New poster, new pond design

Hi folks, I'd like to run this perliminary design past of few of the
experts.

http://www.geocities.com/erviservy/pond/Design1.htm


Couple of questions:

Should I feed the veggie filter completely across the bottom or can I
expect water to flow through it from left to right?

Should I have 2 falls from the upper level of veggie filter into the
lower marsh plant area?

When pulling water from the skimmer and bottom drain at the same time,
is that normally a 50/50 ratio?

Thanks for any advice,
steve

"default" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi folks, I'd like to run this perliminary design past of few of the
experts.

I'm not an expert, but I play one on usenet.

http://www.geocities.com/erviservy/pond/Design1.htm
Couple of questions:

Should I feed the veggie filter completely across the bottom or can I
expect water to flow through it from left to right?

It appears in the drawing that you intend to feed the veg filter from the
left, and discharge from the right, so the water will slowly flow in that
direction. And actually that's a better way, because it forces the water to
spend more time in the veg filter, which allows the plant roots to assist in
filtering suspended particles. Especially water hyacinth roots.

Should I have 2 falls from the upper level of veggie filter into the
lower marsh plant area?

Personal choice, a single large fall makes more noise, the water fall serves
2 purposes, the first being cosmetic, the second being increasing the
ammount of water that's exposed to the air.


When pulling water from the skimmer and bottom drain at the same time,
is that normally a 50/50 ratio?


I think you're being too detail oriented here, go half and half, with the
ability to close off either side. If you draw from the bottom drain, you can
suck up all the mulm and filter it into the bio filter or veg filter, where
it's easier to clean up. I don't have a skimmer, and just draw from the
bottom, it works fine for me.

-S

default wrote:

Hi folks, I'd like to run this perliminary design past of few of the
experts.

http://www.geocities.com/erviservy/pond/Design1.htm

Should I feed the veggie filter completely across the bottom or can I
expect water to flow through it from left to right?

Should I have 2 falls from the upper level of veggie filter into the
lower marsh plant area?

These two questions have a single answer. If you have the input on the
left, then you want the _only_ output on the right. If you have inputs
across the whole filter, you should have falls on both sides. I would
recommend you only have the input on the left and the falls on the right,
to make the water take the longest path possible through the filter.

When pulling water from the skimmer and bottom drain at the same time,
is that normally a 50/50 ratio?

I think not - but it depends very much on your location (and time of year).
In the fall, if you get lots of leaves, you'll want your skimmer working
harder. In an open area with very little wind-blown debris, your skimmer
may only need a very small flow. You will want to take most of the water
from the bottom drain - in the end, that's where most of the crud ends up.
--
derek

Thanks for the replies. I thought the left to right flow through the
veggies would be beneficial but wanted a sanity check to be sure.

Will put a valve on the BD inlet pipe to the pump filter chamber and a
means to regulate the skimmer.

thanks again,
steve

I have an almost never used concrete w/ plaster swimming pool. It was built
in 1989 and is 18,500 gal, kidney shaped 16'x32'. As a diving pool the
deepest section is about 10' and slopes from about 3'. Naturally I am
thinking I could turn this into a pond since the hole and plumbing are
already there. The 10' depth seems a litttle much for a pond and would make
maintinance somewhat of a chore.

What are the pond stars in my eyes hiding? Where am I going to regret ever
thinking of this bizarre idea? Do I fill in the bowl until I have a uniform
3' depth? Do I have to coat the plaster to stop leeching for fish? Are
there any sites that talk about converting existing pools?

Comments are welcome.

Chip



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"chip" wrote:
I have an almost never used concrete w/ plaster swimming pool. It was
built in 1989 and is 18,500 gal, kidney shaped 16'x32'. As a diving pool
the deepest section is about 10' and slopes from about 3'. Naturally I
am thinking I could turn this into a pond since the hole and plumbing are
already there. The 10' depth seems a litttle much for a pond and would
make maintinance somewhat of a chore.

What are the pond stars in my eyes hiding? Where am I going to regret
ever thinking of this bizarre idea? Do I fill in the bowl until I have a
uniform 3' depth? Do I have to coat the plaster to stop leeching for
fish? Are there any sites that talk about converting existing pools?

Not exactly the same, but I converted a Jacuzzi to a Koi pond about 15
years ago. It still works great! The bottom drain and skimmer should be
fine, but you'll probably want to replace the high-power pumps and filter
with something more pond appropriate. Looking forward to a report and pics.
Good luck!

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~

chip wrote:

I have an almost never used concrete w/ plaster swimming pool. It was
built in 1989 and is 18,500 gal, kidney shaped 16'x32'. As a diving pool
the deepest section is about 10' and slopes from about 3'.
....
Do I fill in the bowl until I have a
uniform 3' depth?

I wouldn't. Maybe 5', but for that size of pond, I wouldn't want to
restrict it too much. I expect it has a bottom drain, so add a standpipe
to it to get it to where you want it, then add fill.

Do I have to coat the plaster to stop leeching for fish?

Define "almost never used". If it's had chlorinated water in it for all
that time, I very much doubt you need to worry at all about leaching of the
concrete and a couple of weeks of exposure should take care of the
chlorine. Even if it hasn't had chlorine in it, I can't see it being a
problem after almost 20 years.

Are there any sites that talk about converting existing pools?

You bet. Try http://www.kilk.com/pond/ or google 'pond "swimming pool"
conversion'.
--
derek

I have an almost never used concrete w/ plaster swimming pool. It was built
in 1989 and is 18,500 gal, kidney shaped 16'x32'. As a diving pool the
deepest section is about 10' and slopes from about 3'. Naturally I am
thinking I could turn this into a pond since the hole and plumbing are
already there. The 10' depth seems a litttle much for a pond and would make
maintinance somewhat of a chore.

What are the pond stars in my eyes hiding? Where am I going to regret ever
thinking of this bizarre idea? Do I fill in the bowl until I have a uniform
3' depth? Do I have to coat the plaster to stop leeching for fish? Are
there any sites that talk about converting existing pools?
Chip

That's what our club president has as her pond, the old swimming pool. She
didn't change anything, same depth, etc. I'm not sure how she does the
filtration though. If she is using the pool infra structure or went with
something else. The problem with swimming pool piping it usually doesn't
have the diameter to handle the muck that ponds produce.... thus clogging
is possible. ~ jan
-----------------

Also ponding troll free at:
http://groups.google.com/group/The-Freshwater-Aquarium

an almost never used concrete w/ plaster swimming pool. It was built
in 1989 and is 18,500 gal, kidney shaped 16'x32'. As a diving pool the
deepest section is about 10' and slopes from about 3'. Naturally I am
thinking I could turn this into a pond since the hole and plumbing are
already there. The 10' depth seems a little much for a pond and would
make maintinance somewhat of a chore.

I have a concrete, stone and mortar swimming pool that I made into a
pond and I love it. I filled in the pond to a depth of 3' to 4'. That
way I can use waders for maintenance. My pond is spring fed, so I don't
need a filter system.

I wanted lots of plants, so I got plastic nursery benches that are 2' by
8' and placed them around the edge of the pond. I keep the benches
covered with marginal plants.

Our pond is 18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') and is spring fed. It filled
up in 2 days so the flow is good. The spring water's temperature is 50
F. The pond's temperature gets up to 70 F by the middle of summer.
When first filled with water, it quickly covered over with string algae.
I put 12 trap-door snails in the pond and they multiplied at a fantastic
rate. Soon they were eating the string algae. Frogs came into the pool
at an alarming rate. Marginal plants are doing very well. The water is
reasonably clear. Algae is caused by nutrients in the water and
sunlight. Here is what I do:

o Planted 10 water lilies and one lotus, which have large leaves that
shade the pond surface. Shade is important in preventing algae. I let
Azolla caroliniana ("Fairy Moss") cover the surface during the winter
and early spring to provide shade before the lilies and lotus form their
leaves. Then I scoop most of the Azolla out with a swimming pool
skimmer net so I can see the fish. It doesn't come back until the next
winter.

o Planted about 64 marginal filter plants in baskets with clay soil
(Walmart's cheapest Kitty Litter) and no fertilizer around the edge on
the 8' plastic greenhouse benches about 5 inches below the water
surface. Marginal plants remove nutrients from the water and prevent
algae.

o Introduced trap-door snails into the pond which eat dead material in
the pond and hence break down plant nutrients. The snails multiply
nicely each spring and take care of dead plant material.

o Sunk oxygenator plants on the bottom, Anacharis and Hornwort. I also
have a 1.7 CFM, 40 Watt air pump and two aerator heads to keep the
oxygen levels up in the winter when the plants become dormant. The
higher oxygen level helps support fish and aerobic bacteria. Adding the
aeration changed the water from a tea color to a more clear color.

o Floated a bale of barley straw near the spring pipe. This helps
prevent algae when it blooms in the spring before the marginal plants
get going.

o Introduced 100 native golden shiner minnows. They help keep mosquito
eggs and the plants in check and don't seem to add to the nutrient load
too much. They are doing very well and have multiplied.

o Apply one dose of algaecide (AlgaeFix) in early April to get a start
in clearing the spring algae growth.

o Added bacteria (Microbe-Lift Spring/Summer) in early April to help
eliminate the dead algae and other organic matter.

No filter, no UV, no water pump, no Koi, no problem.

I am in zone 6 and get a lot of hot weather in the summer.

For a view of our lily pond visit:
http://home.dejazzd.com/shenning/pool8-18.jpg
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA