| The next big question was how to line this pond. I really had 2 options, EPDM liner or Polyurea. Clearly, epoxy at this juncture was not in the running.
My first choice was a liner, mainly because of cost and ease of installation. I built a small pond using a EPDM liner and it has been holding up very well. However, my main concern with using a liner was the existing build of the pond, which was mainly concrete blocks and raised off the ground. That made hiding the liner at the top rather difficult, since the choices for rock work was limited to only 6" wide.
I then started to talk to a few Polyurea folks, and posting my interest on the Koi-bito forum. Since I am rather new to the hobby the consensus was clearly that Poly would be the best long term choice.
I decided after few interviews to go with Aquating Coatings Inc. (Jeff Dunkel).
I met with Jeff (since he lives only a few miles from my house) and we went through the steps required to get a nice coating on the walls. His main concern was that the Epoxy that was currently on the wall either has to be removed or covered before he can assure a good adhesion with the poly.
The other thing I liked about Jeff was that he was willing to share his experience with how to best setup the filtration. He made some constructive comments about my drain and filter setup and suggested alternatives that would best serve the pond long term. Here is list of what we decided:
1. Remove the 2" pump fed bottom drain and install a gravity fed 4" version
2. Install a Vortex settlement tank to remove solids from the bottom drain as the first step in the mechanical filtration.
3. Install at a minimum a 4" aerated bottom drain - with gravity feed.
I also drove over to his house, and saw his amazing 25,000 gallon pond with really impressive filtration.
As for my own project, after some research, I settled on a couple of William Lim Wave 36 filters, one for settlement and another filled with Japanese mat for mechanical/bio filtration.
I will post pictures of the project steps soon. |