# My first pond (edit: 12 months later May 2012)



## tyrophagus (24 Mar 2011)

My garden is 570cm by 400cm.  Not large.  I have a pond planned. I'm removing the grass and am going to lay stone slabs down instead.  I plan to use railway sleepers to make some raised beds around the outside of the patio.  The pond itself will be a rectangular L130cm x w85cm x d45cm preformed plastic (or if the wife allows 175 x125 x60).  It has no raised area for marginal plants but I assume theres a w ay around this.  I plan to use used railway sleepers (new, not treated, used or reclaimed) to a height of about 50cm with a slight overhang of wood over the top of the pond.

I'd like to use a gravity fed easy pod filter with a pump to a small waterfall.

Can I attach the outlet pipe from the pond to the side of the pond almost at the bottom (easier) or do I need to install it under the pond?

Can you recommend a pump for a 500l or 1000l pond?

Do I need a uv filter?

what happens in winter if the surface of the pond freezes? do you switch of the filter as the water circulation is disrupted?

look forward to your replies


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## tyrophagus (25 Mar 2011)

*Re: help setup my first pond*

Is this a good choice in pumps?   http://www.koi-zone.co.uk/Pond-Pumps/Oase-Pond-Pumps-sc-297.html

I'd need the 2000


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## foxfish (25 Mar 2011)

*Re: help setup my first pond*

That is a very small pond to bother with gravity fed filtration but if you want to go thet way then - yes you can feed from anywhere under the the ponds water level.
However it might just be a lot easier to place a submersible in the pond & pump into a filter?
Is it not possible to build a slightly larger pond though?
Oasis eco pumps are good http://www.watergardeningdirect.com/aca ... 4QodyV54aA


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## danmil3s (25 Mar 2011)

*Re: help setup my first pond*

Hi mate ive got a hoze lock pond fillter  with a built in uv it will do a waterfall as well. i keep meaning to sell it  if your intrested drop me a pm and ill find you a link  and we can come up with a price.


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## Ed Seeley (25 Mar 2011)

*Re: help setup my first pond*



			
				tyrophagus said:
			
		

> My garden is 570cm by 400cm.  Not large.  I have a pond planned. I'm removing the grass and am going to lay stone slabs down instead.  I plan to use railway sleepers to make some raised beds around the outside of the patio.  The pond itself will be a rectangular L130cm x w85cm x d45cm preformed plastic (or if the wife allows 175 x125 x60).  It has no raised area for marginal plants but I assume theres a w ay around this.  I plan to use used railway sleepers (new, not treated, used or reclaimed) to a height of about 50cm with a slight overhang of wood over the top of the pond.



I'd really try and go ad big as possible and I'd go deeper too - 1m deep would be much better.



			
				tyrophagus said:
			
		

> I'd like to use a gravity fed easy pod filter with a pump to a small waterfall.



Gravity fed does mean you won't be mashing up waste before it entering the filter but if you're going gravity fed then do it in the form of a bottom drain to the pod.  This means getting some 4" pipe, a 4" bottom drain and a 4" slide valve to isolate the filter.  This will add about £150 to the cost of your build - you'd be better spending the money on a better pump and a larger pond IMO if the budget's limited.



			
				tyrophagus said:
			
		

> Can I attach the outlet pipe from the pond to the side of the pond almost at the bottom (easier) or do I need to install it under the pond?



What do you mean by outlet?  Do you mean the pipe to the filter or the pipe from the pump?  If you mean the pipe feeding to the filter then I would go with a bottom drain right at the bottom of the pond.



			
				tyrophagus said:
			
		

> Can you recommend a pump for a 500l or 1000l pond?



Don't buy the pump by the size of the pond but by the turnover you want.  I have a 1,800l growing on pond that has a 12,000lph pump as I need a huge turnover.  For your pond I'd match the pump closer to the pod ratings so you I think about 4,000lph would be still be less than half the max turnover - however this is total overkill for a pond this size!  Having used little black-box filters with foam in I'd never use them again so I'd DIY an easy filter.  This can be done with a small water butt and the following kit;

Item	
Eco-S 6000                                            1             £75.95
4" waste pipe                                        3m          £22.70
4" waste bend                                        1            £10.93
4" radial connector                                 1            £7.55
1.5" flexible pipe                                    10m       £18.98
1.5" stepped hosetail                              1           £1.85
1.75" Hose clip                                       1           £1.57
1.5" flanged liner connector (waste)         2	          £6.66
1.5" waste 90o bend                                3           £4.56
1.5" slide valve                                       1           £6.41
1.5" waste pipe                                       3m        £6.60
1.5" waste to pressure sleeves                 2           £1.14
Aco-9730	70L                                        1           £59.38
Air pipe, 8/9mm                                    15m       £14.25
Air pipe tee 8mm                                    1           £1.09
K1, 50L                                                   1          £61.70
Polyflex sealer                                         1	           £7.55
Wet R Dry Solvent Cement, 240ml            1	           £6.60
                                                                 Total £315.47
Please note this includes the water pump and air pump!  I can give you instructions on how to put the bits together too.



			
				tyrophagus said:
			
		

> Do I need a uv filter?



You don't need one but without it your pond will probably go green for a while.  However be patient and it will clear.



			
				tyrophagus said:
			
		

> what happens in winter if the surface of the pond freezes? do you switch of the filter as the water circulation is disrupted?
> 
> look forward to your replies



Leave the filter running all year but bypass the waterfall so that the water is returned to the pond without chilling it too much.


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## tyrophagus (25 Mar 2011)

*Re: help setup my first pond*

Thanks for yor replies.  I have been the my LFS and purchased some gear this afternoon.  

I appreciate that the filter is likely to be overkill but it should be easy to keep clean.  I have purchased an nexus easy pod + an aquamax Eco 3500 + a 175 x 125 x 60 cm preformed plastic pond which is roughly 1000l.  

Unfortunately until I upgrade my house I'll not have the space for anything larger.  

I wanted to install the outflow from the pond to the filter on the bottom side of the pond but as you say Ed it would be better to install the drain in the middle of the bottom of the pond.  I can place a T piece after the drain with a valve to isolate it so I can do large water changes if needed and a valve at the filter to isolate the filter.

I''m not handy enough to make my own and I've looked at Ed's DIY solution but decided to buy an easy pod instead.  I must say its much bigger than I thought it would be.

I'll post some pictures when I can.


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## Ed Seeley (26 Mar 2011)

*Re: help setup my first pond*

It's a cracking filter and you've picked a great package there and overkill is never a bad thing as far as a filter goes! If/when you upgrade the pond you will be able to upgrade the pump too as the filter can handle 8000lph easily.

No need to tee off the bottom drain pipework though, just have the 4" feed into the pod and then have the drain pipework from the pod plumbed into the waste drain. Then if you want to do a big water change just drain it off via the filter.


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## tyrophagus (29 Mar 2011)

*Re: help setup my first pond*

Thanks Ed.  Do I need to invest in a uv light?  My pond will be in the sun most of the day.


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## Stefan Koster (29 Mar 2011)

*help setup my first pond*

Yes an Uv system would be good.


Stefan Koster
www.pro-koi.nl


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## Ed Seeley (30 Mar 2011)

*Re: help setup my first pond*



			
				tyrophagus said:
			
		

> Thanks Ed.  Do I need to invest in a uv light?  My pond will be in the sun most of the day.



I don't run one on my pond.  If you want sparkling clear water all the time then a UV will kill of the green algae floating in the water column but, just like in our tanks, if you kill one algae off without addressing the reasons why it's grown then you'll just get another type of algae!  In ponds this is usually blanketweed which a lot more hassle to deal with.  If your stocking levels are low and you clean your filter regularly and change some of the water then you may not need one.  If you do find your water goes green and stays green then you can fit one to the pump pipework easily enough.  BTW it will go green at first with all the new water - just tough it out for 2-6 weeks at first and give it chance to clear on its own.


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## Viv (7 Apr 2012)

*Re: help setup my first pond*



			
				tyrophagus said:
			
		

> It has no raised area for marginal plants but I assume theres a w ay around this.



One way of having plants where there's no shelving/raised area is to hang the planting baskets over the sides. I've threaded nylon rope through some of my baskets and tied them behind big rocks so that the baskets are at the depth I want. Using sleepers you could rig up something better I'm sure. There's probably better ways but this way works for me and doesn't require taking up any floor space. It also prevents the fish from knocking the baskets over!
Excuse the simplicity - I'm not used to Paint - but something like this:






Viv


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## dean (30 Apr 2012)

*Re: help setup my first pond*

Instead of trying to hang the baskets why not just buy taller baskets ?
You can use anything that gives you the right height ie plastic buckets or bins,
You've gone completely OTT with pump and filter, whoever sold it you should be ashamed 
The pond is too shallow to house fish in it during a cold winter
Deep pond are required for two reasons
1, the deeper the pond the more constant the temperature and less likely of it being too cold at the bottom during winter and too warm in the summer
2, depth = exercise fish in shallow pools tend to be fat and out of shape as they can't exercise by swimming up and down looking for food
You should treat this as a large aquarium and do weekly water changes etc 
Why do you want a uv? Why not use plants ie floating ones duckweed will soon cover it and give any poor fish some shelter from predators and stop green water
What do you want from this pond?
It's really not ideal for fish and it's too deep for marginal plants


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## dean (30 Apr 2012)

*Re: help setup my first pond*

If you are going to keep fish in it over winter I'd remove the pump and run a small air pump having the airstone about 6 inches below the surface not on the bottom so an aquarium air pump will do or at least raise the pond pump off the bottom as much as possible and have any water returning to the pond level with the surface to keep any area open incase of ice
Don't have water dropping from waterfalls as it will cool the water too much
Insulate the filter too, build something around it to stop it freezing and chilling the water too much


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## tyrophagus (5 Jun 2012)

*My first pond 12 months ago - the build*

Hi folks

Long time coming this post so be prepared for a picture heavy post.  I took photos as I built the pond so I'll post them over a number of posts.

I purchased a nexus easy pod + an aquamax Eco 4500 + a 175 x 125 x 60 cm preformed plastic pond which is roughly 1000l.  I appreciate all the replies and yes I think a deeper pond would have been better but we are where we are. 

I started by laying out a rough design on the lawn, bearing in mind my other half did not want a pond and insisted it was kept small.  As you will see the pond grew in size and I walked a tightrope trying to convince her it would still look small.  The idea was to develop a patio garden.

I started with this:





and ended with this (well not quite finished):





As you can see its a small garden.  My kind neighbour has let me use some of her garden so there is a fence in the 2nd photo and a bridge across a drainage ditch.  

This shows the original location for the pond but it ended up being moved towards the fence.  I employed another neighbour to help with the landscaping and he removed the tree for me.


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## tyrophagus (5 Jun 2012)

*My first pond 12 months later (may 2012)*

The beast!  as some have pointed out its overkill for 1000l but I'm coming at this from a planted tank bias.  I love this filter.


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## tyrophagus (5 Jun 2012)

*My first pond 12 months ago*

The sumps in and the pressure pipe glued into place









UV filter installed with ball valves and waterfall pipe installed.  I later moved the ball valve positions.


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## tyrophagus (5 Jun 2012)

*My first pond 12 months ago*





This image shows where the veggie filter/waterfall will live and the waterfall inflow pipe + the filter drain pipe.  Also bedding the pond in with some water.





There is also an overflow drain you can see just on the right





The patio is going down at the same time.


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## tyrophagus (5 Jun 2012)

*My first pond 12 months ago*

So the liner is installed in the waterfall area and needs a trim. 









Trimmed liner and edged.





Slabs down







First plants in


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## tyrophagus (5 Jun 2012)

*My first pond 12 months ago*

So I changed my mind about the waterfall area and decided to fill the depths of the lined area with pond filter tubes, cover with hessian and plant my plants in bags rather than pots.  Also kept the soil levels low as I wanted these plants to feed off the nutrients in the water.


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## tyrophagus (5 Jun 2012)

*My first pond 12 months ago*





I had to change the waterfall from sandstone to slate as it was causing to much splashing and wetting the wood.  the sharper finer edge of the slate is much better.


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## foxfish (5 Jun 2012)

Excellent job, you have made a great choice of filter.
All to frequently you see folk using little back boxes attached to big, difficult to maintain, ponds where as you have adopted the right approach & used a decent sized filter, on an easy maintenance pond - well done   
Did you install a top up valve?


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## tyrophagus (5 Jun 2012)

*Re: My first pond (edit: 12 months later June 2012)*



			
				foxfish said:
			
		

> Excellent job, you have made a great choice of filter.
> All to frequently you see folk using little back boxes attached to big, difficult to maintain, ponds where as you have adopted the right approach & used a decent sized filter, on an easy maintenance pond - well done
> Did you install a top up valve?



Thanks for the thumbs up.  I learned from planted tanks they need to have an easy cleaning and water change system.  The one thing I did not do was install a top up valve.  I assume that by this you mean to top up the water level?  I still use a hose.  

This is the filter in cleaning mode and you can see I've change the ball valve positions.  I hardly use the UV.






Current pictures (June 2012)


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## Ady34 (5 Jun 2012)

An absolutely lovely use of space.
I have the same pond (laguna self supporting?), set raised in decking. Yours is much better thought out and engineered. Im just using a pressurised external with uv, but its doing the trick with the eight goldfish/shubunkins.
Looks like with this and the new tank position inside youve been very busy and both look great. 
Good job and keep us posted.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## somethingfishy (5 Jun 2012)

This is stunning i would love to be able to relax in a garden space like yours ... haha obviously after putting in all the hard work that you have 

Now just need to get my wife to read this thread and agree!


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