Demo complete, starting rebuild

Finally finished removing the foot deep pile of rocks and muck. Now, I have peeled back the rubber liner and started removing dirt. The plan is to make one large pond out of the two smaller ones. I have connected the two and have started shaping the hole.
It's amazing how much dirt gets piled up. It's like I dig a one foot hole and I end up with a two foot pile of dirt.

Ernie

Pond Demo Cont.

The demo continues despite the rain. I have completely removed the waterfall and river now. The remaining plants are gone and the cleanup of the small pond continues.
I have attached a picture of a umbrella plant that had a huge root system. Good reason to use pots to contain them.

Pond Demo

The demolition of the old pond continues. So far I have removed the Bio-Falls and Skimmer housing, alond with most of the boulders that had fallen into the pond. This was the third weekend in a row with rain, so the demolition has been a little slow.

Lessons Learned

It’s interesting to take apart a pond that’s been in use for a few years. I’ll attach some pictures of the issues I came across. The original pond was made up of two separate ponds. One professional built and one added later by the previous homeowner.

Some of the issues I found were:
Leaking, I had to add a lot of water every day to maintain the level
Crushing of plastic skimmer box, notice the picture of the buried skimmer box, the sides are crushed from the dirt surrounding it.
Dirty, it hadn’t been cleaned in several years. There was about a foot of muck in the Bio-Falls and the second pond.
Landscaping, most of the rocks had fallen into the pond.

The Plan

There was an existing pond built when I moved in a few months ago, but it was in bad shape. The husband of the previous owner had died a few years earlier and the widow didn’t do much more than washing a sponge pre-filter and feed the fish.

The existing pond consisted of two separate systems. They had the first one built and it had a Bio-Falls feeding a river that emptied into a 8 by 10 pond with a skimmer and submerged pump system. The second was added on by the previous owner and was nothing more than a 10 by 16 lined hole with a submerged filter and pump.

My plan is to connect the two existing holes into one larger pond using rebar and concrete instead of liner. I will remove the Bio-Falls and replace it with an external bead filter. Remove the existing skimmer and pump unit and replace it with a new skimmer and external pump and install two bottom drains.

Here are a couple of pictures of the original pond and the plan.

Let's Start Digging

Hold on there cowboy, you got some planning to do. Before embarking on this long journey, here are a few things to consider:
Location and size of the pond
Layout and size of the equipment.
Facilities like power and water
Dirt disposal, yes, there will be lots of it.
Safety, both kids and pets

The size of your pond will depend on two main items, the available area and use. If you are going after raising prize Koi, then there are several criteria you need to follow. You will need a minimum depth of 3 feet up to 6 feet or more. If you want just a garden pond with plants and goldfish, then you can build a much smaller pond. There are also other considerations depending on if it freezes at your location or building codes.

Layout covers things like having your waterfall and river at one end and a skimmer at the opposite end. Some people will consider prevailing winds to ensure that surface debris is directed toward their skimmer. That’s pretty hard to figure out given proximity to fences, trees or other structures. So, just stick with the first thought. River on one end skimmer on the other. Not only will this help keep the pond free of debris, it will also circulate the water throughout the whole pond.

Equipment covers pumps, skimmers and plumbing. Pumps should be sized to provide enough water flow to exchange 1-1/2 time the total amount of pool water per hour. I have used submersible pumps in the past, but given I’m trying to be maintenance free as possible. I’m going with an external pump this time. The wattage and GPH also tend to be much better on external pumps vs submersible as well. Bio-Filters are great, but they still produce waste that needs to be cleaned. It’s a job that is very messy and stinky. You have to remove all the filter material hose it all down, keep the dog from rolling in the muck and then put it all together again. This time, I’m going with an external pellet type biological filter. It is similar to a pool filter except it used small plastic pellets as opposed to sand. Cleaning is done by walking up and turning a knob to flush out the muck. This waste will be stored in plastic barrels to water the flowers. I have seen firsthand how much muck settles to the bottom of a pond to not use a bottom drain. So I will incorporate two, one at each end of the pond. Unless your pond is indoors, it will also need a skimmer. This will carry off everything that settles on the surface. Which if you’re not careful will include floating plants and small fish.

Facilities is self explanatory. You will need power to run pumps, UV Filter, lighting and whatever else you install. Plan ahead and add some capacity for future additions. Having water nearby is also a bonus, as you won’t have to stretch a hose across the lawn to add water.

Dirt Disposal, It’s amazing how you can dig a one foot by one foot hole and end up with a two foot by two foot pile of dirt. Plan ahead and store the dirt well away from where you are digging. There’s nothing worse than having to move your pile as it’s in the way. You will use some for the waterfall and river, but you’ll probably still have more than you know what you can do with. In the past, I have built a raised bed garden planter and also disposed of via the normal garbage pickup. Be forewarned, that there is usually a weight restriction, so you can only dispose of a few buckets at a time. The last pond I built was located in Arizona, where the ground tends to be very hard. I used to fill the hole with water and by the weekend, I was able to remove enough dirt to fill the garbage can for the week. Refill with water and repeat all summer long, fun times.

Safety, pond sides tend to be very slick with algae, so anything that falls in will have a very hard time getting out. Local building coded might dictate that a fence of some sort be placed around the pond. Both my previous pond and this pond are already located behind the pool fence, so I’m already there. I will also be building in plant shelves at varying heights that can be used as steps to exit the pond, as the dogs tend to like to swim in the summer.

This is not meant to be a step by step guide, as there are several books already available to provide those. I’m providing things I have seen and learned over the years, so you can hopefully get several years of enjoyment out of your pond instead of regretting the day you dug it.

Some History

I built one of my ponds on the side of my house between the house and block wall. It was close to existing pool equipment, so I had power for the pump. It consisted of a small rubber liner pond around 5 feet by 6 feet, skimmer, upper falls filter and 10 foot long river. I tapped into the existing sprinkler system running nearby that allowed me to add a little water every time the sprinklers ran.

The skimmer consisted of a plastic tub with a pool flapper on one end with filter material and a pump located inside. The bio-falls was made using a Rubbermaid garbage can. I put a section of honeycomb grid light diffuser on top of four pieces of plastic pipe; followed by lava rock, topped with two circulate floor scrubber mats, which fit the can perfectly.

The skimmer worked well, but cracked after about 4 years and had to be replaced. The bio-falls worked extremely well, but was a pain to clean and also cracked after I put some Cattails into the can. The roots swelled so large that they burst through the side.

Lessons Learned:
Careful with what plants you use and where. I had the cattails break the upper filter can; also, the Tarro plants overran the stream and caused a blockage that diverted water to the ground.
I had issues with the coping stones continuously falling into the pond.
I went too cheap on the plastic skimmer box and it didn’t stand up to the elements.

Still, it was a nice addition with the sounds of water, flashes of goldfish and beautiful flowers.

Why I'm doing this

There is a lot of information on the best way to build garden ponds. I have built a couple over the years and I would like to share my experiences to maybe help those contemplating building one.

I had a good friend die of an inoperable brain tumor. He was given 3 months to live after a doctor visit to diagnose a headache. One of the many things I learn from Mike was what's really important in life and in passing.

After learning of one's impending demise, one usually thinks of all the things one wants to do before they die. Common items include long vacations, telling bosses off or some other exotic adventure.

Mike's goal for his last days were not for himself, but for his family. Over the years, he had built a large garden with a pond and loved to tinker with them every chance he had. He realized how much work was involved to maintain the pond, so his first priority was to find a way to lessen the burden of his passing on his family. He talked with several landscapers and decided to eventually fill in the pond, as the constant cleaning would prove to be just to much work for them.

The pond I just inherited after moving into a new house has a similar story. The husband had passed away a few years earlier and no one had done anything past feeding the fish for several years. The water was so brown that you could only see the fish when the came to the surface to feed.

So, thinking about how much time I have spent on draining ponds to clean the muck off the bottom, cleaning filters, shoveling muck and moving rock, I have decided to rebuild my current pond to be as user friendly as possible.

So, stay tuned as I share the process to rebuild my pond.


In memory of my good friend Mike Zoladz. May the grass always be green there.


I'm no expert, so use the information provided at your own risk.