So this is my second shot at designing a cheaper pond (because of the expensive prices here in Hawaii). I posted a thread a couple of days ago with the initial design, but apparently I overlooked a few things in the design. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=223675
I overlooked the fact that i would have wood underground, that would lead to rot and eventual EPIC failure. I was also told that the design would not be able to hold the amount of water i was planning on having in it. So i went back to the drawing board, looked at some more designs and took some of the advice and this is what i came up with.
The design is basically ripped off of the one thread where he stacked 2x4s. I heard that it was really solid so I figured that it'd work for my purpose. The design idea is the same as the original, 12'x8'x4' with 3'above the ground and a 1' underground. This time there will be no wood underground. The wooden walls will be built around the perimeter of the hole dug in the ground.
I decided on 1/2" 2'x4' acrylic/plexigass windows based on anythingfish's calculator. Acrylic because its cheaper to ship and theoretically stronger than glass, which is what the calculator is originally used for, so technically that thickness of acrylic would be overkill compared to 1/2" thick plate glass. Sound good?
This next step is up in the air right now, but we were planning on putting plywood or cement board down along the bottom of the pond to make it solid and be sure that nothing sticks out of the dirt. Then we were planning on using old carpet or carpet padding as underlayment. And i know i might get hell for this, but the size of pond liner we need is estimated at 20'x24'. I found nothing locally. The ones i did find online cost no less than 400 dollars, and it cost just around 400 dollars to ship as well putting the grand total for liner at around 800 dollars. I don't know about you guys, but that shipping price sounds pretty ridiculous to me, unless that's normal (haha). So the alternative that we were considering is multiple layers of waterproof, uv treated tarp. I know it's been done before, but i was just worried about how long it might last before i have to replace it.
Let me know what you guys think. Thanks again.
I overlooked the fact that i would have wood underground, that would lead to rot and eventual EPIC failure. I was also told that the design would not be able to hold the amount of water i was planning on having in it. So i went back to the drawing board, looked at some more designs and took some of the advice and this is what i came up with.
The design is basically ripped off of the one thread where he stacked 2x4s. I heard that it was really solid so I figured that it'd work for my purpose. The design idea is the same as the original, 12'x8'x4' with 3'above the ground and a 1' underground. This time there will be no wood underground. The wooden walls will be built around the perimeter of the hole dug in the ground.
I decided on 1/2" 2'x4' acrylic/plexigass windows based on anythingfish's calculator. Acrylic because its cheaper to ship and theoretically stronger than glass, which is what the calculator is originally used for, so technically that thickness of acrylic would be overkill compared to 1/2" thick plate glass. Sound good?
This next step is up in the air right now, but we were planning on putting plywood or cement board down along the bottom of the pond to make it solid and be sure that nothing sticks out of the dirt. Then we were planning on using old carpet or carpet padding as underlayment. And i know i might get hell for this, but the size of pond liner we need is estimated at 20'x24'. I found nothing locally. The ones i did find online cost no less than 400 dollars, and it cost just around 400 dollars to ship as well putting the grand total for liner at around 800 dollars. I don't know about you guys, but that shipping price sounds pretty ridiculous to me, unless that's normal (haha). So the alternative that we were considering is multiple layers of waterproof, uv treated tarp. I know it's been done before, but i was just worried about how long it might last before i have to replace it.
Let me know what you guys think. Thanks again.
you could also have em on during storms(to prevent anything hitting them) etc.
So...I'm going to try and build another pond out of cinder blocks this summer.