The Detailers Cafe
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Pockets on October 17, 2013, 08:53:49 AM
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So with everybody making fun of me about my little fella pond, and more importantly no real way to filter the water so the fish were suffering, I decided to build a rather large pond to sit by and have a beer and cigar while watching my beautiful fish swim around =)
I did not remeasure after the expansion but it's large haha and over 3.5 ft deep. Thank god for having a pickup truck that is all I gotta say!
The hunt for filtration began and I was quickly intrigued in the Helix Life Support Systems http://www.helixpondfiltration.com/ (http://www.helixpondfiltration.com/) .... these systems are at the very top for pond filtration and skimming, the skimmer even won pond product of the year in 2012 when it was introduced. The Bio-Mechanical Waterfall Filter is a fairly new product at less then a year old and has captured the eyes of most every pond fanatic. So I decided to purchase them for my pond! It uses a very large amount (270 lbs.) of Lava Rock as a nesting spot for beneficial bacteria. Lava rock is very porous so there is a large amount of surface area on them for the bacteria to grow. It also is the first of it's kind with no touch cleaning by injecting air under the lava rock and causing it to "boil" and loosen up the dirt, than just open the drain and back flush it with pond water and your good to go.
I want to throw out a very large thank you to Eric over at www.ThePondDigger.com (http://www.ThePondDigger.com) and their instructional videos that they put up on YouTube here http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePondDigger (http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePondDigger) (if any of you are thinking about doing a pond watch these videos!)
So with materials purchased it was time to dig!
I laid out the outline with a garden hose and started to outline it .... keep in mind it has changed as I expanded it to what it is now
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20130928_124139_646_zps85ee354b.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20130928_124139_646_zps85ee354b.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20130928_134240_649_zps2f4e0ccf.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20130928_134240_649_zps2f4e0ccf.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20130928_140601_565_zpsc161dcd0.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20130928_140601_565_zpsc161dcd0.jpg.html)
The rocks that were coming out of the hole ... they don't call my county Rockland for nothing haha
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20130929_120713_055_zps57953cfd.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20130929_120713_055_zps57953cfd.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20130929_133256_981_zpsd9bec107.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20130929_133256_981_zpsd9bec107.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20130929_154759_560_zpsd73d1b70.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20130929_154759_560_zpsd73d1b70.jpg.html)
With the hole dug I placed the underlayment into the pond (this is a barrier that prevents tree roots and rocks to puncture the .45 mil EPDM liner)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131002_173533_890_zpsa5238ca6.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131002_173533_890_zpsa5238ca6.jpg.html)
This was with the liner in and the first time I filled it up
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131006_165231_316_zpsdbc7e877.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131006_165231_316_zpsdbc7e877.jpg.html)
Now you wouldn't think it but rocks are expensive!! So I found a local construction site that just happened to have lots and lots of rocks for me to pick up after hours ;)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131008_180205_061_zps4edb1545.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131008_180205_061_zps4edb1545.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131008_174303_754_zpsf4bb88ee.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131008_174303_754_zpsf4bb88ee.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131008_181027_912_zps232d9df6.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131008_181027_912_zps232d9df6.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131013_091857_258_zps10f4bf11.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131013_091857_258_zps10f4bf11.jpg.html)
I had to make about 4 or 5 truckloads of rocks from this place
This is filled up to one level down from water level so I could walk in the pond ... I also have since taken out the monkey bars and expanded the pond further to them.
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131004_090112_100_zps8f237bcf.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131004_090112_100_zps8f237bcf.jpg.html)
Here is the monkey bars removed (yes I drained the whole pond took the liner out and underlayment and expanded the pond)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131012_112549_868_zps8196d663.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131012_112549_868_zps8196d663.jpg.html)
With the liner back in it was time to use all those rocks and line the sides of the pond with them ... I have a new appreciation for every rock wall that I see!
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131013_103654_792_zpsc759fbd1.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131013_103654_792_zpsc759fbd1.jpg.html)
Beginning construction of waterfall
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131013_164209_309_zpsc0ab9996.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131013_164209_309_zpsc0ab9996.jpg.html)
Just picked up these three spillway stones from the rock-yard at 7:30 this morning .. had to make two trips as they were just too heavy for my truck!
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131016_083132_909_zps48ea53ee.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131016_083132_909_zps48ea53ee.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131016_083136_941_zpsb5212c69.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131016_083136_941_zpsb5212c69.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131016_091303_608_zps62ca0a9a.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131016_091303_608_zps62ca0a9a.jpg.html)
So that is where I am at at this moment in time ... thanks for reading and if you have any questions or other picture requests I'd be more than happy to try and answer them or take some pictures.
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Wow, that is a lot of work dude! :clap:
I am sure you will enjoy it it once it's all done. I'm glad we had a back-hoe for my buddies salmon pond, there is now way I would be digging that by hand.
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Looking very nice. You have way too much energy.
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Thanks guys!
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Where's the boat launch ramp? :dunno:
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Damn, man. You put in some time and effort there. Its looking good.
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Tom, you can come on down and we can put both of them in! haha
Mike, thanks I appreciate it seeing as all I ever hear from you is that's awesome ..... now go bigger :nana: ... or that's sweet ... Paint to Match lmao
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Oh yea got the rocks in my backyard last night they went pretty smoothly
Put each one on a pallet and basically that became the ramp for the rock as it teetered on the edge
My Uncle (who owns his own landscaping company) is coming over tonight to give me some more guidance on the waterfall construction .... he also said that if he was doing this for a customer it would be 10 grand!!
Some of the stuff that he has built is just mind blowing
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Ouch! Haha. Don't worry, I'll have plenty of constructive criticism for you when you're finished!
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Got a lot done this weekend for the pond and the fish were introduced this morning to their new home!
Almost done with the rocks
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131020_104417_479_zps5e520f28.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131020_104417_479_zps5e520f28.jpg.html)
All done with the rocks and filling
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131020_115052_148_zps17e8baf0.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131020_115052_148_zps17e8baf0.jpg.html)
Almost full!
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131020_134305_194_zpseb03932c.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131020_134305_194_zpseb03932c.jpg.html)
All filled and second make shift waterfall completed (waiting on Uncle to free up a mini excavator to place the waterfall rocks)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131020_143510_738_zps7e6ef1d7.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131020_143510_738_zps7e6ef1d7.jpg.html)
Came out this morning to pretty clear water. Added beneficial bacteria yesterday and water conditioner so I decided it was okay to add the fish ... with the temperature very close to their tank that they were in now it was the perfect time for a transfer
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131021_090440_135_zpsbc46ccc3.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131021_090440_135_zpsbc46ccc3.jpg.html)
All 12 happy to get to a new home
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131021_091453_022_zps51099f50.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131021_091453_022_zps51099f50.jpg.html)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/IMG_20131021_091710_542_zps382a960c.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/IMG_20131021_091710_542_zps382a960c.jpg.html)
So getting extremely close to it being done at this point and got the fish in to start getting ready for the winter water temperatures
-Chris
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I'm waiting for a shot of your truck splashing through the pond. :redneck:
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Looking really good, there sure are a lot of hand-placed stones around that thing! :cheers:
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I like the mini excavator idea! Much better idea than me coming up to help. Haha!
Looks great! Gotta get some plants around it. Might not be a great time for that though.
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Holy rock balz, that thing is awesome man....wow, that does look like a crap ton of work.
:nw:
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Thanks everybody!
It has been a crapload of work :beat: every rock had to be picked out of the site and moved than placed!
I like the excavator idea better as well Mikey :redneck:
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It's update time! This was about a month ago
Well I decided that after the harsh winter we had and the bad engineering on my part that lead to the walls collapsing it was time to renovate my backyard pond.
Key points were to redo the waterfall so it looked nice and also to slope all the sides of the pond away from the pond so I did not get anymore dirt in it when rain happened.
Onto the pics.
Here you can see the sorry state it was in after the winter.... fish did not mind in the least and actually loved hiding in the fallen rocks but it was not pretty
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/20140525_153059_zps294923a3.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/20140525_153059_zps294923a3.jpg.html)
Here you can see the old waterfall removed (took a lot of work as they were placed with an excavator and are very heavy for two people)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/20140526_121008_zps762e4ed8.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/20140526_121008_zps762e4ed8.jpg.html)
Wall reconstructed
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/20140526_141438_zpsc0557a19.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/20140526_141438_zpsc0557a19.jpg.html)
Digging out and cleaning up the waterfall filter as well as getting the dirt out from behind the liner that water ran in.
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/20140526_142946_zpsa1cdead8.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/20140526_142946_zpsa1cdead8.jpg.html)
More progress
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/20140531_132930_zps68fd3b1f.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/20140531_132930_zps68fd3b1f.jpg.html)
Old walk up to the pond
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/20140531_132940_zps258c9ce4.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/20140531_132940_zps258c9ce4.jpg.html)
New walk up that has rocks that you can step on and get right up to the ponds edge but safely haha
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/20140602_193329_zps817a8315.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/20140602_193329_zps817a8315.jpg.html)
New Waterfall construction beginning
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/Pondnotdone_zps1cdebb57.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/Pondnotdone_zps1cdebb57.jpg.html)
Bought two new fish bringing the total to 13 (the white one is a Gin Rin Platinum Ogon for those into Koi)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/NewFish_zps21443e33.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/NewFish_zps21443e33.jpg.html)
Waterfall dry
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/Waterfalldry_zpse6bdd980.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/Waterfalldry_zpse6bdd980.jpg.html)
Waterfall wet
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/Waterfallcloseup_zpscf4d07af.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/Waterfallcloseup_zpscf4d07af.jpg.html)
Up and running!
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/PondCloseup_zpse40c9c8e.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/PondCloseup_zpse40c9c8e.jpg.html)
More to come as I finish up the edging and entrance to the pond. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I also got a smaller pump (4,000 gph from 5,200 gph because it was just too loud of a waterfall, now it is perfect)
Thanks for looking! :)
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This is today
**Update**
So I have done lots of progress on the pond and I'm pretty much done!
Made a retaining wall under the swing set to keep the dirt nice and level up at the top
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/1_zps7ea00e44.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/1_zps7ea00e44.jpg.html)
One of the stones from the previous waterfall fail has now become a beautiful step up to the seating area
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/2_zpsd1cb8e3e.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/2_zpsd1cb8e3e.jpg.html)
Dirt leveled out
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/3_zpsac6738d3.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/3_zpsac6738d3.jpg.html)
Mulch put on top
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/4_zps62c0226e.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/4_zps62c0226e.jpg.html)
Mulch all around and some plants
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/5_zps3781c7c0.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/5_zps3781c7c0.jpg.html)
Picked up some tropical elephant ears in a variety of styles for marginal plants
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/6_zps4bf7bbe7.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/6_zps4bf7bbe7.jpg.html)
Tropical water lillies
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/7_zpsf9e0fd4b.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/7_zpsf9e0fd4b.jpg.html)
Found a new favorite tree to hang over the pond. This is a specimen Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar and was kinda expensive but I feel in love with the way it looks!
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/8_zps52779731.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/8_zps52779731.jpg.html)
Planted!
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/9_zpsac179638.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/9_zpsac179638.jpg.html)
The finished product! It really has pulled together and is so enjoyable to sit by
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r160/PocketsPB/10_zpsafcc8286.jpg) (http://s143.photobucket.com/user/PocketsPB/media/10_zpsafcc8286.jpg.html)
Thanks for looking! Let me know what you think
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Dude, that looks great!
I just love sitting somewhere where you can hear moving water, very relaxing.
The only issue I have is seeing all those rocks gives me flashbacks as a kid, walking up and down the field picking rocks and throwing them in the tractor bucket behind me as my pops followed. :redneck:
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I like the way you left just enough space beside the park bench for a cooler full of cold beer. :funny:
On a more serious note (as if I'm capable of that), it looks awesome.
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Awesome job, man!
Tapatalkin...
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Looking really nice....you need black berry bushes on that chain link fence now.
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Thanks!
RR I've got some decorative grasses that will go along it and block the filter box and the fence =)
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wow, the work the 1st time around was too much for me, now this !!
Turned out great, congrats.