Arapaima Pond Build

[Luc70]

Lol, thanks Pacu-mom... He's very appreciative.
After the video, our cleaning lady dropped a cup of pellets in the water and he just went for it.
Splashing his tail, spilling a couple of liters of water over both of us...hahaha.
Guess it would have made for a nice picture, 2 of us standing there dripping with water...lol...

But agree, he's awesome. Difficult to measure or compare, but most visitors who saw him before say he's growing like crazy.
Sure looks a lot more full bodied and longer.

Thanks for the comment.
Will keep the pictures and videos coming.

Cheers,
Luc

 

[Luc70]

Tomorrow getting closer...finally.
Got the 'good' crew tomorrow, hard workers and they understand what I want.
List for tomorrow:

- Move the old pond a bit to see if that works.
- Last structuring with sand and water (to fill gaps and settle it) at the wall at the Settling Tank side.
- Cut the underlaying tarp to fit around the Settling Tank and down to the ground outside of the pond and inside the bog-area.
- Dig out another meter where the old pond has been moved. This should provide enough temporary space for Mr. T. after transfer.
- Put nylon big bags hanging over the concrete wall to protect the final Liner.
- Take the liner out of the bag.
- Roll it up ready for 'deployment'.
- Start rolling it from the settling tank until it's over the bottom-drain.

Rails not done yet, but will see when we can do that.
There are some idea's forming on how to fix and hide the top of the liner at the viewing/feeding side area...
Working on it.

Cheers,
Luc

 

[Luc70]

Wow, time and posts fly...post 103 now...lol
Anyhow, amazed about how fast it went today.
All the above mentioned has been done.
I'm ready for the scariest part of the pond, cutting the liner.
Going to do that after lunch...it's now drying, we washed the underlayer this morning to remove sand and stones.
Good thing is that the water does not drain away easily. That means that it's almost rockbottom hard under the pond.

Making the pond of Mr.T. smaller was a breeze.
Just fold the excess liner on the left side over the water to the right.
Hook it up over there, ensure there's breathing space for him, but at the same time, he couldn't see anything what was happening on the other side. He was just quiet and his usual self.
Now with a smaller pond, he might be wondering a bit, but ok, he'll have to be patient for two weeks for the sun-shades and the testing process before moving him.

For the move, I will likely just use a forklift, pump out a lot of water first, then lift the complete liner a bit up.
Then take away all the sand-bags and steel construction around his pond.
Last part is then to move him above the new pond, lower him and slowly open a side of the liner.
New pond of course filled up already with some water, so mixing it with his pond-water and then pulling the liner slowly away from underneath.

Anyhow, that's in 2 weeks.
some pictures of the smaller pond and the liner in place.

 

[Luc70]

And the last work for today....
- Bottom Drain is now done. Wait till Tuesday, then test fill first...pray it's waterproof....
Followed all the basic steps.
1. Cut away the under-liner.
2. Dry and clean the area around the bottom-drain.
3. Put the top-liner over, locate the air-line.
4. Cut small hole around the air-line first.
5. Cut bigger hole about 1cm inside the bottom-drain.
6. Put a lot of silicone under the liner around the drain.
7. Put the liner on and stroke silicone slightly away from the drain opening.
8. Locate markings for the screw-holes.
9. Put the ring on top.
10. finish with screws and fasten them, but not tighten them 100% to keep silicone under the ring.

- Dome has been patched up, ready for paint. Maybe next week.

Sure testing with a little bit of water mid this week for the bottom-drain...exciting....

Pictures:

 

[Gar88]

very nice progress Luc... and amazed to see how he lets u pet him... keep it comin

 

[Luc70]

Thanks Najib, will sure do. Today finished, it's bloody hot and working full sunshine.
Lost a few liters I guess, but very happy all went as planned again,
Now just hope the test fill can be done soon.

Need to find waterproof paint and get the fences up. Hope sunshade is finished next week as well.
Then finally move that old pond and finish it.

 

[Darsie]

Been following both of your threads and what an awesome story. keep up the good work

 

[Luc70]

Thanks Darsie,

Getting more difficult to wait for next day work on it.
But ok, end is in sight, we are closer to first filling.
Will keep all of you updated..

 

[Luc70]

Think the liner will be perfect. Need to get a long stick with a sponge at the end for cleaning.
Along the way, I'm going to scout for some big pieces of wood to break it up.
Figured already to use PVC pipe and some wire to pull the shades from the back wall to the front.
They are 1 meter wide, cut to 5 meters and glue them to a couple of PVC pipes. Piece of wire with two eyes at the end through the PVC pipe that slide over 2 cables. Need 10 of these shades and most will be covered.

 

[Luc70]

Very curious how Mr.T will adjust. From dark pond to very light.
For sure need to get the shades and netting at the side done first, then pull the trigger on it.
Also still need to build a temporary support for the side next to his old pond to keep water in there while removing the old one and digging out the soil below it.
But with today's experience, getting more confident on it.