Koi Pond Build

Eclipsar

Koi Pond Build

Thought it was a good time to start the new pond, as I need more space for all the koi I seem to have acquired. Just click on a picture to enlarge them.

Digging Has Started

To say the ground is hard is a under statement, glad I am not digging this by hand as it would of been very hard work as I was digging out 2' boulders.

Hole Complete

Just needs leveling and squaring up, then the fun of laying the pipe work and concrete begins.

Sides Square

Well, after squaring the pond with the digger, I managed to hit a land drain. Thought no big problem as it did not produce much water. After a day of rain I managed to get 6" water in the bottom. So found the other end of the pipe and the water soon vanished. So had to relay a pipe in the bottom to stop it filling up again. Its nearly ready for pipe work.

Concrete Poured

At last it is starting to look like a pond. The concrete went down better than expected as it was mixed on site in the back of the lorry. The concrete was made fairly wet so that it would spread itself fairly well over the base of the pond, so did not need to much work to level it out. Still not easy but better than expected.

Building Begins

This is just the start of the 500+ block which have to be layed. I went with 6" blocks, as this meant there was less blocks to lay.

Halfway There

It is nice to get the pond out of the ground and it is now at the halfway point, so only a few more hundred blocks to go.

Blockwork Finished

At long last all the blockwork is complete and it starting to look like a pond.

Fibreglassed

The pond is now fibreglassed with 2 layers of 0.450 matting and only the flowcoat to go.

Filling Up

Have now fitted the two aerated bottom drains, so can now start filling the pond up.

Filters

I have decided to go with 2 Nexus 300 Easy, as I have used these on my other ponds and they have done very well.

1st Leak

I was filling the pond up a bit further when I spotted I had a leak from the ball valve on the bottom drain, I tried tightening it up a bit further but to no avail. The leak was coming from connection to the ball valve on the bottom side of the valve, so shutting the valve made no difference. So I had to drained the pond down until it was level with the top of the valve then I could open the valve and push a towel down through the valve into the pipe to allow me to remove the valve and this trick also saved me draining the pond down another 12 inches. The problem with the connection was the rubber o ring had moved when I put the ball valve on, so put it back into place and all back together, also remembered to remove the towel and started to fill the pond back up.

Going Backwards

It seems like I am going backwards at the moment as the pond is losing 2.5 inches a day when full. So the hunt was on to find the leak, all the pipe work above ground was fine including both returns, the only place I could find some dampness was on the blocks below one of the returns but this did not seem wet enough for the amount of water loss. So the decision was made to drop the water level to just below these returns and see if I could see anything from inside.

Heating

The good news is the pond is not losing any water, so I have finally managed to get the heating connected.

I used Hep2o pipe work, which is so easy to use compared with copper as all you do is cut to length and push fit the connectors.

Overflow Boxes

I had two overflow box's made by Alternative Aquatics and I was very pleased with the results. They have a adjustable pipe which screws in and out so you can adjust the water level on the pond, this now allows me to have a constent trickle of fresh water going into the pond and once the pond gets to the desired level the water from the pipes the airline run in goes to waste. I have now fitted them to the pond, so I can fill the pond to the desired height.

Bakki Showers

Have fitted a set a Bakki Showers to the main pond, I have had a set spare for some time now and thought with all this nice hot weather we are having along with me putting a extra 50 nisai into the pond, thought it would be a good idea to add a bit of extra filtration to the pond. It will also give me the extra scope to feed at a higher rate.

Drum Filter

This is the inside of the filter were you can see the drum along with the spray bar, I am very impressed with the quality of the unit as it is made from stainless steel and is very well engineered. The drum filter works exceedingly well and is totaly maintenance free.

Ready For Concrete

Finally managed to get the two bottom drains fitted along with the pipe work, I decided to go with Spindrift aerated bottom drains these have 4" drains and a 1.5" air pipe.

So we are all ready for the concrete, which is handy as the concrete is coming early tomorrow morning.

Blocks Arrived.

The blocks arrived today and had them off loaded on to pallets so that the forklift could move them closer to the pond. This is only part of the load of blocks as there are to many to fit into the barn.

As you can see I have managed to tidy the place up a bit while waiting for the blocks to be delivered.

Now the fun begins in laying all the blocks.

Coming Along

The build is coming along nicely, having got to ground level on two walls.

Ground level is half the total height of the pond, so you feel you are getting close to halfway.

At The Top

Finally managed to get the back and one of the side walls to there finished height, only another two to go before all the blockwork is finished.

Keeping Warm

Decided it would be a good idea to insulate the pond, I went for 1" thick polyurethane foam sheets, the sheets where nailed to the blocks with 40mm maisonry nails and where cut to length with a knife. With luck this should help keep the heating costs down.

Finished

I was undecided on what colour to go with for the flowcoat, but ended up going with black. Now all I need to do is fit the two aerated bottom drains then I can start filling the pond up.

Halfway

The pond is now half full cannot go any further until I have done all the pipe work.

Starting The Pipe Work

I went with two returns, one from each filter, each return has a Sequence 10,000 pump and a 130,000 heat exchanger. One of the returns also has a TMC Pro Clear 55 Watt UV.

Still have some pipe work to do but all open pipes from the pond are now connected so I can now fill the pond up.

2nd & 3rd Leak

It seems like it is going to be the week of leaks, I decided to get the system running without connecting the waste ball valves from the Nexus units, which was just as well as two of these ball valves where leaking when in the closed position. So had to dump the contents on to the floor to remove the valves so I could tighten the seal on the valve as these have a screw thread to hold the ball in, I also turned the valves around so I could now adjust them without dumping the contents first.

Taking A Swim

I decide to take the plunge and go for a swim, shame I had not managed to heat the water as it was not very warm. With the water level just below the returns I could see a crack around the return which had the damp blocks below it, so dried the fibreglass and applied some sealant. Fingers crossed it will cure the problem.

Looking Good

Just finished the woodwork around the top of the pond, which makes a big difference and makes the pond look finished, but there is still a few things to do as I have not got power to the pond yet as it is running on a extension lead, so thats the next job. Then I have to fit two overflow boxes to the airline pipes which come from the bottom drains, so the pond is not quiet full at the moment.

Finished

Sorry for the delay, finally managed to get round to taking a photo of the finished pond.

Koi

A few of the koi enjoying there new pond.

Pond Update

Just a quick update to say that everything is running well and I am very pleased with how the pond is performing. The above photo shows my koi at 7 feet deep.

New Filtration

I decided it was time to improve the filteration system on the pond, the Nexus 300's are doing a great job, but I wanted a system which is maintenance free. So I have now fitted a Drum Filter.

Larger Drum Filter

I have been running the 1st drum filter for about 6 months and the clarity of the water is stunning, so I have made the decision to upgrade the drum to a larger model, as I would like to pull more water through the unit.

New Set of Bakki Showers

The pond has been running with two sets of bakki showers since I fitted the 1st drum filter, but I have been wanting to fit a 3rd set of bakki showers for sometime and finally got round to fitting the third set. I always like to have plenty of filteration on a pond as this always gives me scope to increase the amount of koi I can keep in a pond.