Starting a garden pond

Vote 4 Pedro

Hi,
As the title says I'm starting to dig a garden pond this week, I want to keep a few Koi.
It's a awkward piece of garden to mow and i always planned on putting a pond in for years, it's approx 16' x 9' but i might extend it some more, the 16' side is a fixed max but i could extend the other side if i need to. The pond will be at the side of some decking by the back door.

I'm looking for any help and advice you can give to stop me making the usual novice mistakes,
any good ideas, things i might need, any useful suppliers , thing to avoid etc. etc.

It's going to be about 18" above ground level and about 18" below ground, i would like to make it a bit deeper but it depends on hard the digging is and the costs involved. I'm digging manually due to cost (i have plenty of free time lately)

I bought the pump and filter a few years ago, they are the Fishmate 15000 pressurised filter with internal UV and the Fishmate 9000 Pump, I also have the electrical switch box and 32mm flexible pipes.
The filter is this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fish-Mate-15000-Pressurised-Filter/dp/B000WVUJXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346278706&sr=8-1
The pump is this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fish-Mate-9000-Pond-Pump/dp/B000WVPREQ/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1346278706&sr=8-13
and the switch box is this one http://www.pondkeeper.co.uk/6way-weatherproof-switch-box/p423
I also have a 8 m x 4m PVC liner but i'm prepared to get another if justified.


The filter and switch box are to be placed under the decking with a lift out panel for easy access and the pump is a in pond type.

I intend the switches to be use for
1, Pond Pump
2, Pond Filter
3, Skimmer
4, Small pump to run a ornamental feature
5, In pond lighting
6, Pond side lighting

I'm slightly disabled (i only have the one leg) so it will take me a good bit longer to do than most of you but i'll do it slow and steady,
any money saving advise would be greatly appreciated as money is very tight.
For the walls i intend to use the 12"x9" concrete blocks laid on there sides for extra strength?
and i've never laid a block in my life but i am very handy and can do most jobs well enough, i'll take a few pictures along the way, i'm sure to make a few mistakes but with some advise hopefully not to many.

Thanks for reading,
Andy

ANXIOUS

Hey Andy,if you pop over to the aquarium there is a big thread there.

paddy147

Forget PVC.

Firestone liner or Buytl liner is the way to go.

Vote 4 Pedro

OK, thanks i've put it up in the Aquariums section as well then,
Sorry if i placed it in the wrong section, does this need to be closed or kept running as i need some good advise?

Vote 4 Pedro

I know the firestone liner is good, I bought the PVC a while back before i reanalyzed, the PVC i have is still as good as new and I'll probably sell it and get the firestone liner

rje66

Vote 4 Pedro wrote: »

I know the firestone liner is good, I bought the PVC a while back before i reanalyzed, the PVC i have is still as good as new and I'll probably sell it and get the firestone liner

Koi like extreamly clean water. So make sure your filter system will provide this or they wont thrive. But gold fish will and they will grow big as well. Koi aint cheap .
Also work out how many litres in your pond and then work out how many times an hour your pump will turn this over . At aguess your looking for about 3 times an hour.

magicbastarder

i'm going to be starting a pond in a few months, hopefully. i won't be putting any fish in it - will be going for a wildlife pond. i intend to dig it at least waist deep.

redser7

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm going to be starting a pond in a few months, hopefully. i won't be putting any fish in it - will be going for a wildlife pond. i intend to dig it at least waist deep.

Ditto, would love to see how you get on. Going for the blue peter option myself and hoping to do it on a shoestring. Will take progress photos.
What size are you think about?

paddy147

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm going to be starting a pond in a few months, hopefully. i won't be putting any fish in it - will be going for a wildlife pond. i intend to dig it at least waist deep.

Thats the same as us too.:)

My missus and her dad told me 3 feet deep to allow for creatures to hibernate and escape any freezing weather and ice.

ponddigger

h ivote 4 pedro are you going to put a stream running in to the pond .handy way to make sure you have plenty of oxygen in the pond,here is a video that might be of some help to you, jack, http://www.aquascapeinc.com/video.php?q=aqua03&pageID=2 http://www.aquascapeinc.com/video.php?q=aqua03&pageID=2 part 2

Vote 4 Pedro

A few pictures of the first days progress, just shows basic out line for the pond, I'm hoping to make it bigger into the garden but just testing the ground first, I know it's not much but not forgetting my disability making it a little slower than normal, but I have my son helping me which is great.

ponddigger

hi .lovely job.best of luck with your pond build,keep the photos comming:Dponddigger:D

Vote 4 Pedro

Got a good bit more digging done over the last couple of days,
Will put more pictures up later

paddy147

If you are reusing the soil,then make sure you seperate the subsoil from topsoil.

Vote 4 Pedro

paddy147 wrote: »

If you are reusing the soil,then make sure you seperate the subsoil from topsoil.

Hi Paddy,
my plans have changed from before, the "garden pond" idea is now a Koi pond
and will be dug (by hand) having the walls straight down, it's now going to be 13 feet x 9 feet x 5 feet deep with a separate pond at one end which will feed the main pond, upgrading the filters and other equipment over time,
I think i have caught the bug

magicbastarder

redser7 wrote: »

Ditto, would love to see how you get on. Going for the blue peter option myself and hoping to do it on a shoestring. Will take progress photos.
What size are you think about?

i'm possibly going to be joining (largish) offcuts of butyl liner my FIL has, but i'm wary about this approach; it's not something i'll be doing without researching it properly first, i don't want to run the risk of a leak.
i'd say about 12 foot at its longest, maybe 8 foot wide, based on the space available. we cleared out a pond prior to re-laying the liner last year, and it was incredible the life in it, even though there had been goldfish and koi in it. the giant diving beetles were scary looking beasts.

Vote 4 Pedro

A bit more digging done now, I know it's slow enough progress but i'm digging by hand, filling buckets into the barrow and away.
The external dimensions will be 14 feet by 9 feet,
I have now decided against a liner and will now be using blocks laid on there side, just digging away now and i'm at about 4 feet deep and it will be out of the ground by about 18 inch so it should be about 5 feet deep after the concrete base and about 12.5 feet by 8 feet internally.
Then there will be a much smaller pond at one end feeding into the main pond,
hope you get what i'm trying to say.
When i took the earth away from the decking the cover panels were rotten from been under ground so they have now gone and will be replaced when the pond is finish.
The informal shape will be going and it will be straight lines.

paddy147

You do know that you will have to use a fibre-crete mix in the concrete mix to make sure the water doesnt go through the concrete.

Basicly,you need to seal/waterproof the concrete

ponddigger

hi vote for pedro,here are some photos of my pond and stream with koi in it .it was built using pond liner.jack .

ponddigger

hi .

Vote 4 Pedro

The concrete will be mixed with PVA glue and plasticizer, then plastered/rendered and then painted with G4 pond sealer thats for waterproofing the concrete, 2 coats of clear and then a coat of black G4.

paddy147

Vote 4 Pedro wrote: »

The concrete will be mixed with PVA glue and plasticizer, then plastered/rendered and then painted with G4 pond sealer thats for waterproofing the concrete, 2 coats of clear and then a coat of black G4.

Ah good man,sounds good.:)

How deep down are you now with the pond dig out?

Looks like its maybe 4 feet deep???

Fair play to you for digging that out by hand.:D


Edit.....just read that you are at 4 feet deep now.

Vote 4 Pedro

The photos are yesterdays, i got a good bit done today as well,
the water will be a minimum of 4 feet, hopefully more.

Vote 4 Pedro

Another day at it, a bit deeper and where is all the rubble going to go?

Got rid of the rotten decking boards



A few more dozen barrows full might do it.



So much more to get out, where is it all going

Vote 4 Pedro

Got a good bit more done today, I reckon 3 more days digging should do for the basic digging stage, then i'll be doing the base next.

ronn

Why are you going so deep with the entire pond, Would one deep end not do it,

Fair play to you, keep the pics coming.

Vote 4 Pedro

ronn wrote: »

Why are you going so deep with the entire pond, Would one deep end not do it,

I'm having the pond flat at the bottom so i can fit a bottom drain system,
once i have the drain fitted i can do any number of things with it but it's mainly so i can upgrade my filters as needed.
Koi need very good quality water and the filter i have now will put me on for a while but will need upgrading as the fish grow.

Vote 4 Pedro

It's getting tough going now iv'e come across a massive stone bed,
Progress so far.

magicbastarder

looks like you're digging a swimming pool there...

Vote 4 Pedro

Once the concrete base is in and set i'll have to fix up the decking supports
and the bit that comes out to the washing line will all so need doing as it wasn't done correctly in the first place.
It might be a while before i can afford the block work but i need the base in as soon i have it dug down another foot or so.

ponddigger

hi why not build a raised pond ,instread of digging down,jack.

Vote 4 Pedro

Hi Jack,

I am raising it up about 18" as well.
I need it deep for keeping Koi.
At the moment it's 3'6" deep, Plus the 18" raised so that's 5' less about 8" for the concrete base so finished it should be about 4'4" deep.

I know it looks stupid right now but hopefully when it's finished it will look something like the hight of your pond, which looks very nice by the way, what have you in it.

ponddigger

hi v4p.that is a little pond i built for a friend of mine.i have koi in my own pond for the last 5 years .it is only 3 ft deep.they survied the 2 bad winters.none of them died, jack

Vote 4 Pedro

I'm just getting it reasonably level now, no more digging...it's deep enough now.
getting ready for the concrete base now.

ponddigger

hi v4p,what are u mixing through the concrete to make it waterproof. jack

Vote 4 Pedro

ponddigger wrote: »

hi v4p,what are u mixing through the concrete to make it waterproof. jack

I am unsure of the end finish, i was thinking of plastering it all inside and then painting it with either P1 or G4 sealer,
or i also was thinking of getting a box liner made to measure so it just drops straight in with no creases, what do you think will get the best results.
Any help will be appreciated as i have never done anything like this before,
I'm just going from what i have read in the Koi magazines and on line Koi forums, youtube etc.
Iv'e been leveling the base up nearly all day and it's solid flint stone and very hard going.

Andy

ponddigger

hi v4p.are you using a bottom drain or skimmer in your koi pond cons. jack

Vote 4 Pedro

ponddigger wrote: »

hi v4p.are you using a bottom drain or skimmer in your koi pond cons. jack

I was thinking of the bottom drain system and gravity filters,
The filters i already have are not big enough for a Koi pond so i might sell them as they are still new, or i might use them as well.

ponddigger

hi andy.has the pump to be outside the pond to work a bottom drain, jack

Vote 4 Pedro

ponddigger wrote: »

hi andy.has the pump to be outside the pond to work a bottom drain, jack

Hi,

yer the pond will have the bottom drain to a settlement chamber first then brushes, foam, bio and then pump to return back to pond via a trickle filter,
The pump and filter i have will not be use now as the plans have totally changed since i bought the fishmate filter set,
they were bought for a basic garden pond but once i started digging i got carried away a little and now it's to be a proper Koi pond.
It will take a lot longer to complete now as the costs are much higher but i'd rather wait and do it right.

ponddigger

hi, v4p. how is the pond build going, jack

Vote 4 Pedro

ponddigger wrote: »

hi, v4p. how is the pond build going, jack

Hi Jack,
No change last week due to the weather but i started to build a Holding pond in the garage for growing young stock on so i can buy a few smaller Koi and grow them on a bit before the bigger pond in the garden is ready,
I just got it finished earlier this morning,
It 7' x 4' x 18" deep and holds 1100 liters with the Fishmate filter & pump i already had.
I just got the filter running and i'm starting to get it cycled.
I could put a picture up if your interested in seeing it?

ponddigger

hiv4p.do post some photos. jack

rje66

ponddigger wrote: »

hiv4p.do post some photos. jack

while we're waiting heres two of mine. some of these fish survived the big freeze two years ago in 2ft of water.

Vote 4 Pedro

Nearly finished the "growing on" Pond in the garage,
It's up and running but i'm waiting for a part to connect the filter return to the pond, it should be here Thursday, just to tidy it up a bit,
I'm also going to make a filter and replace the pressure filter as i'm not really liking it.
It holds 1300 Liters in the pond itself plus the water in the filters, should the getting a few small Koi at the weekend.
I should have some decent sized Koi by the time the main pond will be finished.



DIY Trickle Filter.


Filter is brand new but i think i'll replace it.


Filled ready to go.

magicbastarder

today does seem like a good day to start a pond...

weddingcar.ie

What a great thread can't wait to see more pics of how your getting on well done

Vote 4 Pedro

I'm getting a few small Koi tomorrow, i'll be getting about 4 fish and 4" or 5" in size,

paddy147

Credit to you Vote 4 Pedro.
Brilliant work so far.
Fair play to you.:)

Vote 4 Pedro

So i got 5 smallish Koi today, about 5" or 6".
1 orange, 1 orange and white, 1 which is almost black and 2 kinda white but they have like a shimmer of blue through them,
Really nice to have them,
i tried to get a few pictures of them but they hardly show up so i'll try again when they settle in.
i'm well chuffed with them.:D

paddy147

Vote 4 Pedro wrote: »

So i got 5 smallish Koi today, about 5" or 6".
1 orange, 1 orange and white, 1 which is almost black and 2 kinda white but they have like a shimmer of blue through them,
Really nice to have them,
i tried to get a few pictures of them but they hardly show up so i'll try again when they settle in.
i'm well chuffed with them.:D

My girlfriends dad feeds his Kio carp a mixture of flake and also pellets too.

Hes been keeping them for around 30 years now.

They go mad for the stuff.:)