Hey there MFK! So here is a little backstory. I am not very new to keeping freshwater aquariums. Fish are a secondary stock item for me while turtles are a main focus. Last month a spotted turtle female of mine laid her first clutch of 5 eggs. This has inspired me to build a bog type pond for my spotted pair. However, the number of spotted turtles will double for this pond.
Here is the design for the pond:
--Dimensions: 6' Long, 3' Wide, 1' Deep.
--Base will be constructed from 1'' thick plywood
--The walls will be constructed with 2''x12'' boards
--The divider wall between the water and land will be made from a 2''x8'' board
--The circles indicate 1.5'' overflows
--The two rectangles on the left side near the land and water break will be 1' ramps from the floor to the edge.
--The two thin rectangles on the right side will be the return spray bars.
I plan to wood glue the boards together and then use screws every 6 inches to secure the parts together. After the ramps have been installed I plan to use an expanding foam to fill in the gaps created by the ramps. Once that has set and secured I plan to paint the surface of the wood with a water tight paint like DryLok. Once all of that has been done I plan to lay in a 45 mil epdm pond liner (this leads me to a few questions). After the liner is layer in I plan to clamp it down with thin braces on the sides of the pond.
This is my Stand plan:
--The stand will have the same dimensions as the pond with the exception of being 3' tall.
--The cover legs will be 6''x6'' beams.
--The remaining legs will be 4''x4'' beams placed at either 6'' or 12'' intervals.
--The legs will be attached to 2''x4'' planks.
--From those planks I plan to attach 2''x4'' as cross supports at the same intervals as the legs.
My questions:
1) Will I need braces for this pond? I know water is a powerful force, and at 3 feet wide would 8'' of water push too strongly at the walls of the pond?
--I made three types of brace designs on the pond design: One looks like < l >, a second has three cross beams one at each end and one in the middle, the third is plywood with cutouts for viewing/feeding/maintenance (my least favorite)
If I can get away with no braces or minimal braces I would prefer this.
2) Should I some how secure the pond liner to the interior of the pond? This is mainly for the ramps and the like. (I am inexperienced with how pond liner acts)
3) Should I make the cutouts for the returns and over flows before installing the pond liner? What is the procedure of installing the bulkheads for them? Will the bulk heads need to be sealed? If so how?
4) Am I a bit over cautious with the stand design build? Could I get away with fewer cross beams and/or legs?
5) Would pond liner be the best option for this build? Would an epoxy paint or another form of liquid sealing be a smarter option?
Thank you all for taking the time to read this and help me with this project. I had a feeling that this would be the correct place to come for help with such a build.
--Joe S
Here is the design for the pond:
--Dimensions: 6' Long, 3' Wide, 1' Deep.
--Base will be constructed from 1'' thick plywood
--The walls will be constructed with 2''x12'' boards
--The divider wall between the water and land will be made from a 2''x8'' board
--The circles indicate 1.5'' overflows
--The two rectangles on the left side near the land and water break will be 1' ramps from the floor to the edge.
--The two thin rectangles on the right side will be the return spray bars.
I plan to wood glue the boards together and then use screws every 6 inches to secure the parts together. After the ramps have been installed I plan to use an expanding foam to fill in the gaps created by the ramps. Once that has set and secured I plan to paint the surface of the wood with a water tight paint like DryLok. Once all of that has been done I plan to lay in a 45 mil epdm pond liner (this leads me to a few questions). After the liner is layer in I plan to clamp it down with thin braces on the sides of the pond.
This is my Stand plan:
--The stand will have the same dimensions as the pond with the exception of being 3' tall.
--The cover legs will be 6''x6'' beams.
--The remaining legs will be 4''x4'' beams placed at either 6'' or 12'' intervals.
--The legs will be attached to 2''x4'' planks.
--From those planks I plan to attach 2''x4'' as cross supports at the same intervals as the legs.
My questions:
1) Will I need braces for this pond? I know water is a powerful force, and at 3 feet wide would 8'' of water push too strongly at the walls of the pond?
--I made three types of brace designs on the pond design: One looks like < l >, a second has three cross beams one at each end and one in the middle, the third is plywood with cutouts for viewing/feeding/maintenance (my least favorite)
If I can get away with no braces or minimal braces I would prefer this.
2) Should I some how secure the pond liner to the interior of the pond? This is mainly for the ramps and the like. (I am inexperienced with how pond liner acts)
3) Should I make the cutouts for the returns and over flows before installing the pond liner? What is the procedure of installing the bulkheads for them? Will the bulk heads need to be sealed? If so how?
4) Am I a bit over cautious with the stand design build? Could I get away with fewer cross beams and/or legs?
5) Would pond liner be the best option for this build? Would an epoxy paint or another form of liquid sealing be a smarter option?
Thank you all for taking the time to read this and help me with this project. I had a feeling that this would be the correct place to come for help with such a build.
--Joe S
