Hello, just thought I would introduce myself

[CalgaryAC]

I have become obsessed with ponds in the past 3 years, it all started with a summer job. and now it has turned into a full time gig. I was on this site 3 years ago, but I can't remember my password and my email is no longer around. this is a great site to learn and share information so I figured I should come back to where I learned a bunch.

This is the pond I built last summer. 30 tons of rock and 2500 square feet of liner.

pictures just do not capture anything, but there are some video's on my web page. www.calgaryaquaculture.ca

I still have to add a sand filter this spring, and my plumping outfit that I use has some different stuff I am going to try that is a little out of the ordinary.
in the pump house I have an Ultima II 2000 series filled with activated carbon and a 4000 series full of bio media. two bag filters, a 50w aerator, a 1500 w inline heater that is not in use. the pump is a 3 hp pentair with a basket strainer on the front. I will be adding another 5000 ghp this spring. and moving the pentair over to a skimmer, and putting the 5000 Gph on the filtration. Currently the pump is sucking through a bottom drain.

currently I have not heated the pond at all this year and the water remains constant at 35 degrees

there are 4 144 bulb led lights, and 14 72 bulb led lights in there now, and I will probably add another 20 this year. There are alot of holes for fish to hide and breed,

enjoy and feel free to ask any questions, I have no problem answering

 

[jerzyperson]

my turn!! you cancome over to my house and build me one, it wouldn't hurt my feelings!

 

[CalgaryAC]

oops forgot to put finished pics in there.

 

[FUEGO]

Awesome brother and welcome!

 

[The Veteran]

EPIC!!

 

[Johnnie]

Great, thanks for the sharing. I'm very impressed by your big pond with huge boulders and cascading water. Let us see the residents of the pond please whenever you're ready.

 

[fishy12]

whts ur stock? and im 2nd

 

[Muske]

Do you have an idea on total gallonage?

Is the bottom lined w/gravel or barebottom?

How is the hole in the ice kept open? I see a blower in the pump house, is it OK to run year round up there?

 

[CalgaryAC]

I kept a whole in the ice using this air pump.. http://www.fishfarmsupply.ca/mm5/me...S&Product_Code=AQ-5&Category_Code=Compressors

but as an emergency I sold it to a person who was told that he only needed to put a heater in the pond to keep a hole in the ice. I tested his dissolved oxygen and it was zero. in my experience heaters are a waste of electricity even up here in calgary. that aerator at 50 watts was keeping the ice open at -40.

the bottom is lined with some 2" to 3" field stone. I would of rather had some smaller stuff, no pebble, but they delivered the the wrong rock. I used bigger stone because this was the first time that I have used a bottom drain with pool pump. I did not know how the strainer basket would work. it works better then anything on the market. I have serviced and insalled over 100 aquascape skimmers and I think they are junk. but that is just an opinion.

the only issue I had with using the blower in the pump house was when I spilled water empting the strainer basket. it would create a little bit of humidity in the pump house and when the air hit the cold it would freeze and block the tube. here in calgary we do not get much humidity.

That pump house is insulated so the pump keeps it nice and warm. the air being blown into the pond was pretty warm.

The pond can run during the winter only because it has a bottom drain. a skimmer would work, if and only if, you could keep the water level within the limits of the skimmer, but the pond gets low because the water falls will hold so much water in the form of ice. I currently loose about 8" of water to the ice on the falls.

right now there are only a few feeders in there and some koi that some clients did not want to winter. I will stock it fulling in the spring but they will be pretty much for resale.

I think they biggest thing that cought me off guard for this project was how much algae growth is going on in there. the water is a little too healthy I think.

my salt lvls are being maintained at 3%, the algae is not supposed to like that, haha. I don't mind the algae though because it is probably doing more for the water then the BB due to the temp.

 

[hankn]

I think they biggest thing that cought me off guard for this project was how much algae growth is going on in there. the water is a little too healthy I think.

I went away for 3 weeks and storms pushed lots of dead leaves into the pond where they started to decompose which appears to have caused an outbreak of string algae at 40F temps!

Will have to remove the leaves and string algae before my usual big spring cleanup.