New pond plans

[Derek Broughton]

I'm going to be building a pond on my new deck this summer. It'll
(probably) be about 8' x 3' x 3' deep.
It may be a little shallower, but not much, because I really think you need
that deep for lilies (I know you can grow them in less - my first was a
dwarf in a tub - but you should see the lilies in the 5' deep part of my
second pond). It could be a little wider too. It will be a formal pond,
and I'm thinking of building it with vertical wood sides (lined), and
hanging planters off the side (like window boxes - but inside the pond) for
shallower plants.

Has anyone else done something like this? Is there anything in particular
to watch out for? Freeze thaw cycles could be hard on it (and my deck) if
it isn't done right.
--
derek

[Reel McKoi]

"Derek Broughton" > wrote in message
...
> I'm going to be building a pond on my new deck this summer. It'll
> (probably) be about 8' x 3' x 3' deep.
======================
That will be a lot of weight on a deck. I'm sure you plan to add extra
supports?!?!?!?! I tried a 1/2 barrel on our porch but it didn't get enough
sun.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Bonnie NJ]

Hi Derek,

I think Vern had built something like your discribing for his parents on
their porch. Sorry to say, Vern hasn't posted to rec.ponds in quite a long
time.

--
Bonnie
NJ
"Derek Broughton" > wrote in message
...
> I'm going to be building a pond on my new deck this summer. It'll
> (probably) be about 8' x 3' x 3' deep.
> It may be a little shallower, but not much, because I really think you
> need
> that deep for lilies (I know you can grow them in less - my first was a
> dwarf in a tub - but you should see the lilies in the 5' deep part of my
> second pond). It could be a little wider too. It will be a formal pond,
> and I'm thinking of building it with vertical wood sides (lined), and
> hanging planters off the side (like window boxes - but inside the pond)
> for
> shallower plants.
>
> Has anyone else done something like this? Is there anything in particular
> to watch out for? Freeze thaw cycles could be hard on it (and my deck) if
> it isn't done right.
> --
> derek

[Andy]

Derek Broughton wrote:

> Has anyone else done something like this? Is there anything in particular
> to watch out for? Freeze thaw cycles could be hard on it (and my deck) if
> it isn't done right.

I'm in the process of something very similar, even down to the window
baskets inside the pond.

The main difference is mine is a part raised pond. The raised section is
a wooden frame with vertical supports every 18". Inside the frame I then
fixed strong wire mesh around the sides. Next I added 1" poly insulation
and finally polythene sheeting.

The final thing should look something like this:

http://www.pxl8.co.uk/dist_flash.jpg

The taller section on the right houses my homemade filter the outlet of
which will be fed at a right angle against a quarter of drainpipe
producing a curtain of water from the edge of the housing and hiding the
pipework (hopefully).

There picture doesn't represent the finally setting, I'll post some
pictures when I get the chance.

Have you had any thoughts on how to hang the window boxes over the edge?
- I've yet to tackle that one...

--
Andy

[RichToyBox]

I would beef up the deck, somewhat, with maybe double joists. The water at
3 foot deep will weigh in at about 25 pounds per square foot, and though the
standard floor joist design is for 40 or 50 pounds per square foot, most
don't have anywhere near that. When people put a hot tub on the deck, they
usually add some support, and it is about the same dimensions. You could
also add insulation under the liner and around the sides to help keep the
pond from freezing quite as quick. Without the ground level heat, I would
suspect it will freeze deeper than most ponds.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"Derek Broughton" > wrote in message
...
> I'm going to be building a pond on my new deck this summer. It'll
> (probably) be about 8' x 3' x 3' deep.
> It may be a little shallower, but not much, because I really think you
> need
> that deep for lilies (I know you can grow them in less - my first was a
> dwarf in a tub - but you should see the lilies in the 5' deep part of my
> second pond). It could be a little wider too. It will be a formal pond,
> and I'm thinking of building it with vertical wood sides (lined), and
> hanging planters off the side (like window boxes - but inside the pond)
> for
> shallower plants.
>
> Has anyone else done something like this? Is there anything in particular
> to watch out for? Freeze thaw cycles could be hard on it (and my deck) if
> it isn't done right.
> --
> derek

[Derek Broughton]

RichToyBox wrote:

> I would beef up the deck, somewhat, with maybe double joists. The water
> at 3 foot deep will weigh in at about 25 pounds per square foot, and
> though the standard floor joist design is for 40 or 50 pounds per square
> foot, most don't have anywhere near that.

That won't be a problem. The pond is actually at the side of the deck and
the liner will sit on the ground.

> You could
> also add insulation under the liner and around the sides to help keep the
> pond from freezing quite as quick. Without the ground level heat, I would
> suspect it will freeze deeper than most ponds.

That's definitely one of my concerns. I have no plans for fish (between the
huge numbers of herons, kingfishers, cormorants and ospreys - though I
can't imagine an osprey hitting something that small - and the lack of
power for filtration) but I don't want my lily tubers to freeze.

I think (because it will sit on the ground) that I really want to leave the
bottom uninsulated and insulate the sides. That's one of the things I'm
not completely sure of :-)
--
derek

[Derek Broughton]

Andy wrote:

> The final thing should look something like this:
>
> http://www.pxl8.co.uk/dist_flash.jpg

Pretty. I called mine "formal", because it's rectangular and won't have
natural edging, but I doubt I'm really capable of something that looks
_that_ formal. I just hope it doesn't end up looking like I couldn't
decide whether it should be formal or natural :-)
>
> Have you had any thoughts on how to hang the window boxes over the edge?
> - I've yet to tackle that one...

Window box brackets! (No, I haven't thought about it :-) ... )
--
derek

[Reel Mckoi]

"Derek Broughton" > wrote in message
...
> That's definitely one of my concerns. I have no plans for fish (between
the
> huge numbers of herons, kingfishers, cormorants and ospreys - though I
> can't imagine an osprey hitting something that small - and the lack of
> power for filtration) but I don't want my lily tubers to freeze.
=============================
They sell submersible aquarium heaters you can use to drop to the bottom and
keep a frost free zone. Two or three should do it. They come in many
choices of watts and quality.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: ""Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Derek Broughton]

Reel Mckoi wrote:

>
> "Derek Broughton" > wrote:
>> That's definitely one of my concerns. I have no plans for fish (between
> the
>> huge numbers of herons, kingfishers, cormorants and ospreys - though I
>> can't imagine an osprey hitting something that small - and the lack of
>> power for filtration) but I don't want my lily tubers to freeze.

> They sell submersible aquarium heaters you can use to drop to the bottom
> and
> keep a frost free zone. Two or three should do it. They come in many
> choices of watts and quality.

LOL. Not much of a choice for me - the "lack of power for filtration" is
because I live off-grid, now. Basically, take your average power bill,
divide the electricity you used by 10 and that's probably in the vicinity
of how much power I have to play with. It doesn't get used for things like
ponds :-) So insulation is the way to go for this project.
--
derek