New Pond Construction Help Needed~

[kohospam]

Hey Everyone!

This is my first post here at Koi-Bito. I've been lurking in the background for a while now, but I have finally decided to build my first pond and would like as much help and advice that I can get.

I am currently looking to build a 7.5'x13'x3'6"(avg) pond. I calculated my projected volume to be around 2500gal. The area will be in partial sun for most of the day. I live in Hawaii, so the weather stays moderate throughout the year.

I was thinking about using a liner, with the possibility of cementing the bottom before putting the padding. I may also need to build up using some hollow tile block then pouring concrete to reinforce due to the fact that the ground that I will be constructing on is uneven. I have several questions that I was hoping you experts out there could help me out with.

First of all. Are there serious problems with leaks in bottom drains when constructing ponds with liners? I live in Hawaii, and leaks could cause problems with ground termites, which is a serious issue that I want to avoid.

2. I've read a great deal about bead filters from online stores, but don't see or hear too much about them in the forums. From what I gather they make fairly good mechanical filters, but are normally outshined by many other types of filters when it comes to bio filtering. If used in combination with UV are bead filters normally sufficient. My goal is to create a pond with the least amount of maintenance possible. So if bead filters aren't a very good option then please advise on other low maintenance filter options. My space is fairly limited, and if possible I would like to use as much space as possible towards pond space rather than using the space towards vortex and gravity filters.

3. For my pond I plan on using 1-2 bottom drains, with 2-3 eduction jets. Along with 1 skimmer. I would like to put in a waterfall, but it seems that they are another source of leaks, and I am unsure on what is required to do this. Are there simple methods to putting waterfalls? And does my other plumbing fixtures seem appropriate for a pond my size?

4. For the pump, I read a fairly complicated article explaining both dynamic and static head, and understand that it's probably better to wait until the plumbing is mostly complete to calculate the appropriate head and the pump size necessary. Is there a brand that shines above others as being highly efficient and fairly affordable (I know these two normally don't come together unfortunately) I've seen the artesian pump on a lot of the websites and they claim it to be a very good pump brand. Is this something that others agree on?

5. This is to anyone else that lives in Hawaii. Are there places on oahu that I can purchase koi pond equipment. I know some websites will ship, but I imagine the shipping will be a killer.

Anyway, this is where I'm at right now in my planning stage, so if anyone has any comments or answers to my questions, or even just pieces of advise, I'm all ears!

I will try to post a picture of my proposed layout, once I get a chance.



Thanks once again, and it's nice to be joining this wonderful community.

Regards,

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by kohospam Hey Everyone! First of all. Are there serious problems with leaks in bottom drains when constructing ponds with liners? 2. I've read a great deal about bead filters from online stores, but don't see or hear too much about them in the forums. From what I gather they make fairly good mechanical filters, but are normally outshined by many other types of filters when it comes to bio filtering. If used in combination with UV are bead filters normally sufficient. My goal is to create a pond with the least amount of maintenance possible. So if bead filters aren't a very good option then please advise on other low maintenance filter options. My space is fairly limited, and if possible I would like to use as much space as possible towards pond space rather than using the space towards vortex and gravity filters. 3. For my pond I plan on using 1-2 bottom drains, with 2-3 eduction jets. Along with 1 skimmer. I would like to put in a waterfall, but it seems that they are another source of leaks, 4. For the pump, I read a fairly complicated article explaining both dynamic and static head, and understand that it's probably better to wait until the plumbing is mostly complete to calculate the appropriate head and the pump size necessary. Is there a brand that shines above others as being highly efficient and fairly affordable (I know these two normally don't come together unfortunately) I've seen the artesian pump on a lot of the websites and they claim it to be a very good pump brand. Is this something that others agree on? Thanks once again, and it's nice to be joining this wonderful community. Regards,

Welcome to the forum. Is this going to be a water garden or a koi pond. if koi pond go deeper, as deep as you can.

If installed properly there won't be any problem with liner/BD leaks. They work very well.

Bead filters work OK but for the money I think there are better separate systems, but they do require more space. Once again we need to know what the purpose of your pond is, Big Koi, gold fish, plants, or what.

Don't worry about a waterfall. Once again if done right it won't leak.

Pumps need to be sized to what they are doing. Most people use external pumps and not submersible. External are better, flow more, and draw less elec. The best way is two circuits, BD circuit to settlement, to bio, pump to mech, to tprs. Second circuit skimmer to pump, to mech, to UV, to waterfall.

Just a start here, hope others will chime in.

[trac]

From what I can see in the picture I would think that if you could separate the bottom drains further apart it would be more beneficial, also I think the turbulence of the waterfall right above the bottom drains would be bad.