Anyone line a pond with polytarp?

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johnnymax said:
The pond is for a water feature when I am on the back porch, or when my wife has ladies meetings at the house.
I will have a small pump and a fish that squirts water into the pond. $15 for that whole system. I have it on my Amazon wish list.
The pump will be in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket (Inside a PVC pipe with holes drilled around the bottom) the bucket will be full of gravel outside the PVC pipe. My cheap bio filter design.
The pond will be populated with a few plants like hornwort, glass shrimp, Japanese trapdoor snails, mosquito fish and feeder goldfish.
Nothing extravagant.
As far as labor, that does not count. I have a great wood shop and love wood working projects.
If it is a labor of love, it is not labor.
My goal is to have the whole pond in for under $50 that will include the pump fish system and the liner.
Did I mention I an Scottish, thus the cheapness...
Click to expand...
Haha... Don't hide behind your nationality :) Cheapness is a universal, cross-cultural DNA caveat... or a blessing, your call.

Thanks for the explaining. So you are aiming to set some kind of record of cheapness and/or stake an internet or YouTube claim / make a splash... surely polyethylene, polypropylene, vinyl (standard above ground pool liner), large thick PE bags (I'd probably stay away from the check out bags and wrapping sheets in cashier lines... whilst they will hold water, I am teasing), vinyl shower curtains, painter's PE cloth/plastic sheeting, etc. will hold water if it is initially free from (micro)holes and punctures and is kept that way. It seems there are some of these marketed for ponds and pools and a roughly 15'x15' can be sourced for $30 shipped (even PVC)... assuredly the cheapest are from China directly on Amazon and Ebay.

The challenge is obvious: many can wing this on a budget of $0-$50 but almost no one can make such a pond to be easy to maintain and long lasting, like at least 5 years.

Your bucket filtration design needs a mechanical stage that can be removed and cleaned, otherwise it will become clogged and next to worthless in a week of normal operation. I can't fathom you wanting to empty the gravel, wash and recharge every week... unless it will too be a labor of love, which you don't count as labor ;) I believe after 10-20 weeks, it will cease to be the labor of love but become a labor of annoyance accompanied by some expletives...
 
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thebiggerthebetter said:
...Yotr bucket filtration design needs a mechanical stage that can be removed and cleaned, otherwise it will become clogged and next to worthless in a week of normal operation...
Click to expand...

I have some old heavy fiber filter I can cut to lay over the top. Thanks for the tip.
But, I was just going to use my big aquarium vacuum and vacuum the top of the gravel like I do with an under gravel filter.

thebiggerthebetter said:
...It seems there are some of these marketed for ponds and pools and a roughly 15'x15' can be sourced for $30 shipped (even PVC)... assuredly the cheapest are from China directly on Amazon and Ebay...
Click to expand...

Thanks, that would be great, because $30 in the budget for the liner.
I could not find any in that price range that will line a pond 8'x'6'x2' for that price.
Maybe I am not searching with the right terms.
Post a link if you can.

thebiggerthebetter said:
....So you are aiming to set some kind of record of cheapness and/or stake an internet or YouTube claim / make a splash...
Click to expand...

Not really, this project is just for my personal enjoyment.
I just think it can be don't without throwing a lot of money at it.
That's just how I roll... :cool-1:
 
johnnymax johnnymax You don't show dimensions, but it looks about 3 feet deep. I think those 6' boards will bow out at the bottom.
There's almost 200 psf along the bottom edge, pushing out.

TechnoBear said:
I've seen it done on youtube by some guy who breeds goldfish.
Click to expand...

Dexter's pond is only 1 foot deep. There's no pressure.

BTW, I watch Dexter's World all the time. He seems a terrific fellow.
 
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Ulu said:
johnnymax johnnymax You don't show dimensions, but it looks about 3 feet deep. I think those 6' boards will bow out at the bottom.
There's almost 200 psf along the bottom edge, pushing out.



Dexter's pond is only 1 foot deep. There's no pressure.

BTW, I watch Dexter's World all the time. He seems a terrific fellow.
Click to expand...

The sides are 5 boards high, times 5.5" for a wall height of 27.5".
The water level will be kept under 24" deep with an overflow syphon.
 
That sounds much better!
I didn't note any mention of the horiz span, but 6' or less should be OK.

I'd skip the siphon if possible. You can reinforce the poly tarp with epoxy, right to the wood, at the penetration for a PVC or ABS drain fitting. A throttled drain is much safer and more convenient than siphons. I would use a BIG strainer in any event.

If you use a siphon, or drain, they are like firearms. Two is one and one is none.
On tanks with just one siphon I make it as large as possible. 1.5" ID
 
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The magical youtube algorithm recommended this video, you can see these "ponds" arent built to last any considerable amount of time.
I'm not sure what the video really talks about he seems to be fixing some of his ponds.
 
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