# Some Pictures of my Pond



## dl88dl

Finally I got sometime to post some pictures of my pond. This pond has been running for over 5 years and I am still doing improvement to it but the landscape has growing in nicely.
Hope you enjoy it and thanks for looking


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## ChuckRum

looks amazing! ever go swimming with your koi?

all you need is a few red eared slider turtles and it will be complete


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## solarz

Very beautiful! How much work is it to prepare it for winter?


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## Riceburner

Very nice. +1, what do you do for winter prep?


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## Y2KGT

Very nice Dave. You have some of the nicest pieces of Kingston Weathered Stone I've seen.

Looks a lot like my yard if I remove the pool and use the hole for a pond. That sounds like a great idea.
--
Paul


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## dl88dl

ChuckRum said:


> looks amazing! ever go swimming with your koi?
> 
> all you need is a few red eared slider turtles and it will be complete


Just last week I was in the pond lol I had to redo the in-pond surface skimmer and some of the Kois actually swim near me.
I am not really into turtles and in the winter I have to bring them indoor.



solarz said:


> Very beautiful! How much work is it to prepare it for winter?


Thanks, not too much just setup a 100Watts floating heater with a small air pump and air stone to have a hole open for gas exchange. A large WC and add some salt to make it 1% to reduce the osmotic pressure. I also add a 60 foot roofing wire heater in the pond. Most of the work is in the spring.



Riceburner said:


> Very nice. +1, what do you do for winter prep?


Thanks...wish I could take nice pictures like you



Y2KGT said:


> Very nice Dave. You have some of the nicest pieces of Kingston Weathered Stone I've seen.
> 
> Looks a lot like my yard if I remove the pool and use the hole for a pond. That sounds like a great idea.
> --
> Paul


Thanks Paul, I got 2 skids full of these Kingston rocks just over 11,000 pounds. Once I get all the parts for the sand filter then I will hook it up.
Thanks for that filter.
BTW, I can come over and help you remove your pool and install a pond instead but I guess your wife will kill me before I can get the job done


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## PACMAN

so do you leave the fish in the pond through winter? (im a pond noob) what work is done is spring?

do you worry at all about raccoons?


also, any winter pics?


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## tom g

*wow*

wow very kewl ,just showed my wife , wrong ,wrong ,wrong ,wrong . ,she asked me to get the shovel out lol no just kidding very nice set up ,was at NAFB all there kois are like half price have good assortment from small to large .not that u need anymore that is 
cheers 
tom


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## dl88dl

PACMAN said:


> so do you leave the fish in the pond through winter? (im a pond noob) what work is done is spring?
> 
> do you worry at all about raccoons?
> 
> also, any winter pics?


Yes I leave the Kois in that pond all year round. Spring time has the most work since the Koi's immune system don't kick in until the temperature goes above 55F or 12.5C and the full immune at around 75F or 23.9C and some bad bugs will be active around 45F or 7.2C. In spring I will do another large WC and add salt to make the water at 3% to fight of some of these bad bugs. With the regular WC the salt level will come down.
Pond water at 1% salt is ideal for the Kois since it will reduce the osmotic pressure.
I don't worry about raccoons or birds since I don't have any shallow part in the pond and all the side of the pond has deep incline.
I don't have any winter pics yet since all there is snow and a small hole in the pond...not much too see



tom g said:


> wow very kewl ,just showed my wife , wrong ,wrong ,wrong ,wrong . ,she asked me to get the shovel out lol no just kidding very nice set up ,was at NAFB all there kois are like half price have good assortment from small to large .not that u need anymore that is
> cheers
> tom


Get the shovel out and I will help you dig lol...anyways it took us 5 days to dig that hole with a backhoe that we rented. You never can have too much fishy lol I was at NAFB and got the 19" Koi for $80 from $199 but they are very skinny. They must have not feed those Kois very much since the tanks are small for all those Kois
See pictures below


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## Y2KGT

dl88dl said:


> In spring I will do another large WC and add salt to make the water at 3% to fight of some of these bad bugs. With the regular WC the salt level will come down.
> Pond water at 1% salt is ideal for the Kois since it will reduce the osmotic pressure.


Hey Dave,
Curious how you measure your salt concentration? Do you use one of those salt pens? I'm thinking of getting one to use when I treat my tanks with salt.

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/ponds-and-supplies/c378032104/c378032115/p16697749.html

Also what salt do you use?
--
Paul


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## tobalman

Great set up and beautiful looking pond. If I have pond like that for sure in summer I will fill if up with cichlid. LOL


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## AquaNekoMobile

Wow an aquaponic dream wit that size of a pond.  I wonder how much WC water volume is removed? What if a few 1000L IBC's were inground installed and the WC water pumped in then you could use that saved water to water the garden or go hyrdoponic on the fence and circ the clean water back into the pond or use it as first rinse water when cleaning the car/deck/etc to loosen up debris then use clean water after the wash. BTW sweet looking pond. What's the damage on the wallet fo rthat setup? I'd love to have floating rafts in a setup like that with lettuce on top growing.


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## dl88dl

Y2KGT said:


> Hey Dave,
> Curious how you measure your salt concentration? Do you use one of those salt pens? I'm thinking of getting one to use when I treat my tanks with salt.
> 
> http://www.petsandponds.com/en/ponds-and-supplies/c378032104/c378032115/p16697749.html
> 
> Also what salt do you use?
> --
> Paul


That is the exact salt pen I use...works great
To make my pond 3% I have to use 132 pounds of salt so I use the Windsor Select Plus extra pure water conditioner salt. 44 pounds bag is about $4.
I been using this salt for over 20 years for my aquariums and the last 5 years on my pond without any issues.



tobalman said:


> Great set up and beautiful looking pond. If I have pond like that for sure in summer I will fill if up with cichlid. LOL


Thanks Hong, if I put cichlids in that pond it will be a chore to catch them to bring them indoor for the winter



AquaNekoMobile said:


> Wow an aquaponic dream wit that size of a pond.  I wonder how much WC water volume is removed? What if a few 1000L IBC's were inground installed and the WC water pumped in then you could use that saved water to water the garden or go hyrdoponic on the fence and circ the clean water back into the pond or use it as first rinse water when cleaning the car/deck/etc to loosen up debris then use clean water after the wash. BTW sweet looking pond. What's the damage on the wallet fo rthat setup? I'd love to have floating rafts in a setup like that with lettuce on top growing.


The side where I drain the water the grass is very green. Sometime I do use that water to water my garden. I never keep track of how much I spend on this project. 2 skids of Kingston Weathered rock, 1 skid of flag stone for the walk way and 3 cubic yard of sand delivered cost me over $3000. I brought the whole roll of liner plus the under liner which takes 4 big guys to move. I am sure that I still have all the bills somewhere but I just don't want to add it all up lol
BTW, I try and do a weekly WC of 2000gal to 3000gal.
The initial water fill up took over 2 days to fill my pond.


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## AquaNekoMobile

Man if you want to rid a lot of nitrates pump that pond water to some strawberries, green beans, basil, and zucchini plants in a aquaponic setup. Zucchini are heavy feeders, and basil does exceptionally well in aquaponics. You'll have so much basil you may as well sell to the local indy market/italian market/friends/etc. The return water comes back clean and you just need to worry about top up water from the plants taking in the nutrients. Add enough plants and forget about needing any algacide in the water as you'll have a hard time having algae growing when the plants suck it all up and return ediable goodness to you or for profit.


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## pingpong

Wow. Going to have call you when I retire in 4 years.


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## dl88dl

pingpong said:


> Wow. Going to have call you when I retire in 4 years.


Anytime Mike...lucky guy you get to retire in only 4 years


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## dl88dl

AquaNekoMobile said:


> Man if you want to rid a lot of nitrates pump that pond water to some strawberries, green beans, basil, and zucchini plants in a aquaponic setup. Zucchini are heavy feeders, and basil does exceptionally well in aquaponics. You'll have so much basil you may as well sell to the local indy market/italian market/friends/etc. The return water comes back clean and you just need to worry about top up water from the plants taking in the nutrients. Add enough plants and forget about needing any algacide in the water as you'll have a hard time having algae growing when the plants suck it all up and return ediable goodness to you or for profit.


Sounds like a good idea but I don't have the room to grow any veggies. My backyard has the pond and a very large deck without any grass just plants and trees.


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## peterpd99

Dave...one word.
INSPIRATIONAL !!


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## dl88dl

peterpd99 said:


> Dave...one word.
> INSPIRATIONAL !!


Thank you ...


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## default

amazing looking pond. just beautiful.
but i was planning on setting one up aswell, maybe half the size of yours, but i was just wondering some beginner questions >.<. - the connection of your pumps to an outlet, do you require anything special? like for the winter or rainy days? or just any reguler outlet outside my backyard be able handle wet or cold conditions?


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## dl88dl

default said:


> amazing looking pond. just beautiful.
> but i was planning on setting one up aswell, maybe half the size of yours, but i was just wondering some beginner questions >.<. - the connection of your pumps to an outlet, do you require anything special? like for the winter or rainy days? or just any reguler outlet outside my backyard be able handle wet or cold conditions?


Thanks...I use the electrical outlet with breaker.


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## default

dl88dl said:


> Thanks...I use the electrical outlet with breaker.


would i be able to puchase this at places like lowes? and have you had any problems with it?
-thanks


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## dl88dl

default said:


> would i be able to puchase this at places like lowes? and have you had any problems with it?
> -thanks


Yes, you can buy them at most hardware stores. You must also buy the housing for this electrical outlet that is for outdoor use and it is water proof.


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## shark

such a beautiful pond i bet when you come home from a long day at work you just spend hours sitting, watching your pond so relaxing great job man


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## dl88dl

shark said:


> such a beautiful pond i bet when you come home from a long day at work you just spend hours sitting, watching your pond so relaxing great job man


Thanks, it is very relaxing watching the Kois swimming around but they are always begging for food.


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## tom g

*nice*

hey can u take some pics of your filtration system , im just curious as to how u set it up with your barrels ,


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## bigfishy

Nice pond! You should take photo of your amazing fish room too!


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## dl88dl

tom g said:


> hey can u take some pics of your filtration system , im just curious as to how u set it up with your barrels ,


The first picture is the vortex filter the water enters this filter by gravity via the bottom drain using 4" pipe. The bottom drain is at the deepest part of the pond which is 7.5 feet. The water enters this vortex at a 45 degree which causes the vortex action and most of the craps will settle to the bottom of this vortex and water flow to the top drain into the next filter which is full of K1 kaldnes moving bed(second picture) and the next 4 barrels are full of bio-balls and matting(picture 3, 5 & 6) These 6 barrels are connected with 9x 4" bulkheads. 4" bulkhead cost around $55 each x 9 = $495 so I did the DIY 4" bulkheads and each bulkhead consist of 2x 4" ABS toilet flange and 4 sets of stainless steel bolts and nuts and 2x rubber washer was from the left over pond liner. The 4" PVC pipe fits perfectly into the ABS toilet flange.
Each of these 6 barrels also has a 2" bottom drain and the 2" bulkhead are also DIY from the 2" kitchen sink drain.
Picture 7 is the Trickle Tower filter full of bio-balls with matting and floss on top. The bottom of this barrel I drilled many .5" holes. The pump for this filter is in the little pond connected to the main pond which acts as a surface skimmer. This pump feeds the 2 36watts UVC and into the top of TT filter and water exits via the bottom that has many holes creating a shower with many lava rocks at the bottom of this shower and water returns back to the main pond via a small river.
Picture 8 is the high pressure sand filter which will be hook up just after the 2x UVC and before the TT filter. This filter will help polish the water before it will enter the TT filter.
BTW, the bottom drain is also a DIY using one 4" ABS toilet flange and one top 4" toilet flange with 4 sets of stainless steel bolts and nuts. A 4" bottom drain cost between $100 to $500.


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## chagoi99

Wow awesome pond and kois.


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## dl88dl

chagoi99 said:


> Wow awesome pond and kois.


Thanks...hows your fishy doing these days


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## PACMAN

Well Dave the Aquaholic, that filtration system is intense!


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## dl88dl

PACMAN said:


> Well Dave the Aquaholic, that filtration system is intense!


Thanks PACMAN, by doing the DIY filtration systems I save over $3000.
Also, the filtration systems on the market usually uses 2" or 3" pipe works but I prefer the 4" pipes which push more water.


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## chagoi99

dl88dl said:


> Thanks...hows your fishy doing these days


They are doing great. Great improvement on your landscape.


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## dl88dl

chagoi99 said:


> They are doing great. Great improvement on your landscape.


That's good news. Thanks and the landscaping is coming around nicely


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## AquaNekoMobile

dl88dl said:


> Sounds like a good idea but I don't have the room to grow any veggies. My backyard has the pond and a very large deck without any grass just plants and trees.







You don't have to build something like that if you're interested. Just have a piece of sheet styrafoam float over say 1/4 of the pond or less with some pea gravel inside some small styrafoam or net pots or gardening mini pots. Float over the pond and you're good to go. Another biofilter with ediable benefits. Hey the fish can help trim some of the roots as well for some snacks.


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## dl88dl

AquaNekoMobile said:


> You don't have to build something like that if you're interested. Just have a piece of sheet styrafoam float over say 1/4 of the pond or less with some pea gravel inside some small styrafoam or net pots or gardening mini pots. Float over the pond and you're good to go. Another biofilter with ediable benefits. Hey the fish can help trim some of the roots as well for some snacks.


Very interesting but it will not work in my pond with my Kois. I try different kinds of floating plants but they will eat it all in 2 or 3 days. They also destroy 2 of my water lilies. My pond also has 2 shelfs at 20" below the surface where I placed a 5 gal pot full of soil and small rocks on top of the soil. Guess what the bigger Kois leap up and try and get those plants and eventually they knock over the pot and into the pond and start eating the plant. You would think I don't feed them lol.
BTW, styrofoam float over 1/4 of my pond will not look too nice and the main reason people build Koi ponds is to look at the Kois swimming around and not to look at styrofoam lol


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## Kerohime

This makes me miss Koi so much!
I used to name my dad's koi, but he only kept them in a 200 gal aquarium inside, I wish I could one day build one of these but our house is in the city with a small backyard. 

Beautiful and breathtaking pond setup. I would just go outside and sit on those rocks and watch them... maybe dip my feet into the water. =)


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## dl88dl

Kerohime said:


> This makes me miss Koi so much!
> I used to name my dad's koi, but he only kept them in a 200 gal aquarium inside, I wish I could one day build one of these but our house is in the city with a small backyard.
> 
> Beautiful and breathtaking pond setup. I would just go outside and sit on those rocks and watch them... maybe dip my feet into the water. =)


Thanks...if I dip my feet into the pond I might kill all my Kois


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