My pond build from this past summer
- Thread starter mp3coupe
- Start date
the arent really sharks, more like a big suckermp3coupe;2806683; said:
http://http://www.aquascapeonline.com/prodView.asp?idproduct=86&item=Chinese Sailfin Shark 3
This summer will be fine tuning, mostly appearance, and well enjoying it.Dr Joe;2806744; said:
I'm very proud how it turned, looking back........I should have had my neighbor come over with a bigger machine to take that tree down so I could have gone bigger!!!!
As for the filters, omg I would never give them up! The settlement tank is just that, heavier solids fall to the bottom of the tank. It's big enough to allow for several minutes of dwell time. I have a knife valve with a 4 foot handle at the bottom of the tank which has a 90 degree fitting on it to suck the bottom. It would be better if the bottom of the tank was a cone. This way everything exits. I currently use a broom to sweep to outlet and then open the valve.
As for the S&G filters these really polish the water and do a ton of bio. It consists of a bottom drain, a quick flush a every few days, all it takes is seconds. As soon as I open the 1 1/2 knife I close it. It has 5in 3/4 stone, 15 inches of 3/8 pea gravel and a 100 lb bag of #12 sand. Every 7 to 10 days I use a shop vac to blow air down the center pipe for 10 seconds to loosen the crud then open the valves at the top to flush the crud out. Maintenance wise once a week 10 minutes of my time. The only time consuming part is topping off the pond. I'll blow through a few hundred gallons of water.
This year I plan to either making a floating micro screen 500 micron for the settlement tank or a prefilter. I believe this would require less maintence on the S&G.
As for algae I have a ton of string algae on the pond walls. Maybe 3/4in to 1in long. The water has a greenish tint to it but if I fill a water bottle its crystal clear and partical free. I have no intention to get rid of the coat on the walls, the fish love it = no UV.
As for a heater, I'm either at or below frost depth. I leave an air pump running all winter to keep a hole in the ice. So far it hasn't been a problem. I'm in NJ so it does get pretty cold.
Projects this spring.
rotating micro screen
Locating 2 more 275 gal tanks or several 55 drums to store waste water from the S&G flush.
If I'm up for it, run some plumbing under ground to water the lawn, garden, plants with some fish fertilizer(waste water) I blow through a lot of water, watering the plants.
Number 1 complaint from pond owners after construction is they should have made it bigger.
That tree is in the way, but does provide some shade other wise the string algae would be really bad. It will be bad this spring, but is just a part of the spring cycle. Once the water temps. warm up, throw some floaters in the river/waterfall area to battle excessive nutrients. A few lillies in the main part of the pond may be needed to give a little shade on the surface.
Collecting to water from the pond is an awesome idea. I can't begin to tell you the results you can get from it. Water your hostas w/it. Speaking of, what happened the big hosta next to the first pond?
That tree is in the way, but does provide some shade other wise the string algae would be really bad. It will be bad this spring, but is just a part of the spring cycle. Once the water temps. warm up, throw some floaters in the river/waterfall area to battle excessive nutrients. A few lillies in the main part of the pond may be needed to give a little shade on the surface.
Collecting to water from the pond is an awesome idea. I can't begin to tell you the results you can get from it. Water your hostas w/it. Speaking of, what happened the big hosta next to the first pond?
I know it's always the case, it looks big at first and well by the time you fill it and landscape it looks small. I had a problem back in 1987 with green water. I used to cover 3/4 of the pond with plywood. Back then what did I know, all I had was a pump circulating the water. I figured I'd plant a tree and in the future the pond would have shade.Muske;2808754; said:
Hindsight I should've moved it back 20 feet. That tree does help in the summer though, cools the house.
As for the used water for plants. When I flush the settlement tank it exits right by a peach tree that was doing very poorly behind the shed. Last year it had so many peaches and full of life. I didn't eat any of them, the dang ground hogs feed off it it.
As for the 'big hosta' I had dug out all the plants and just left them behind the tree until the pond was done. One night a deer came along and found the stash. I always have deer but they never bothered with any plants around the pond. It made a come back, I'm not sure where it ended up going. That's a good question.......
Work of art! How long did it take to build (in man/hours)?
Placing that one big flat rock in the waterfall and getting the right splash and water distribution is considered art.
Placing that one big flat rock in the waterfall and getting the right splash and water distribution is considered art.
I'm going to est about 300 hours. Knowing what I now I could probably cut that in half. I did a lot of stupid things, like not thinkinghankn;2809904; said:
It took me 2 days to dig out the hole under the stairs. Working under the stairs in a mud hole - was the worse.Not to mention 2.5 feet down it was clay and slate. Then being amazed at the power of that little machine I forgot to have him dig 2 trenches for the lines. I ended up fighting the roots - dug a tunnel in 105 degree weather. 2 dozen trips to home depot and to lowes because the local hd didn't have the pvc fittings I needed. I spent the most time fixing the walls, I had to cut back the roots, tar them and then backfill the wall. It sucked, nothing was fun, well plumbing was cool when I had the parts. I was on it everyday from early morning until 3pm.
As for the waterfall, I think I just got lucky. The waterfall weir is 2 feet, they say all you need is 100gph per inch so 2400goh for 2 feet. I'm pushing around 4500gph over it. I used shims to get the right splash.
Thanks again everyone for the comments
