The brickwork is now completed on my pond and now i need some advice, do i now get it rendered or i have heard about foam boards that i have been told are better and give a better finish, i have also been told that i dont need either but i think you are the better people to ask!!
Also the sizes of my pond are as follows-
16ft x 13ft x 7ft - this includes a window in one side 3 x 2
This has two bottom drains that come up into vortex's and then into a 3ft x 3ft x 5ft bays containing brushes, one will then get pumped from this bay into a bakki shower and the other bay will then get pumped into a sieve at the back of the pond and then into 5 bays i have built containing different filter media, each one 3ft x2ft x 2ft and runs the length of the pond and then gets fed back into the pond.
So my question is, can anyone on here possibly give me a price for the fibreglassing or tell me how much i should be looking to pay, for the pond and all the bays and what media should i be putting in the bays.
Hi Dave
I foamed mine with 8'x4'x1" sheets, £14 inc VAT from Buildbase. Fix to block wall with clout nails. Sorry about the blue tinge on the photos, this was the tarpaulin cover ready for fibreglass, kindly done by Dave A.
try www.pjglassfibre.com not far away will give you a quote my advise is always get a quote based on like for like eg what gram matt , how many etc i had different quotes and until i asked the questions above and then found out why different prices
There is no way my limited DIY skills could stretch to rendering, so I would have had to pay to have my pond rendered. But I can stretch to nailing foam sheets to a wall! Which were then fibreglassed by Dave A.
Are you going to heat your pond? If so, then the foam does exactly what it says on the tin, "insulates". So the foam will pay for itself in the first couple of years.
As far as costs for glassing, you should budget for approx £18-£20 per m2. I may be mistaken but your pond will be approx 60m2.
Thanks for the replies and the pics, i think i will go for the foam due to the insulating qualities and that it is easier too !!. i dont plan to heat it yet!! but what i intend to do is put my bigger fish in this one and then heat my 2000 gallon pond and leave the smaller ones in there or even purchase a few from cuttlebrook next year to grow on. i have not been yet and feel that i am missing out !!.
Again thankyou for your replies and i will try to post a few piccies, to see what you think,
PS... any ideas on what filter media for the filter bays,
Really good information here, and something to take away for future reference. Shaun cracking pics mate have you many more of the finished pond glassed and when it was finally filled ?
I am not 100% sure on you filtration so some pictures may help but I will have a go.
OK the bakki shower will come in and through the vortex then straight over the showers so no need for brushes.Not sure how big the vortex is but the could also be changed to take static K1 as a good mechanical filter like th easy.
I would then run the other BD through the sieve first and instead of having loads of brushes (which are a pain in the bum to clean especially in the winter ) then you can now use the brush chamber for media and give you even more filtration.
The media in the bays is your choice but K1 is a must its great stuff and work great.The size of your system you could have a load of K1 bubbling away in the Chambers and you could even have a static one at the end for fines collection.
You could also have sheets of jap matting in some bays or even at the end for a mechanical/polisher to help clean the water.
There are a few ideas which hopefully will give you some variations on a theme hope they help
Thanks for the advice, certainly plenty to think about, i think i will go with virtually everything you have said, i thought about media in the vortex before, they are about 4 feet high and 2 ft across so there is plenty of room, i have also got 3-4 spare air pumps, so i could have plenty of k1 bubbling away at the back, again Thanks,
Your welcome mate there are so many ways to do "stuff" in this hobby you just need to find the correct one for you.
Plenty of good filtration and air is great then you get a handle on maintenance and water changing and keeping it all clean and you there as they say look after the water and the fish will look after themselves
FAO Lakeside Lad
Here are a few more pics as requested.
Happy Days
Good advice as usual from Gazza on the filtration front. I am also using K1 in a home made easy on my vortex and then 3 wilko bins (up and downflow) each holding 20 litres of aerated K1. Pictures can be posted if req'd
) then you can now use the brush chamber for media and give you even more filtration.