Jon growing on pond build - finally!

[Jon W]

I've finally got round to building my growing on pond. It is built in a cowshed and is 11' x 7' x 4'. Below are a series of photos documenting progress. I will add more as the project progresses. I thought it would be useful to put them up on the forum to encourage anyone who fancies doing something similar but doesn't think they've got the skills to have a go. Before this I'd never done any building work.

I thought I 'd start with the cautionary tale of my first attempt at a pond base. This is it being dug up after the concrete failed to set properly because someone didn't mix it properly! (not me although I take responsibility because I didn't stand over them when they did it.

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... 4497c2.jpg[/img]


Here is the new base after it has been poured and roughly levelled. This time I used ready mix with fibres. This was poured through a hole made in the wall underneath the window which was just the right height for the mixer shute. There is a Spindrifter 2 bottom drain with 4" pipework. I borrowed a specially made cover which screws into the drain from a mate who has recently finished his pond to ensure that no concrete could get into the pipework.


[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0737.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0739.jpg[/img]

The next couple of pics are of the early stages of putting the walls up. I spent ages ensuring that the first course of blocks were aligned and all angles square before commencing. A proper builder would have probably found this performance hilarious but I wasn't taking any chances. Having experienced one major cock up I didn't want to go through any more.

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0743.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0747.jpg[/img]

THe next are roughly at the half way stage with the corners built up. By now I was getting a bit more confident with my ability to lay blocks, although I hadn't got much faster at it.
[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0750.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0754.jpg[/img]

Up to this point had taken me about 3 weeks. A couple of mates who had both recently finished proper ponds took pity on me and helped me finish off the blockwork in 1 day.

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0756.jpg[/img]

Here are 2 shots of the completed blockwork.

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0761.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0765.jpg[/img]

I have used a standard skimmer which I have adapted to gravity feed by cutting out the 1.5" pipework and replacing with a piece of 4" piping. This will feed a bakki shower.

Here I have complete the basic lining with 25mm Kingspan (thanks Mathew for all the advice). I have attached it with car filler because my mortar is too hard for roofing clouts. I have yet to complete fillets for the corners and wall/base joints.

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0767.jpg[/img]

Corner fillets added

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0769.jpg[/img]

Wooden battens have been added to break up 90 degree angles between the floor and walls;

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0776.jpg[/img]

The bottom drain has been chamfered and filled so there are no gaps;

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0778.jpg[/img]

Car body filler has been applied between the concrete block wall and the Kingspan to minimise gaps in preparation for fibreglassing;

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0779.jpg[/img]

I have now completed the fibreglassing - 2 layers of 450g CSM and 1 tissue layer. The former was fairly straightforward, the latter was a total nightmare. Every time I picked up a tissue sheet it tried to turn itself into a ball of filter wool. I must have been handling it wrongly. The only way I could think of avoiding problems would be to use a new pair of gloves when applying each individual sheet. Anyway, I got there in the end and the results are as follows;

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0785.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0788.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0787.jpg[/img]

I've now added the flowcoat;

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0974.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... CT0981.jpg[/img]


The pond is now more or less complete. The place still bears a resemblance to Steptoe's yard, but everything now functions. Here are some photos of the filtration system;

Here is the bakki shower,fed by a skimmer converted to 4" piework
[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... C_0060.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... C_0058.jpg[/img]

Here is the main filtration. The bottom drain feeds a medium sized vortex, which leads to a Cloverleaf CL3. The Aquamax 10000 pump then feeds to a BBF-XS2 Bubblebead filter. This then assed through a heater and back to pond via a midwater return.

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... C_0072.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc72/dsp ... C_0078.jpg[/img]

I've had the pond up and running for a month now with absolutely no problems. At present it is stocked with low grade fish to mature the system. I will start looking for some suitable growersfrom Spring onwards next year.

The main thing is that I've proved to myself that I have developed the skills to build a pond. I am now planning a 7-8K system which hwill be installed next to the current project in the cowshed. I am seriously considering a stream flow approached having been taken to see a couple of examples by Mike Snaden. I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions on Koi Quest once I begin in earnest.

Please feel free to ask any questions should require more details of the construction.

Regards

Jon

[Matthew]

'Growing on pond?'

Man, I've been in smaller ponds than yours as the owners main pond!

Nice job so far.

[Jon W]

Hi Mathew

Chhers! I did start out with a much smaller spec and was going to do it as cheaply as possible. After the initial failure with the base I just thought "sod it", if I'm going to do it I might as well make it a bit bigger and with a better spec. My mates think I should have made it bigger still, the shed is 53' foot long - they think I should have built my main pond in here!

Regards

Jon

[TicToc]

Nice one Jon. We do like piccies and its coming along nicely. Interested to know how you have upgraded the skimmer from 1.5inch to 4 ?

Regards
TicToc

[Jon W]

Hi Tic Toc

I upgraded the skimmer as follows; got a piece of 4" pipe, held it over the 1.5" outlet and scribed the outline on the surrounding base. Then roughly cut to shape using a Dremel with a slitting disk attachment inside of the 4" scribe mark. Once base and 1.5" outlet cut out of base, I used the Dremel with a drum sander attachment to accurately pare back the base to the outline of the 4" pipe. By doing this very carefully I was able to create an interference fit between the base and the pipe. Having inserted the pipe into the base I then applied liberal amounts of mastic inside and outside of the joint to create a very strong and waterproof connection.

Regards

Jon

[TicToc]

Thanks for explan Jon, very interesting. What pump are you going to use to pull the water through to the Bakki shower?

TicToc

[Jon W]

Hi Tic Tok

Was looking at a Sequence 12000s. Haven't made a final decision but I think this might do a reasonable job. There should be very little restriction on flow and the 12000s does 2600gph (also there is quite a jump in electricity usage for the next most powerful pump in the range). As I'm not using this as my main filtration I don't need to pull quite as much water through. I'm using a vortex, Cloverleaf CL3 adapted to K1 and possibly a couple of RTF units for main filtration.

Cheers

Jon

[Gazza]

Hi Jon,

Well i thought i was going to be collecting my pension before this was filled with water

On a serious note well done mate looks like a good job and not to far from completion now

[dannyboy]

Hi Jon,

Well i thought i was going to be collecting my pension before this was filled with water

On a serious note well done mate looks like a good job and not to far from completion now

Gazza,

What do you mean, your not collecting it yet !! have they upped the age

[Davej]

Hi Jon

Real progress and it looks bomb proof, you certainly don't take short cuts.

Keep the photos coming!!

Regards

Dave

[Jon W]

Hi Gazza
You might still have plenty of time to let it mature before I've finished. I've yet to do the fibreglassing, plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong. Plus I'm still pontificating on where my waste pipe should discharge.

Hi Dave

It's probably a bit over the top for a growing on pond but I wanted it to be a dry run to see if I could develop the skills for building a main pond.

Cheers

Jon

[Davej]

Hi Jon

Only one point...

You have left room for some insulation between the pond wall and the shed wall haven't you?

Regards

Dave

[Jon W]

Hi Dave

There's a gap of about 4 1/2" between the outer wall and the pond wall. I'm getting some 4" Jablite to line the outside of the blockwork once everything else is done. I should be able to just ram this into the cavity at the back and will attach it to the other walls using wooden battens. Only thing I can't decide is what to use as a finish material to line over the insulation - the only thing I can think of at the moment is plywood.

Cheers

Jon

[Jon W]

I've added more pictures - I have attached them to the first post where the other pictures are rather than people having to wade through the whole thread to find them.

Cheers

Jon

[TicToc]

Well done Jon and good thinking with the piccies. Looking really good mate.

Regards,
TicToc