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2005 Pond Pictures

Our Pond and new stream with the expanded landscaping, June 15th, 2005

The spring of 2003 we added a bottom drain connected to a settling
chamber/mechanical filter. Pumped from there to a 55 gallon trickle tower
filter by a Laguna 7000 pump, down a waterfall and stream combo returning to the pond.
Our skimmer is connected via a 3" pipe to a 100 gal. settling chamber
which is divided into 2 sections with mechanical filter pads in the 2nd area,
then a Laguna 7000 pump in the back of it that feeds a biofalls
filter, out of it down the waterfall back to the pond.
We also have removed most all of the gravel and rock from the bottom of the pond
to help keep it cleaner and so the bottom drain will pickup everything on the bottom.
We have added a park bench out in front of the pond on a small block patio area.
We have inlarged the landscaped area in front of and to the right of the pond.
I hangout at the American Water Gardening Society Forum, the people there are
so friendly and most of all they are the greatest help for ideas, solving
problems and everything pond related. Lots of pond and related pictures too.
We enjoy our pond so much, I ever expected to have so much fun working on
and just sitting relaxing by the pond and watching the fish.
We have 5 Koi (4 Butterfly)and 13 assorted Shubumkins and Comets as of 3/15/05.

our pond viewed from our patio.
June 15,2005
our pond viewed from the west closeup.
June 15,2005

our stream viewed closeup.
June 15,2005

2004 Pond Pictures

Our Pond and stream with the expanded landscaping, June 25th, 2004

Our stream closeup.
June 6,2004
Our waterfall closeup.
June 6,2004

2003 Pond Pictures

Our Pond and new stream with the expanded landscaping, August 29th, 2003

This is our pond from the front.
July 11,2003
This is our new waterfall-stream combo, first time we ran water through it was June 30,2003.

This is our pond from the east.
June 22,2003
This is our 3 tier waterfall / Biofilter closeup,
there is a bottom filter drain outlet under a rock to the right and
a top drain out the back of the filter basin. To clean out the filter.

This is our expanded landscaping and pond from the west
June 22,2003
This is our pond close up at night. We put low voltage lights
beside the park bench patio, a spot light on each side
of the waterfall and the stream and 2 underwater lights
for the foutain, all on an automatic timer.
Also have motion deteching spot lights above
the pond that come on when you walk near the pond.

Had to put a picture of our dogs, Tess & Bogie on here,
they both love the pond.

2002 Pond Pictures

Our Water Garden Pond, July 2002

Our Water Garden Pond (14ft.x 10ft.x 32in. deep)with surrounding landscaping.
We started on it the next to last weekend of March, 2002 and had it pretty well done, May 25, 2002.
(Are you ever really done) The water tests good so far, I keep
checking it, I filled the pond (1450 gallons) from our shallow well lawn pump.
We've added 9 Shubumkins, 4 Comets and 3 Koi for a start and now have some babies too.
They're a kick to feed and I enjoy watching them swim
around the underwater lights at night. Their getting tame already :)
I can't count all the frogs that have showed up.
We will continue to add more plants, flowers and fish.
Hauling and placing all the rock for the edge and lining
the pond was harder and took longer than digging the pond itself.
We used all of the dirt for the waterfall hill and other hills in the landscaping.
We use 2 Laquna 7000 pumps (2160 gph each)
1 for the skimmer/mechanical filter that pushes water to the Biofilter waterfall
and fountain and the 2nd 1 from the bottom drain to the settling chamber,
to the trickle tower, to the stream/waterfall.
Water returns to the pond in less than an hour on both systems, with about
8 ft of head it cuts the flow down to 1452 gph for each pump.

A view of our pond from the east. 7/28/02
Our pond frozen over. 11/1/02

Our pond covered with ice and the fountain at at night
with the underwater lights shinning up through the
ice. 11/1/02
Look what I got for Christmas - No Fishing ! ! !

This was our pond last year at night, viewed from our sun porch.
We put low voltage lights along the path to the park bench,
a spot light on each side of the waterfall and 2
underwater lights for the foutain, all on an automatic
timer. Also we have motion deteching spot lights above
the pond that come on when you walk out near the yard.
This was our pond last year at night, with the lights on.

DIGGING and BUILDING the POND

This is what it looked like before we started digging the pond and adding the new landscaping. This picture was taken in early march, so the flowers that were there don't show up. The first thing we did was lay out a garden hose in the shape of the pond to locate, shape and size it. We decided on 14ft x 10ft x 32" deep for the pond, this will take a 15ft x 20ft liner, plus an extra piece for the waterfall. Next I had to run wiring overhead to the shed to power the pumps, spot lights and underwater lights. I setup a control and breaker panel with GFI outlets inside the shed, also cut a small door in the outside wall to access the pump switch and hide the light power supply-timer. I cut a knothole in the door for the photo electric eye. This took a weekend to complete.

The 1st day, we started digging, nice to have a 17 yr old son around. We had to move 2 sprinkler lines, thats why the ditch around the back of the pond hole. The little door open on the shed wall is our control panel for the pump and underwater lights.
The 1st day, the pond hole is almost complete and
ready for the liner. We used all the dirt and
needed more for and hills we put in the
landscaping and the waterfall/biofilter hill
to bury and hide it.

The 1st day (night). We added part of the lower level
of rock to hold the liner in place, then added water
to the pond, it's alittle muddy, we filled it with
our lawn pump and it ran low on water, picking up
some mud - Yucko. I added clarifier and bacteria.
I setup the skimmer/mechanical filter and the
Biofalls temporarily to get the bacteria started
and so the filters would pickup the mud and then
started the pump. Then vaccumed it the next couple
of days to pickup the settled mud.
The 1st night, the Biofalls temp setup, not pretty, but it was
up and running. We are planning on a 3 drop waterfall with
a small pool.

The 2nd weedend, with the landscaping started.
The 2nd weekend, this shows our fountain, you can see we covered the liner with river rock. The falls are almost finished here and some of the landscaping done.

This is our pond closeup with the fountain going.
May 31,2002
This is Our Pond closeup, from the east end.

This is Our Pond closeup, from the west end.

OUR FISH

Some of our fish, 6/15/05
Some of our fish, 6/15/05

1 of our 2 new Butterfly KOI, 4/10/04
1 of our 2 new Butterfly KOI, 4/10/04

Our 2 new Butterfly KOI, 4/10/04
1 of our 2 new Butterfly KOI, 4/10/04

1 of our Shabunkins, 4/25/04
1 of our Shabunkins, 4/25/04

Our oldest KOI, 4/25/04
The Bunch, 4/25/04

Heres some of our 14 fish, they're 5" to 8" long, and
growing like weeds.
Another shot of some of our 16 fish, and growing like
weeds. The water looks green here, but the green
is mostly on the bottom. 6/22/03

OUR LILLIES and OTHER FLOWERS

Had to put a picture of 1 of our lilly blooms here. 6/14/02
Had to put a picture of some of our lillys here. 7/11/03

Our Pink Lilly. 6/14/02
One of our Ruby Red Lillys. 7/15/02

One of our Yellow Lillys. 7/15/02
One of our Day Lillys next to the pond. 7/15/02

This is 1 of 2 bouquets of Hyacinths, water lettuce and
parrots feather we have floating in a plastic ring
and anchored in the middle of the pond. I did that
to keep the dogs out of it, Tess (our dog)likes
to pull them out of the falls if I don't surround
it with screen. The fish love to hide and play
under them. It's made with a piece of 1/2 inch
black flexable plastic tube joined in a circle,
about 18" diameter.

A LOOK AT OUR FILTERS

3/30/05 This is the 100 gal. settling tank/mechanical filter I built.
It is buried in my shed and connects from the skimmer via a 3" pipe.
The partion has a 3" pipe flange and elbow to adjust depth and
postion of the outlet to the filter from the settling area.
It catches the big stuff and is easily vacuumed out to clean it.
A Laguna 7000 pump behind the filter pumps water to the biofalls
to the pond.
3/30/03 This is the 70 gal. vortex settling tank/mechanical filter I
built. It is buried in my shed at pond level and connects
from a 3" bottom drain in the pond and feeds our TT
(Trickle Tower)then water returns via a 3" pipe to the
waterfall-stream to the pond. The partion has a 3" pipe flange
and elbow to adjust depth and postion of the outlet to the
filter from the settling area. It catches the big stuff and
is easily vacuumed out to clean it.

3/30/03 This is the 55 gal.TT (Trickle Tower) filter I built. It connects
from a 70 gal. settling tank/mechanical filter connected from a
3" retrofit bottom drain in the pond and water returns via a
3" pipe to the waterfall-stream to the pond. Media is
deer block netting and straping. There is a water bypass to control flow.
This shows the spray boom and inside of the TT (Trickle Tower)
filter I built. Water from the pump inters the elbow in the
middle of the piping and can be controlled to the TT
or deverted to the stream. The grate is 4" above the bottom and
the outlet is adjustable and set to 3" off the bottom to let
gunk settle out. There is a 2" drain. Water returns via a 3" pipe to
through the waterfall-stream to the pond.

3/30/03 This shows the Laguna 7000 pump in the back
filtered part of the 70 gal. vortex settling tank/mechanical filter
I built. It is buried in my shed and connects from a
3" retrofit bottom drain in the pond and feeds our TT
(Trickle Tower)then water returns via a 3" pipe to the
waterfall-stream to the pond.
Here's the Airiator I built to clean the Biofalls without taking
the filter media out, you can see the 3" upper drain outlet and
valve which is lower than the spillway, but near the top at
the back of the filter basin for the crud to run out. I also
added a 1 1/2" drain out the bottom to dump the settlings. I use
my portable air tank for air to purge and loosen the buildup.
I open the the upper 3" drain to lower the water level below
the spillway with the pump still running. Then I open the
lower drain to dump the sediment from the bottom and close
it. Then I turn on the air in short bursts to loosen the
crud and it flows out the upper 3" drain. When the water
is clear again I close the 3" drain and water flows out
the falls again like normal. It takes about 3 minutes
total time.

4/27/04 This is the screen I made to keep crud off of the water filter in my Shop vac with the water pump. It allows me to vacuum the pond for alot longer before having to clean the water filter. I also adapted down to a smaller 1 1/4" vacuum hose so it doesn't fill up the vacuum with water so fast. It also gives alittle better control and isn't as heavy to use.

LINKS

Water Gardening Forum, Great Info & Help Here
Click Here... See Ya There

Bouman's Pond Picture Page Click Here
(Lots of pictures of other peoples ponds here)

Want a Link to your page added here?, e-mail me

Please leave a comment in my Guestbook or E-Mail me

[Back to Top] [My Other Hobby Page Rick's "Dune Riding" Page]

Is your pond ever really done....... I don't think so

Created by the Thomas's 2002

our pond viewed from our patio. June 15,2005	our pond viewed from the west closeup. June 15,2005
our stream viewed closeup. June 15,2005

Our Pond and stream with the expanded landscaping, June 25th, 2004
Our stream closeup. June 6,2004	Our waterfall closeup. June 6,2004

This is our pond from the front. July 11,2003	This is our new waterfall-stream combo, first time we ran water through it was June 30,2003.
This is our pond from the east. June 22,2003	This is our 3 tier waterfall / Biofilter closeup, there is a bottom filter drain outlet under a rock to the right and a top drain out the back of the filter basin. To clean out the filter.
This is our expanded landscaping and pond from the west June 22,2003	This is our pond close up at night. We put low voltage lights beside the park bench patio, a spot light on each side of the waterfall and the stream and 2 underwater lights for the foutain, all on an automatic timer. Also have motion deteching spot lights above the pond that come on when you walk near the pond.
	Had to put a picture of our dogs, Tess & Bogie on here, they both love the pond.

A view of our pond from the east. 7/28/02	Our pond frozen over. 11/1/02
Our pond covered with ice and the fountain at at night with the underwater lights shinning up through the ice. 11/1/02	Look what I got for Christmas - No Fishing ! ! !
This was our pond last year at night, viewed from our sun porch. We put low voltage lights along the path to the park bench, a spot light on each side of the waterfall and 2 underwater lights for the foutain, all on an automatic timer. Also we have motion deteching spot lights above the pond that come on when you walk out near the yard.	This was our pond last year at night, with the lights on.

The 1st day, we started digging, nice to have a 17 yr old son around. We had to move 2 sprinkler lines, thats why the ditch around the back of the pond hole. The little door open on the shed wall is our control panel for the pump and underwater lights.	The 1st day, the pond hole is almost complete and ready for the liner. We used all the dirt and needed more for and hills we put in the landscaping and the waterfall/biofilter hill to bury and hide it.
The 1st day (night). We added part of the lower level of rock to hold the liner in place, then added water to the pond, it's alittle muddy, we filled it with our lawn pump and it ran low on water, picking up some mud - Yucko. I added clarifier and bacteria. I setup the skimmer/mechanical filter and the Biofalls temporarily to get the bacteria started and so the filters would pickup the mud and then started the pump. Then vaccumed it the next couple of days to pickup the settled mud.	The 1st night, the Biofalls temp setup, not pretty, but it was up and running. We are planning on a 3 drop waterfall with a small pool.
The 2nd weedend, with the landscaping started.	The 2nd weekend, this shows our fountain, you can see we covered the liner with river rock. The falls are almost finished here and some of the landscaping done.
This is our pond closeup with the fountain going. May 31,2002	This is Our Pond closeup, from the east end.
This is Our Pond closeup, from the west end.

Some of our fish, 6/15/05	Some of our fish, 6/15/05
1 of our 2 new Butterfly KOI, 4/10/04	1 of our 2 new Butterfly KOI, 4/10/04
Our 2 new Butterfly KOI, 4/10/04	1 of our 2 new Butterfly KOI, 4/10/04
1 of our Shabunkins, 4/25/04	1 of our Shabunkins, 4/25/04
Our oldest KOI, 4/25/04	The Bunch, 4/25/04
Heres some of our 14 fish, they're 5" to 8" long, and growing like weeds.	Another shot of some of our 16 fish, and growing like weeds. The water looks green here, but the green is mostly on the bottom. 6/22/03

Had to put a picture of 1 of our lilly blooms here. 6/14/02	Had to put a picture of some of our lillys here. 7/11/03
Our Pink Lilly. 6/14/02	One of our Ruby Red Lillys. 7/15/02
One of our Yellow Lillys. 7/15/02	One of our Day Lillys next to the pond. 7/15/02
This is 1 of 2 bouquets of Hyacinths, water lettuce and parrots feather we have floating in a plastic ring and anchored in the middle of the pond. I did that to keep the dogs out of it, Tess (our dog)likes to pull them out of the falls if I don't surround it with screen. The fish love to hide and play under them. It's made with a piece of 1/2 inch black flexable plastic tube joined in a circle, about 18" diameter.

3/30/05 This is the 100 gal. settling tank/mechanical filter I built. It is buried in my shed and connects from the skimmer via a 3" pipe. The partion has a 3" pipe flange and elbow to adjust depth and postion of the outlet to the filter from the settling area. It catches the big stuff and is easily vacuumed out to clean it. A Laguna 7000 pump behind the filter pumps water to the biofalls to the pond.	3/30/03 This is the 70 gal. vortex settling tank/mechanical filter I built. It is buried in my shed at pond level and connects from a 3" bottom drain in the pond and feeds our TT (Trickle Tower)then water returns via a 3" pipe to the waterfall-stream to the pond. The partion has a 3" pipe flange and elbow to adjust depth and postion of the outlet to the filter from the settling area. It catches the big stuff and is easily vacuumed out to clean it.
3/30/03 This is the 55 gal.TT (Trickle Tower) filter I built. It connects from a 70 gal. settling tank/mechanical filter connected from a 3" retrofit bottom drain in the pond and water returns via a 3" pipe to the waterfall-stream to the pond. Media is deer block netting and straping. There is a water bypass to control flow.	This shows the spray boom and inside of the TT (Trickle Tower) filter I built. Water from the pump inters the elbow in the middle of the piping and can be controlled to the TT or deverted to the stream. The grate is 4" above the bottom and the outlet is adjustable and set to 3" off the bottom to let gunk settle out. There is a 2" drain. Water returns via a 3" pipe to through the waterfall-stream to the pond.
3/30/03 This shows the Laguna 7000 pump in the back filtered part of the 70 gal. vortex settling tank/mechanical filter I built. It is buried in my shed and connects from a 3" retrofit bottom drain in the pond and feeds our TT (Trickle Tower)then water returns via a 3" pipe to the waterfall-stream to the pond.	Here's the Airiator I built to clean the Biofalls without taking the filter media out, you can see the 3" upper drain outlet and valve which is lower than the spillway, but near the top at the back of the filter basin for the crud to run out. I also added a 1 1/2" drain out the bottom to dump the settlings. I use my portable air tank for air to purge and loosen the buildup. I open the the upper 3" drain to lower the water level below the spillway with the pump still running. Then I open the lower drain to dump the sediment from the bottom and close it. Then I turn on the air in short bursts to loosen the crud and it flows out the upper 3" drain. When the water is clear again I close the 3" drain and water flows out the falls again like normal. It takes about 3 minutes total time.
4/27/04 This is the screen I made to keep crud off of the water filter in my Shop vac with the water pump. It allows me to vacuum the pond for alot longer before having to clean the water filter. I also adapted down to a smaller 1 1/4" vacuum hose so it doesn't fill up the vacuum with water so fast. It also gives alittle better control and isn't as heavy to use.