Help with new pond please
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 12:22 pm
Hi all, first post and sorry its a long one and no doubt this topic as been done to depth. Ok here we go. When I moved house 10 years ago I built a temp pond around 400gal. For various reasons I never built the pond. I now have (and your going to kill me for this) 2 x 10lb plus fish 3 others around the 5-6lb mark and 2 small ones around 14". Anyway this has been haunting me for the last 10 years and something as to be done now!!!
I'm use to groundworks and have a couple of ways off building the new pond which will be 16' x 9' x around the 4' deep mark. Part below and part above ground. 1 x 4" bottom drain (spindrifter) and 1 x surface skimmer to its own filter box. All glass fibered. I need your advice on which way to go. This has got to be spot on first time and I need you help:D
The bottom drain within the concrete base is my main worry. Do I 1: lay the base C35 with fibres and 193 mesh to a depth of 200mm and shutter the outline for the bottom drain and pipework where the 4" pipe will run this will ensure the pipework and bottom drain sit on 200mm of concrete. This will mean digging out deeper for the pipework section but leave a nice deep solid 'grove' with the base to fit the drain and pipework and then fill with concrete.
or
2: as per spec 1 but just concrete in one go over the base and pipework??? My concern is you only appear to have around 2" of concrete over the pipework or am I missing something here
Whichever way the base is constructed do I then go for
1: laying the dense blocks on their side on the concrete base or shall I
2: do a separate strip foundation nice and deep around 16", build up a couple of blocks and then pour the base inside the blocks and then carry on up???? I'm going to use visqueen as I'm on sand and don't want the water running away too fast from the concrete. Also would you build a pillar halfway along the 16foot run or is this just ott. Render pond all over and bench towards bottom drain.
I hope that all makes sense??
Just one more phewww, filter height, what height do I need the top of the filters to be with regard to the water level, I understand this is very much dependent upon which filters I will be using but at this time I think I'm going for just separate gravity feed filter chambers eg 1 x vortex, 1 x jap matting, one Alfagrog and one air movement bead down to the return pump and separate bypass for the uv from the return pump?????
If you think its all useless tell me and point me in the right direct please, really really need your advice folks.
I'm use to groundworks and have a couple of ways off building the new pond which will be 16' x 9' x around the 4' deep mark. Part below and part above ground. 1 x 4" bottom drain (spindrifter) and 1 x surface skimmer to its own filter box. All glass fibered. I need your advice on which way to go. This has got to be spot on first time and I need you help:D
The bottom drain within the concrete base is my main worry. Do I 1: lay the base C35 with fibres and 193 mesh to a depth of 200mm and shutter the outline for the bottom drain and pipework where the 4" pipe will run this will ensure the pipework and bottom drain sit on 200mm of concrete. This will mean digging out deeper for the pipework section but leave a nice deep solid 'grove' with the base to fit the drain and pipework and then fill with concrete.
or
2: as per spec 1 but just concrete in one go over the base and pipework??? My concern is you only appear to have around 2" of concrete over the pipework or am I missing something here
Whichever way the base is constructed do I then go for
1: laying the dense blocks on their side on the concrete base or shall I
2: do a separate strip foundation nice and deep around 16", build up a couple of blocks and then pour the base inside the blocks and then carry on up???? I'm going to use visqueen as I'm on sand and don't want the water running away too fast from the concrete. Also would you build a pillar halfway along the 16foot run or is this just ott. Render pond all over and bench towards bottom drain.
I hope that all makes sense??
Just one more phewww, filter height, what height do I need the top of the filters to be with regard to the water level, I understand this is very much dependent upon which filters I will be using but at this time I think I'm going for just separate gravity feed filter chambers eg 1 x vortex, 1 x jap matting, one Alfagrog and one air movement bead down to the return pump and separate bypass for the uv from the return pump?????
If you think its all useless tell me and point me in the right direct please, really really need your advice folks.