The weather is rather clement up here today and I have the day off work so I have decided to embark on my pond building mission.
1st question.
How deep should I go?
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The weather is rather clement up here today and I have the day off work so I have decided to embark on my pond building mission.
1st question.
How deep should I go?
I'd say that all depends on what you plan on keeping in the pond.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
Guppies - not deep, dolphins - deep !!
ok, i have just googled it.
I want to build a koi pond, they recommend 1000 gallons of water and 4 or 5 feet in depth.
Quote:
KOI POND
A koi pond is different from a water garden because koi limit the amount of plant life available to be grown. Simply put: koi eat some plants. A koi pond should also be larger because koi get quite large despite the size of the pond, it is recommended that a koi pond be no less than 1000 gallons in volume, the bigger the better. It also needs to have an area of the pond at least 3 feet deep, 4 - 5 may be better.
Have you revisited BH's pond thread?
^
do you have a link?
If you build a Koi-pond, you'll need to have a bio-filter as well, and a small pump to circulate the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
First piece of advice:
Forget Koi, they are voracious eaters and poo producers. Poo means nitrogen which is why Dalton is right; with Koi you're going to need a powerful filter. And, with Koi, you can forget about pond plants as they'll eat them all unless you have a special area for plants to which the Koi are kept from swimming.
Consider stocking your pond with Comets instead. Comets are a type of goldfish that look like small Koi, grow to six or eight inches and do not ordinarily consume plants or produce huge amounts of nitrogen.
These are Comets:
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2008/05/1065.jpg
As for depth, I'd make most of the pond about two feet deep. You can make one are a bit deeper for easier emptying of the pond in case you need to pump the water out. Along the edges you can make some foot depth shelves on which to put potted pond plants.
This page has numerous photos of my pond under construction:
Pond Construction Photos
Pond building thread:
https://teakdoor.com/building-in-thai...ds-a-pond.html
Yes. ^Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
^
thanks, just re read the first 10 pages.
is it necessary to use concrete for the skirt.
I'd rather not if I didn't have to.
It just adds stability to the edge. If you've got dry, hard soil, you can probably get away without it. But, if you've got the kind of pond where people will walk right up to the edge, it's probably best to build the concrete collar. Otherwise you can put rocks around the edge to keep people from standing there and causing collapse.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
We actually have plenty of sand and cement and my wife is quite adept at making concrete, so I'll follow your advice.
:)
^Don't forget to take lots of photos....
reds on the wayQuote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
we've just stared arguing about the bloody location.
i had a definite idea of where i wanted it, but that is very near our big bamboo cluster and I guess the thing will fill with leaves and debris in no time.
I'm out of ammo with which to either green buad hai or red king willy.
would somebody mind doing it for me?
She's right there. I had a big bamboo clump next to my pond on Saipan and ended up taking the thing out because of all the debris in the pond....Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
have chosen the location now.
i am about to mark the outline with a length of hose.
just another quick question before I embark on this disaster.
how deep was your concrete collar?
i can't find any reference in your thread.
What's in it for me ??? I can do both :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
^
green ok?
^ can you be trusted ?? :)
You can so I see..:) It's done just like you wanted, Green to KW and red to BH...Right..:)
It's about four inches thick. I put rebar in it, but you could probably leave that out if the concrete has plenty of gravel.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
I'm gonna be offline for a while as I'm moving the computer to the new desk and I have to disconnect the router for a bit. Back by noon....
First things first, Noony, give the wife a spade and get her digging.
I'm back. But, WTF, why do I have so many cables running all over the place?
I'm already struggling here.
I have drawn the outline of the pond, but am failing miserably to make a nice channel for the concrete.
my dirt is very crumbly.
what tool did you use BH, my hoe is too wide.
How wide is your ho?
The channel for the concrete can be 8 to 12 inches wide and about 4 to 6 inches deep. I used an ordinary Thai-style hoe. The blade is about six inches wide.
Maybe better to wet the soil and let is soak overnight and dig tomorrow? It might be easier to dig and shape right if the soil were moist.
No reason to be in a big rush...
Being a new home owner, he is under the false perception the faster he goes the quicker he can relax and have nothing else to do.;)Quote:
Originally Posted by buad hai
this is CMN we are talking about....Quote:
Originally Posted by buad hai
He must be younger than we are....Quote:
Originally Posted by Norton
sweating buckets here and feeling rather light headed.
might have a beer break.
Guess that's the end of this thread for a few days.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
The bigger the better.Quote:
I want to build a koi pond, they recommend 1000 gallons of water and 4 or 5 feet in depth.
Hopefully in partial shade, and make sure there are no trees nearby that will drop leaves into your pond. Also, if the concrete isn't sealed properly the roots may eventually work their way through it to get to the water.Quote:
have chosen the location now.
As with all fish, it depends how you stock the pond/aquarium. If you have a very low stock level then koi will survive just as easily as the common goldfish without a filter. Likewise a pond stocked to the brim with goldfish will also need a bio filter.Quote:
If you build a Koi-pond, you'll need to have a bio-filter as well, and a small pump to circulate the water.
A pump to circulate the water is always a good idea. Ideally I would add a bio flter to your pond as well. You can buy them or make them yourself very cheap.
The over the top need for filteration and UV lights and special care for Koi comes from the often snobby attitude of the expensive high grade Japanese Koi keeper and of course the manufacturers of specialist koi keeping equipment. In reality, they are a carp just as the goldfish is and can be kept in much the same way.
I guarantee you a 2 inch goldfish will produce pretty much just as much shit as 2 inch koi.:)
Koi are voracious plant eaters, but you can keep them in a planted pond with no problem, which my Dad has done for years in the UK.Quote:
Forget Koi, they are voracious eaters and poo producers. Poo means nitrogen which is why Dalton is right; with Koi you're going to need a powerful filter. And, with Koi, you can forget about pond plants as they'll eat them all unless you have a special area for plants to which the Koi are kept from swimming.
If you have lilies (or any potted plants) you need to protect the roots, and if you have free growing bushy plants, then you need to have enough growing (these plants typically grow at a fast rate) so despite how much gets eaten the plant will never disappear from your pond and continue to thrive. Much like a herd of cows can live on a field of grass, eating it all day, but will never completely clear the grass.
The only thing you really need to bear in mind with Koi is that they will eventually reach a large size, around 3 feet maximum. It takes a long time though and by that time the fishkeeping bug will have got you and you'll want a bigger pond, so nothing much to worry about.:)
I can see about 5 Koi carp in this photo BH.:)Quote:
Nope, they're all Comets. Purchased as such and that's what they seem to be. None of them have the broad head and whiskers that you see in Koi. And, they're three years old and haven't grown much, if at all, since we bought them. And, they do not eat the plants at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by bkkmadness
CMN, did you buy the liner yet? Figure out how to fill it? Going to put in some plumbing? Any waterfall or other feature? Decide how to power a pump?
You can keep Koi as Maddy describes, but before you decide, have a look at Hillbilly's thread:
https://teakdoor.com/farming-and-gard...fish-pond.html
no, but i've managed to dig something that looks like a trench for the concrete.Quote:
Originally Posted by buad hai
that's enough for me for today.
got to work tomorrow and sunday so shan't be doing anything else til Monday.
thanks for the fish advice madness and all the other stuff bh.
i wouldn't know where to start, will ask the local building guys who did my house.Quote:
Originally Posted by buad hai
yes, shall have a little waterfall.Quote:
Originally Posted by buad hai
Take any photos?
^
of course.
Gonna post 'em?
Soon?
so where are they?Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon