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:
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.