Buadhai Builds A Pond

[buad hai]

as for the black arch? god knows!

Perhaps the pond was built for trained porpoises?

[kingwilly]

^ I dunno abt that, but i'm certain it was built by only half trained monkeys!

[buad hai]

I finally got the stepping stones properly set and a few ferns in to hold the soil until we buy plants for the bare areas.

[buad hai]

I finally finished with the construction part of the pond by installing this float valve:



Granted, it's ugly, but it's the least obtrusive one I could find here. I know valves are available that work under water via water pressure rather than a float, but not in Korat.

This one was even worse when I bought it. The float was bright red!

Thus ends the pond construction saga. Further photos will be posted in the gardening section.

Thanks to all for your contributions, suggestions and comments.

BH

[kingwilly]

thanks for an awesome thread ! mate. very inspiring !

[jizzybloke]

Well done and thanks form me too!

[bkkmadness]

err , about the size of the overflow pipe ...

It doesn't have to be fast. Just slowly keep the water level below the grass line if there's a heavy rain or if the float valve gets stuck.

The colour of the bridge definitely helps. I have noticed something else that makes it look a little out of place. It's the way it sits, look at the ends of the bridge where the planks stop and you just see the supports. I'm sure if you added a few more planks of wood, so they go right down to the grass and you couldn't see the 'underside' of the bridge at the ends it would fit in a lot 'smoother' with the surroundings. Almost as if it's coming straight out of the grass.

It'd would give it a bit more length as well, which reduces the width to the eye wouldn't it?

Poorly explained I know but do you follow my meaning Buadhai? Thoughts?

ps. I'd hate it if someone said that to me after I was finished with the job, but I know you like to keep busy!

[bkkmadness]

how do i fix this green mold that keeps coming back? snails?

Buadhai's advice on plants will definitely help, they will consume any nitrates in the water and starve out the algae. Snails will eat it too but are not as efficient as good algae eating fish.

The following fish are all algae eaters and readily available in Thailand. Though not sure where you live KW.



^ Plecostomus are very good algae eaters but can get quite big 12-18 inches.



^ Chinese sucking loach. Anything like this will be useful to eat algae in the pond, throw a few of them in there.

^


^ Siamese algae eater, easily found in most fish shops in Thailand.



^ Butterfly sucking fish. Very attractive fish, but they stay small and have a small appetite so you would need a lot of them to do the job.



^ Basically if you walk into a fish shop and see any tanks full of fish stuck on the side of the glass like this, they will feed on algae in your pond. There's a few different types of algae you may get and certain fish are better as clearing certain types than others, so a variety of species of algae eating fish is a good idea. The snails will come to your pond naturally anyway.

It is worth noting that these fish can only eat algae that is growing on surfaces in your pond, if you get a green water problem then you need to use plants to combat it.

Alongside the fish recommended as Buadhai said, add plants to the pond anyway, helps keep the balance in there and provides natural cover for the fish.

[buad hai]

Poorly explained I know but do you follow my meaning Buadhai? Thoughts?

We went back and forth on the issue and decided we like the look of the supports better than we liked the look of the surface going down to the grass. There will be plants all around so eventually the supporting structure of the bridge will be hidden. I know it's hard to imagine that now, but the visual floor of the garden is just starting out and will end up several inches higher than it is now.

Patience is the key.

[bkkmadness]

^ I just want to see you working BuadHai. If I suggest an Eiffel Tower replica made from matchsticks will you go for it?

Agreed when the plants sit round it's going to fit in very nicely, I keep forgetting you are going to put them there.

[bkkmadness]

This would great in your garden Buadhai, looking forward to the new thread.

[buad hai]

You'll have to come up for a few beers some time. You do drink, don't you?

[bkkmadness]

^ Only in times of weakness, which is now in fact.

Thanks for the offer Buadhai, I am hopefully taking a nice long trip out of Bangkok early next year and may very well head N East because I haven't visited that side of the country much. I'll be backpacking would you believe.

But I'm bringing no matchsticks!

[Jet Gorgon]

Thanks for the mini-series on pond making, BH. Excellent, and a fine reference for future fun park-building enthusiasts.

[buad hai]

Based on some comments here I decided to test my little overflow drain. I put a half inch garden hose into the pond and turned it on full blast. No matter how long I left it on the level of the water never went above the top of the outlet pipe.

Over the last 12 hours it got a better test: torrential rain showers beginning about 6 PM last night and ending about 6 AM this morning. The flooding was so severe that I had to abandon my morning run. So, I detoured to the pond instead. Sure enough, the pond water level was right at the bottom of the overflow pipe.

It works!

[a. boozer]

Based on some comments here I decided to test my little overflow drain. I put a half inch garden hose into the pond and turned it on full blast. No matter how long I left it on the level of the water never went above the top of the outlet pipe.

Over the last 12 hours it got a better test: torrential rain showers beginning about 6 PM last night and ending about 6 AM this morning. The flooding was so severe that I had to abandon my morning run. So, I detoured to the pond instead. Sure enough, the pond water level was right at the bottom of the overflow pipe.

It works!

BH. Just a thought, have you put a filter over the mouth of the outlet pipe? It might prevent snails and other creatures getting wedged down the pipe.

[buad hai]

Just a thought, have you put a filter over the mouth of the outlet pipe?

Good idea. I was thinking of a bit of nylon stocking or window netting held on with a hose clamp.

[attaboy]

Just a thought, have you put a filter over the mouth of the outlet pipe?

Good idea. I was thinking of a bit of nylon stocking or window netting held on with a hose clamp.

Something like a hair curler capped on the end would provide you with more surface area for water to enter the drain system. You could cover it entirely in window mesh or just the end which ever works best, Less likely to become clogged with litter than a 1/2 inch end pipe covered in window mesh. Or you could attach a 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch coupler on the end then cover it with window mesh. Thus giving you more surface area for water to enter the drain system.


How long is the electrical cord on the pump? How did you reach the electrical outlet and if using an extension cord how did you protect (from moisture) the connection of the pump cord to the extension cord?

[buad hai]

^That hair curler idea is a great idea. I was thinking of drilling holes in some PVC, but the hair curler is a ready made solution. Thanks!

How long is the electrical cord on the pump? How did you reach the electrical outlet and if using an extension cord how did you protect (from moisture) the connection of the pump cord to the extension cord?

It's a low voltage DC pump fired by a battery and solar panel. If I go to an AC pump I'll build a little shelter for the electrical connection. I did this for my last pond....

Mike's Tropical Pond Page

Pond Construction

[attaboy]

Depending on the size of the curler you can attach it by using a pvc slip/slip reducing adapter.


1/2 inch on one end to slip onto the the 1\2" drain and say 1 inch on the other end to fit the curler. If the curler is loose wrap some tape around the end of the curler and wedge it into the slip adapter. If the hardware store doesn't have adpaters which size up and down on the ends then a reducing bushing might work. Good idea to take the curler to the hardware store to size things before buying.

You can cut slats into a piece of pvc if you have acces to some sort of table or miter saw. Not likely, I understand, but I put it out there for general information.


I forgot about the solar panel saga. Hope it works. There's nothing like tapping into the sun.

[buad hai]

I forgot about the solar panel saga. Hope it works.

It's a bit of so-so. It works. If it's sunny all day the pump continues on for an hour or two after dusk (from the battery). If you let the battery run down completely, the pump doesn't start up until there have been a few hours of daylight.

Since we are usually in the garden for coffee in the morning and happy hour in the evening I'm going to need to remember to turn the pump off during the day so the battery will get charged up.

[corvettelover]

I forgot about the solar panel saga. Hope it works.

It's a bit of so-so. It works. If it's sunny all day the pump continues on for an hour or two after dusk (from the battery). If you let the battery run down completely, the pump doesn't start up until there have been a few hours of daylight.

Since we are usually in the garden for coffee in the morning and happy hour in the evening I'm going to need to remember to turn the pump off during the day so the battery will get charged up.

An inline timer switch should do the job powered by a 9 volt battery switches the pump off/on 24 hour clock at certain times of the day.
neat thread interesting to see how it turns out after it has all settled in

[buad hai]

The solar panel has a new, more permanent location:

[hillbilly]

While I am a fan and supporter of solar energy, I wish there was a better way of hiding the solar panel. I have been told that spray painting the solar panel to make a smiley face is not a good idea.

Any ideas?

[buad hai]

It would probably be less obtrusive if it were up on the roof. But then you've got meters and meters of cable to hide with concomitant voltage drop.