The Pond

Regrets

• Wish we stayed away from oil filled submersible pumps!!
• Should have made the pond the size of the yard.
• Should have made the pond with a liner to start.
• Didn't put a bottom drain in the vortex(oh well more digging)
• Wish we started sooner.

Specs

• Liner and cement
• 1500 galons aprox.
• 5feet deep at bottom drain
• 4inch drain pipe
• Vortex made from plastic barrel
• Bio filter made from large rubbermaid container
• Optima air pump
• Supreme pondmaster mag-drive capable of 1200 gph
• Ice Chaser floating plastic pond de-icer

  Here are some facts about our pond:

  
  We first started out raising gold fish as feeders for our Oscars; the first year this was done in a 45-65 gal plastic barrel. We soon found out this wasn't big enough so construction was started on a cement pond. Everything we read said to make it big enough for the largest family member to lay in. so we made it a little bigger, about 6feet by 5feet by 2feet deep. This was great for about 2 years till we started raising Koi and got rid of the Oscars. We soon noticed this just wasn't going to be big enough, so we busted out one side of the pond (not an easy chore) and added an extension of cement 4feet by 4 feet by 2 deep. We had 2 65-gallon aquariums and I was happy bringing in the Koi for the winter. I had over wintered goldfish in the pond by keeping a hole open in the ice but these big guys needed more space under the ice than we had. By now the hobby of water gardening had started to take off and more info was available. We were managing to keep the water relatively clear using plants but my pump and filter were in my pond taking up much needed space. The pond needed another expansion and I wanted it to be the last one.

  For 2 years we discussed how to expand the pond and realized no mater which way we went with the expansion a bridge was needed. I also realized shelves built into the design took up to much space. After a few seminars on building water gardens and raising Koi we came up with our idea. We needed a bridge and it had to be wide enough to get every thing in and out of the back yard but not to big as to completely cover the pond my A.T.C. had to get in and needed 44 inches so that's how wide it is. Next I wasn't going to use cement again (too much work) so a rubber liner was used. Next we need to find a way to attach the liner (5feet by 12feet 3 1/2feet deep slopping to 5 at the drain) to the cement section. We wanted one big pond not a big one and small one we found rubberized glue at Picovs water garden center and it was guaranteed to stick to anything and it does! Next we wanted our pump and filter out of the pond and hidden. A bottom drain made that work and cleaning is so much easier. A bio filter is the way to clear water placing the filter (a Rubbermaid container) under the deck hides that's nicely. An air pump is a must! We pump air into our bio filter so it is rich in oxygen; it gets it working faster and more effectively. Next we needed a vortex or settling chamber; it keeps a lot of heavy waste from clogging up the filter! A plastic 65galon barrel worked fine for this and was buried next to the pond edge. Next we needed a good pump to push the water back into the pond this was placed in the last chamber of our bio filter. Try to stay away from oil filled submersible pumps they eventually fail and when they do they make a mess. We know our first one wasn't as bad as our last! Next we needed to find a way to keep an opening in our pond over the cold months. Farm Innovators Inc. makes a product called Ice Chaser

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