My pond build from this past summer

[mp3coupe]

A little progress, not sure I can get much done this week, rain expected until Saturday.

Got both sand and gravel filters plumbed in, those will be hidden behind the waterfall.


filter pit got boxed in, still need to do a roof and door, gave it a slight angle so the rain runs off the roof.


pump got installed finally


airlift exits got upgraded to 2" from 1 1/2" gained several hundred gph




water starting to clear up pretty quick


Fish are finally in the pond and they seem to be happy and hungry!!

 

[Andyroo]

I thought the air was going to be moving your water- if so, why the water-pump then?
Or have I been mistaken from the start?

Fantastic, by the way...
A

 

[mp3coupe]

I thought the air was going to be moving your water- if so, why the water-pump then?
Or have I been mistaken from the start?

Fantastic, by the way...
A

I have 2 circuits,
circuit 1) bottom drains > settlement tank > bio > (airlift) and back to the pond.
circuit 2) skimmers > pump > sand and gravel filters > waterfall.

I would like to run all air but the thing with airlifts is your really restricted with how high you can lift water. Another thing is filtration, many types of filters have a little bit of head making it difficult to run airlifts. After having 2 S&G filters on the previous pond it's hard to give them up, they do a hell of a job polishing the water and handing the bio load.

I already have notes for when I redo this pond, it will probably stay the same size but I'll be removing the 1.5" pvc returns with 3" this way I can lower the lift height of the airlifts and gain a lot more flow.

thanks

 

[mp3coupe]

I've very pleased with the sand and gravel filters. In earlier pics the water clarity was horrible. In less than a weeks time, gin clear water

13 koi, and 4goldfish in the pond, have another 10 more koi in the QT tank along with 1 goldfish
[YT]tykah6KfbLM[/YT]

If the rain can hold out tomorrow, I'll be digging out another hole by the waterfall 5' diameter 2 1/2' deep for a tub that will house 60 koi fry I'm raising, -filtration = flow through system. I need to get the 60 fry out of the 40gal tank LOL

 

[mp3coupe]

Borrowing these pics from my indoor tank build, this is the construction of the S&G filters. These filters can do a ton of bio and really polish the water, and pretty cheap to make.

This pipe on the bottom is just a drain if you want to empty the drum or do a weekly quick flush to get whatever settled at the bottom of the drum.


This is the inlet from the pump, each leg has a 1" hole drilled in each 90, the idea is to have a circular motion


A grate to allow stuff to settle at the bottom of the tank, keep the rocks off the floor of the drum.


This is the air wand manifold - I connect a shop vac blower to that pipe to churn the gravel, which releases the trapped waste / garbage from the water.


Once that is all in place, 3/4 or larger stone about 5" and then pea gravel or other stone 3/8 in size and then on top of that #12 blasting sand or a very fine stone - chicken grit


A few seconds with the blower on and the upper gate valve opened allowing the waste to exit.

 

[cockroach]

B E A U T I F U L!
Sorry if I missed it but could you please explain the last 4 pics a bit more.

 

[mp3coupe]

B E A U T I F U L!
Sorry if I missed it but could you please explain the last 4 pics a bit more.

The sand and gravel filters are up flow filters. They have a speed rating of about 1,500-2000gph or less, usually any faster than that you start to churn the surface layer which is usually sand. If you keep it around the speeds suggested it traps very well, and does do bio. I can't find #12 sand here nor chicken grit - (bits of granite) I ended up having to make my top layer out of stone dust. I used an old window screen with frame. I place the window screen on top of the wheel barrow and dump 2 shoves of stone dust on it and then use the garden hose to clean the dust, I'd say 1/2 the stone dust is just that dust. What the screen ends up trapping works out great for the top layer of stone in the filter.
This is my top layer which really traps, polishes the water well.




Here is a link that describes the filter well, where I learned about it.
http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?36550-55-Gal-Drum-Sand-and-gravel-filter-DIY&highlight=

The cleaning wand above is a little overkill - another thread on building them using a more basic air wand.
http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?68132-Birdman-s-Sand-Gravel-Filter&highlight=

I don't have a blower like those guys, I just use my shopvac which has a pull off motor to be used for blowing leaves, works fine.

 

[mp3coupe]

I got the fry tank in the ground today. I plan on having water from the waterfall, probably from the S&G filter feed fresh water into this tank and have a exit into the pond - flow through system. I counted 53 babies I had in my 40 gallon breeder tank Really nothing special - just mutts.

 

[mp3coupe]

Just a few updates.....

rigged up a net, fish spawned on 6/3 and 6/6, on 6/6 I lost a 12-14" koi by the time I found him he was crispy.


Put up a small block wall to keep the 3/8 river stone in place, also a small patio from left over Japanese stepping stones


Fry tank is up and running

On 6/3 this pair spawned.


6/6 these 2 pairs went at it.





3 days later


just snapped


what appears to be a fry, is a fry - hard to photo something so small.
My best guess is several hundred since no mater where I look in the tank all I see is fry.

 

[cockroach]

Sweet, well done.