[JasonS]

The pool is the 15' dia by 42" high metal frame supported Intex above ground
swimming pool. It holds about 110 gallons per inch. I keep it between 32
and 34 inches. The pump is visible on the left side. It sits on a platform
made from a pallet with a piece of plywood on top, then two sawhorses, with
another piece of plywood. This puts the suction intake about 2 inches above
the rim of the pond. The suction hose is a piece of 2 inch flexible pvc.
It drops over the side and extends on the bottom out to the middle of the
pond. The discharge goes into a bead filter then up to a modified bakki
shower then back into the pond.

The modified shower uses milk crates filled half way with 3 inch lava rock.
There are four towers total. Each tower consists of 3 milk crates. Two
towers are paired and placed into a black ABS plastic motar mixing tub with
a 3 inch diameter discharge hole in one end. The water is delivered thru a
piece of 4 inch pipe with two parallel lines of 1/2 inch holes drilled in
the bottom. The j-mat around the towers keeps the water from splashing over
the side. The discharge hole provides a tangental return affect and creates
a current around the perimeter of the pond. The current is approximately 24
inches wide and with the suction end in the middle of the pond all of the
waste gets pulled out of the pond.

With the advent of winter and the rainy season I found one slight issue that
I would have prepared for when I put the pond together. As the ground
became wet the legs sank into the ground about 2 inches or so. It would
have been better if I had place something like the concrete stepping stones
beneath each leg to provide a wider base for the leg. The 2 inch by 12 inch
stepping stones are made from concrete and I could have cut them in half.
That is the reason I only fill the pond to the 34 inch mark maximum. That
gives me about 6 inches of freeboard.

The pond is covered with the cheap bird netting you can buy at Home Depot or
Lowes. It is held on by looping the net squares over the top of the pins
that hold the frame together.

The electrical supply is an extension cord. It is 10 guage wire. Overkill,
but no power loss this way.

Also on the left you can see my qt/hospital tank. It is not being used
right now but the filter has water running through it just in case. That is
the black pipe you can see on the left side of the picture that dumps into
the pond. It is fed by a separate submersible pump.

The pipe frame work around the pond is for shade cloth in the summer. It
covers the pond and the pump/bead filter area. I also put a side cloth on
the side of the pond the pictures are taken from. Our summers have 90 to
100+ degree days from July thru October. With the shade cloth and the
shower the highest the water temperature reached was 86. This winter the
weather has been mild so the lowest temp has been 42 on one night. I shut
down the shower for most of the winter and have only recently hooked it back
up.

For a temporary set-up it works pretty well.