pond building

[martyn james]

Hi

I am hoping to build a pond this year, i have a few questions, i can get some kingspan type insulation, i was thinking of putting it on the inside of the pond and fibreglassing over the top, is that ok?
what thickness for the base of the pond ?
i was hoping to build pond at least 12 long 8 wide and 6 deep or bigger with negotiation.

any ideas or links to other threads that cover this would be welcome.

martyn

[Gazza]

Hi Martyn,

Yes you can put the kingspan inside and glass over the top of it as there are many that have done and seems a good idea for insulation.

I think the general base thickness is between 9" & 12" and normally have the reinforcing mesh in it and its good idea to make sure you set the bottom drain and pipe in position before pouring the base as there can move when this is done.

That is going to be a good sized pond do you have any idea what type filtration you are going to run on it yet

Good luck with the build and please keep us posted on how things go

[martyn james]

hi

thanks for reply, i have a nexus 200 and hope to upgrade to a 300.
i have a bubble bead as well so not sure if i will use it.
how many bottom drains?
could i use normal size breeze blocks or do they have to be th larger size on their side?
i can get enough insulation to put some inside and the other side of blocks is that a good idea?
also how many returns?

regards
martyn

[Gazza]

Hi,

It looks like your pond is going to be around 3,500 gallons so you should be OK with one bottom drain to the Nexus.

If it was me i would also put a skimmer on the pond and use this as another line for filtration so depending what filtration you have on this you may well be able to keep the Nexus 200 along with something on the skimmer line.

If you do run both the bottom drain and a skimmer then you will have two returns back to the pond.

You can not use breeze blocks as i believe these are not only not strong enough but can deteriorate if they get wet,the blocks to use are the solid concrete blocks or the bigger concrete blocks which are hollow and you reinforce them with re-bar & concrete as you go. I have the solid concrete blocks on my pond laid on their sides all the way up apart from the front wall which has face brick so solids on inside and face brick on outside all tied in (hope that makes sense).

I am not sure about the kingspan on the outside as well as i think it can degrade if it gets wet.

Hope this helps and i have explained it all correctly and if not please just shout and i will try my best and i am sure a few of the other guys will also chip in with some help.

have you been about and visited some ponds to pick up some ideas as i find it always help from seeing a few set ups

[martyn james]

hi

thanks for all the info, i am not sure what do do with the kingspan on outside will check with company to see about deteriation, i can get it free so if i can use it i will .
i will make pond oblong with rounded corners inside?
the skimmer where is best to position it? and where you put the skimmer ,does that determine position of returns?
i am thinking about installing a lpg gas boiler for heating, what do you think?

regards
martyn

[steven perkins]

hi there ,,

yes you will need a top skimmer ,, you can feed this into your nexus ,,

you will need a sloping bottom leading waist to your bottom drain ,,

oval or round pools work great if you re enter your filtered water at an angle this will produce a slight swirl and will also help ,,

you would only need to king span the floor and inside walls if you can this will save you loads in the long term ,,

i have a swimming pool heater plumbed inline and this works great but let me know if you find a better cheaper way

there are dvds available that give great advice and seeing is much better than hearing if you ask me and will also give you more confidence

great advice so far tho

good luck
and post some pics of your build if you can

cheers

perky

[Gazza]

Hi Martyn,

The shape of a pond is a personally thing and i think it also depends on the size and positioning of the pond in the garden as you want it to look good in its surroundings.

The skimmer position can be important if you have any trees in the garden as this will pull the leaves into the skimmer. If set up correctly the skimmer will pull the top layer of water and keep the top clean and i personally think as you have to use a pump you may as well put a separate filter on this line so then you will be getting a good pond turnover as you will have two forms of filtration one on the bottom drain and one on the skimmer line.

The returns and pond floors are again a personal thing some will say one way some say another you just need to work out how you want your pond to work. I set my pond up with one return from the bottom drain returning about bit point and the one from the skimmer is about a 12" below the pond surface and they are both pumping the same way to help the current flow in the same direction.

The base of my pond is flat as i have an aerated bottom drain which creates an upward current which helps draw any waste down the drain and once you couple this with the movement of the water and all the fish swimming round any waste gets pulled toward the bottom drain and ends up in the filters and i end up with a clean bottom

Yes you can set up the heating using an LPG boiler as many have and all you do is plumb in a heat exchanger which work a treat and are easy to install.

[martyn james]

Hi


Thanks for all the help, i am just trying to get as many idea's as possible to help me build the best pond possible,
i hope to start after march and by then should have it all sorted out.
i was thinking of using ro water as well, there are some equipment on ebay that will give you 300 gallons a day.
i will try and read all mike snadens articles to try and get it right.
i was thinking about having a pergola that just sits around the pond and in the winter cover it with that ply sheeting to keep out the wind and keep in the heat?
i will put kingspan on the base to keep more heat in , i dont think kingspan gets affected to much by damp as alot of builders merchants store it outside.

regards
martyn

[zuesfaber]

Hi,
I have a pond similar size to the one you are planning , the base of the pond is flat with a single aereated bottom drain feeding a Nexus 300 via an Oase Optimax 15000 and the bottom stays completely clear of debris. I have a skimmer feeding a Nexus eazy pod via an Oase eco6000 which works a treat.

Best advice I can give you is to draw the plan for your pond with accurate dimmensions , then re-draw it, and after about the 5th or 6th time if anything like me it should be ok !.

For the bottom drain I used 4" Terrain pipe and would not recommend going any smaller than 4" , glue the pipe run and drain up and fill it with water and leave it for a day to see if there are any leaks. There is a way of pressure testing but needs specialist equipment I think and not sure how you would go about it.

Best of luck.

[Gazza]

Hi Martyn,

RO Blimey you haven't even built it yet

Only joking mate there are many RO units out there but please remember that what they say the are (300 gallons per day etc) is not what they will do as this will be no where near what they will do and normally comes as a bit of a shock to people when they purchase one. There are many threads on here about RO and units do a search and it may help you get an idea on how it all works. If not it may well be an idea to post another question regarding RO and you will hopefully get some good response as its a great topic and one well worth a discussion.

It is a good idea to look at any way of trying to keep the heat in during the winter months so the pergola could be a good idea

[steven perkins]

ask your self

if you were all to build a new pond would they all have slopping bottons ???
and round or oval shaped ???
its pure physics man !!!! not just how some people think to others !!!
its all about whats best for your koi !! And water system !!
if you want the best for your koi its the only way forward ,,
people compensate for having odd shaped pools and flat bottoms with massive filtration systems they simply wouldnt need if they built it with the water quality in mind

ask the bows !!!!

if i could upload pictures i would glady give you a drawing of both setups and how the water would flow through them
simples tch

perky
perkinsautomotive
builder of quality cover cars and koi ponds

i thank you

[Gazza]

Hi Steven,

If i was to build again it would be the same i like a flat bottom

I think you will find that a lot of old ponds did not have bottom drains and the ones that did had a lot of benching and none had aerated bottom drains we have come on a long way the last few years with much better filter systems and air domes so getting good water is not as hard as it used to be as long as we carry out regular maintenance

If your having problems uploading pictures you can send them to me and i will post them for you.

[steven perkins]

i give up lol

the best option for good water and healthy koi is slopping bottom ,,,and a bottom drain that is earated ,,

flat bottom pools with or without earated bottom drains ,, and also odd shaped pools ,, will need much bigger filtration systems than a round or oval pool with a slopping bottom , an earated bottom drain and filtered water re entering the pool at an angle to produce a natural swirl,,

as i said its pure physics
and any one bulding a new pool should use these techniques
i have a 1000 gallon heated pool ,, my filtration system is self made and only 100 gallons ,,and my water is perfection ,,

i have 12 koi and 2 sturgen

thats all i have to say

perky

[Gazza]

Hi Perky,

Don't give up mate there are more than one road to London and to save hijacking Martyn's post lets start a new post about pond building and filtration and get some pictures on and we can have a good debate as its cold and dark

I will start a post off

[martyn james]

Hi

Thanks for reply's
is there a way of calculating how many concrete blocks i will need to build pond?
or just keep getting blocks untill pond built?

martyn