One I did yesterday

[DidIdothat]

Started a new hole/pond after serious negotiations with the better half. My other excavations have been away from the house but this time I thought that I may just want to chuck food from my conservatory door when it’s raining instead of tramping down the garden.
I choose the site where a garden swing used to be and was never used. The pond was to be 8 foot x 8 foot x 8 foot giving a volume of 3’200 gallons without the filtration and pump returns so in all 3’600 gallons.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... C00008.jpg[/img]
The total depth of the dig was to be 6 foot with approximately 2 foot 6” above the ground leaving enough to bench the base into the centre bottom drain spindrifter. The project was to incorporate a window which I was going to try using 12 mm laminated glass without a frame. This would be using a piece of glass 5 foot x 3 foot giving a total window of 4 foot x 2 foot.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... C00009.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... C00011.jpg[/img]
When I was about 3 foot down I had a nice surprise, the most beautiful sand I have ever dug. I did have some help with my stepson who used the exercise as a challenge a very quickly disappeared in the hole, which if I had not stopped him digging he would still be on his way to Australia. We barrowed the sand down to the bottom of the garden and left some to backfill. I am now looking for a project that needs 20 ton of sand.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... 000136.jpg[/img]
When I did eventually drag him out of the hole I sank 3 meter 3x3 tanalised posts every 2 foot along the walls and then fastened 18 mm 8 x 4 sheets giving me a nice cube inside. I also covered the sheets on the outside with vapour barrier to try and protect the sheets.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... 000137.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... 000138.jpg[/img]
On the side I had left enough room for my filters and a tank for my pumps. All of the unit was completed without concrete or cement as I may need to rip it out in a couple of years time if we move.
Once the sheets were in place I backfilled with the sand completely soaking it in water to get a finish like concrete at the back of the boards. I then fixed another 18 mm 8 x 4 sheet to the top half of the pond to help take the pressure with 1 foot 6” bellow the ground and 2 foot 6” above all hidden on the inside. I then lined all the joints with Butyl and placed an extra layer of Liner on the base.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... 000139.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... 100013.jpg[/img]
Once I had done the pressure test on the pipes I then cut the opening out for the window.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... 000131.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... 000133.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... 001312.jpg[/img]
The Butyl was then dropped in, I was going to glue my own box liner and so I wanted to take my time and get things ready but the kids had different ideas and started to rush me. I was getting tired by this time and I did want to complete the pond, MISTAKE. Never rush what should be a straight forward job.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... ond/32.jpg[/img]
I put the window in place and fitted it flat to the cut out with an even ouverlap on each edge. All the edges of the glass were then butted up to with 12 mm strips tapered so the liner would not stress. The glass itself was fastened to the board with soft putty and PDM adhesive, this was only to fix it in place as the waterproofing was to be completed with the liner and the glass and so was not really an important fix other than it being evenly stressed.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... ond/33.jpg[/img]
My filters were dropped in next and connected to the BD. The waste drain was to be via a sump under the Nexus with a large dirty water sump pump capable of 30’000 gals an hour and so it will quite easily keep up with a 300 dump.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... ond/30.jpg[/img]
I completed the liner box and left it overnight to mature, this must have been the longest night of my life and at the crack of sparrows the next day I started the hose.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... ond/27.jpg[/img]
Horror of Horrors, after 24 hours it lost approximately 200 gallons. I was gutted, I dropped in my sump pump and nearly floated my next door neighbours lawn down the road. After another 2 weeks of trying to find the leak I completely re-covered all the joints with double tape, NEVER let anyone hurry what you know to be important. Do it ONCE Do it RIGHT.
Water in again and I spent a full day watching the bubbles and praying that I had fixed the leak. Success. Two weeks down the line I added the fish who were getting humpty backs from the holding tank that they had been kept in.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... ond/18.jpg[/img].
Another little project I made for this pond was a solar panel and I was going to put it into the Blue Peter “Ponders DIY Bit’s and Pieces” but I didn’t have time to fully record it being built. All I can tell you is that I poured cold water through it (15c) and it came out at 55c. It does work on cloudy days and still churns out dangerously hot water, I can only use it when I am around and I need to develop a heat switch/tap to turn it off when it goes silly.
I will be making another one soon and so I will take photos of the development/ All I can say is that it’s Bloody dangerous.
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... ond/13.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/DidI ... ond/12.jpg[/img]
The whole project now has ground to a slow halt as I have arrived at point where the urgency has dissipated and the only thing to do now is the decking around which I will get around to when I have caught up with the rest of my menial tasks around the house and garden that have taken a back seat for the last couple of months.

If anyone has any questions that they would like to ask I will get back to them eventually but I must get my paid job re-started.

Phil

[B.Scott]

Phil,
I made a solar collector almost exactly like yours a few years back.

One word of warning

If you leave the collector exposed to the sun without water in the pipes THE PIPE WILL MELT! I speak from experiance here as the pipe formed little pools of melted plastic on the back cover of the collector in all the portions that did not contain water in them and it happened in the WINTER on a sunny day.

B.Scott

[Bob Hart]

Phil,

What a great thread on your pond build, really shows what you did anad why. Be good to see it finally finished off though!!!!!!

I think we all will be interested in hearing how you constructed the solar panal, especially what pump you used and hot it performed. I'd like to put one on top of my roof, so would have to pump up a couple of meters, so perhaps the saving might not be worth it.

[DidIdothat]

I didn't use an extra pump Bob, I just screwed a bleed into the black box filter at the back of the hedge on the picture. I was trying to keep the electric down as much as possible. Although the black box is not permanent and is only there as a start up for the pond.

I would have thought that if you ran pipe up on your roof and back down without a break, as long as the pipe never left the surface of the water you could possibly draw just a small supply off an existing pump. The only energy needed would be the energy to pump through the length of the pipe, the height would be cancelled out by the equal weight of water in the down pipe.

And yes Scotty I have already experienced the melt down, not quite puddles of plastic but a very floppy pipe.

Phil

[Andy H]

nice pond build, wish we had room to start again! Love to hear more about the solar thing!

[LCBkoi]

impressive thread mate...nice to see a project in such detail...the pond looks great too!

quick question how far did you hammer the 3m posts into the ground?

cheers
liam

[DidIdothat]

3 meter less the 8 foot Liam, so just short of 2 foot.

[Andy H]

Has anyone got any more info on solar thing?

I saw one somewhere that was 2 bits of liner behind glass, cold water from bucket in the bottom and hot water out at top back to bucket, self circulating???

[Andy H]

built a quick test
[img]http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c180/beck ... 008017.jpg[/img]

although hot water came out when gravity fed we have not had enough sun for it to ?thermo-syphon? yet.

if it works I may do one from 10-15mm plastic pipe???

How much could you increase a ponds temp in a day and be safe???

[GERRY5]

more info on this solar panel would be appreciated ...build materials involved etc ...piccys would be nice

[vippymini]

heres a easy way of getting a large piece of double glazed glass to build your own solar panel...
get a set of patio doors free from "freecycle"
good impact resistant glass in a nice tidy frame, and you get two for your trouble...

[Thorny]

Nice diary of events, I have to say I have been thinking of something like Your solar panel for a while now, Glad You have put one together, I now know that it will work,I was thinking of running a pump on a timer on mine.
Justin

[Andy H]

It was sunny yesterday and on my bodge up panel it was throwing steam and very hot water back into the bucket.

I then raised the header bucket and gravity fed the outlet into another bucket. Water in at 28C and gravity fed out at 48C

I was surprised by the temp diff although not much water because it was using the back of a fridge and air line pipe!!!
That 20C gain was between 4pm and 5pm.

Would love to see more ideas and pics of panels on here.

[Andy H]

Question:

should the backing be silver to reflect heat back onto the fridge element or black and insulated to attract more heat???

"heated" debate about that on another site!

[TicToc]

Nice pond and piccies Phil, well done sorting out that leak. Your thread suggests this makes you the proud owner of two ponds I bet you will get aggro from the Ayatollah until all the paving has been layed back down and all that sand has gone.

Briefly on the solar panel subject. I suppose the primary consideration of any pre-built panel will be efficiency. Solar panels usually have an efficiency rating somewhere between 40% and 60%. They can't make them any more efficient. Other considerations will be cost, maintenance and resilience (life expectancy).

If a less efficient solar unit is purchased and stripped back to bare bones, in effect making it less efficent, surely this will reduce the temperature the water can reach? Not sure from the thread quite how the circulation is taking place.

Question.Why can't a solar unit (on the roof) provide power (via electric cabling) to an external element/pump, close to the pond to circulate and heat pond water? Am I barking mad or have I missed something.

TicToc