause an ammonia spike. You need a better filtration system, or you are going to get an algae bloom.
It's going to be heavily vegetated in the pitch pot. We just planted Louisiana iris. I'm by no means done with the setup, but I'm the type of person that waits for that perfect Craigslist deal for equipment. If you know what I mean.
I spend more time and money on my indoor pond, I know what you're saying just all in due time.
 

CarpCharacin

Probation Member
Probation Member
Sep 20, 2014
1,521
577
135
Salt Lake City
It's going to be heavily vegetated in the pitch pot. We just planted Louisiana iris. I'm by no means done with the setup, but I'm the type of person that waits for that perfect Craigslist deal for equipment. If you know what I mean.
I spend more time and money on my indoor pond, I know what you're saying just all in due time.
You could look in the trader section on koiphen and people are usually giving away equipment such as bottom drains there.
 
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