First outdoor pond started...

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Well in my setup, the pump is going to be in the skimmer, then pumping directly into the bog filter. There shouldn't be a great deal of solids coming through it at all, although some of the finer sediment will come through and eventually settle to the bottom.

I think I'm going to go with a single Beckett 3,500gph pump for now, and see how it works. If I feel I need more water flow, then I can always order another one.
 
The liners, skimmer, and pump are officially ordered :headbang2.

I'm hoping that at least the liner arrives before next weekend. If it does, then I'll be putting in the liner next weekend. Hopefully I'll have the bog filter built and ready to line as well. If things go really well and everything arrives on time, I ought to have the pond and bog lined, the skimmer buried and installed, and the plumbing between the skimmer and bog filter finished. Then its just a matter of making the waterfall from the skimmer back into the pond, and I can fill it up and test it!!
 
Loads of good news today. I ordered the liners, pumps, and skimmer yesterday at about noon... the smaller liner, for the bog filter, was actually delivered this afternoon :eek:! UPS must be slow or something, since it was ground delivery from Philadelphia....

Also, my deck is, for all intents and purposes, now DONE!!! :headbang2:headbang2

Tomorrow I can start working on the pond again. I'm going to dig the deep end down to 4.5 feet, at least, and then I'm going to widen one end of it from 6 feet to 8 feet (closer to the deck). Then I will be building the bog filter between the pond and deck, so that the plants will grow up nice and be visible at the edge of the deck like a garden, and we can look down into the bog and see the smaller fish I plan on stocking it with.

If the other liner, skimmer, and pump all show up as fast as the first liner did, this thing could be lined and filled next weekend :headbang2:headbang2:D.

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Deck looks real sweet!!!

I wouldn't do the bog between the deck and pond. If the pond came right up to the edge of the deck, or even slightly past under the lip of the deck giving a zero edge look right at the deck....

Something to think about.

Great work so far, any shelves planned?
 
Well, I thought about enlarging the pond up close to the deck, but there is a safety factor to worry about, as there will not be any railings on the deck.

I figured the bog would look good next to the deck, with the plants growing up past the edge of the deck. I won't put anything super tall in it, or it would block the view of the pond.

I am widening the pond though. Instead of its current 6' wide, its going to be closer to 8' wide. So total gallonage is increasing accordingly. New projected size: 15'Lx8'Wx4'D = 3,590.65 gallons. I'm guessing that it will actually be between 3,000 and 3,300g, since the floor will slope, and the walls slope a little as well.

I'll post some more pics tonight when i get home. I've got the top half of the bog filter framed and setting where I think I want it, and I started digging the pond out wider Sunday. It sprinkled just enough yesterday to keep me from doing any more digging though. I might be able to get the digging done tonight, but its not really a rush since I don't have the liner for the pond yet.

Oh, and the INSIDE dimensions of the bog filter will be: 71"Lx36.25"Wx24"D, with the water level around 22", so the bog will hold (before adding gravel) approximately 245g of water. The gravel will displace a lot of that, but its still a nice size bog!!
 
Here's some shots of where the bog will be. You can see in the last pic where I'm widening the pond towards the bog a couple feet. This area will be sloped/stepped, not sure which yet.

The rectangular box is the top half of the bog filter. They are 2x10's. I am going to dig down under them 12-14 inches, giving it an overall depth of about 21-22 inches. This will also help insulate the majority of the water, keeping the temps a little more stable (I hope). The bog will then overflow towards the camera into a short waterfall that leads into the pond.

Again, the interior dimensions of the bog are 71" x 36", so I'll have plenty of surface area to grow plants.

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I've got a 45 mil pond liner ordered and in the mail. I'll be lining it, lining the bog filter, and using a skimmer as well. A pump will run water from the skimmer through the bog filter, which should be about as much filtration as I could possibly need.

The pond will house:

(5-6) Shortnose gar
(2) Green Sunfish (for starters)
(1) Bluegill (for starters)
(1) Albino Channel catfish
(x) Crayfish (cleanup crew and occasional snack)

I'll be adding more sunfish and bluegill to the main pond, and I'll be adding mosquito fish, minnows, and possibly madtom's to the bog filter. I may also add some bass to the pond, if I can catch any, although I may stick with smaller species that are less aggressive, like sunfish.
 
Deck looks great, its all coming together nicely.

Sunfish are a great choice and will learn to eat out of your hand if caught small enough.
 
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