POND CONSTRUCTION TIPS (Pond Guru - Newcastle, North East England)

[PR0CRASTINAT0R]

Cool video! (5 - STARS!)

Thanks for posting it!

I help run a free Pond share website.

It would be great to have some more pond people join in and share their pictures,videos, and stories.

OldGardenPond,com

(If you copy and paste the above address, please change all commas to dots. Youtube will not let me put dots, so I put commas in the website address)

[pondguru]

I've checked it out and it looks good. I'll get back and add some stuff when I get some time to add something useful to it. Thanks for that.

[Arteolike]

1mm Liner? i thought 45 Mil EPDM was the best bet?

[pondguru]

45 mil ? as in 45 milimetres? I have not come across that one. Each liner has its own benefits when thickness, cost ease of use are taken into consideration. The 1mm rubber suits the type of ponds that I build best but some people use nothing but 0.7mm butyl as it lays easier and some folks always use 0.5 PVC to keep costs down (not advised)

[Arteolike]

no no 45 Mil as in 45/1000 or something like that. Look around. Almost every pond installer uses 45 mil EPDM pond liner, typically from Firestone. I got mine from Anjon, with a lifetime warranty.

[pondguru]

Thats probably the trade name for it in the US. Here its called Firestone 1mm EPDM. I'm sure that its the same stuff as thats what I see the likes of 'Pond digger', 'Pond hunter' and 'LA Fish Guys' using on their Youtube videos.

[Arteolike]

It is! But i think "The Pond Hunter" and "The Pond Digger" use a higher quality liner than "LA Fish Guys" See... Firestone pond liners don't consist of an even thickness, for that they are known known as 40Mil pond liners here in the US. Firestone offers a 20 year warranty, But i like anjon, they got a Life Tome warrenty, you should ckek them out.

[pondguru]

Yeah, I don't know about the LA fish guys for sure, I normally can't get through their videos as they do them in so many parts!

The Firestone that I use has a 'Lifetime warranty' which relates to how quickly the material breaks down in sunlight. As it has only been manufactured for about 50 years and the first batch still hasn't degraded enough to leak, that'll do for me.

[Arteolike]

Cool. And the "LA Fish Guys" are so annoying, kinda. HE talks like he is bored and he knows everything. There 500 Part shows would get twice as fast if he talked with passion and straight forward.

[pondguru]

My videos are probably the opposite to LA fish guys as they are very straightforward and functional. Problem is I do so many jobs that if I go into too much detail I would never get through the work. I maybe should get in front of the camera a bit and explain a bit more to make the vids bit more interesting but when I'm on a job I just concentrate on doing it to the best of my ability, then on to the next one without having time to edit an epic 20 part series on a simple pond build.

[ThePondDigger]

Hey Arteolike, Pondguru is in Europe so we are using different measurements for identifying thickness of liner. I'm sure he is using the same quality pond liner as we are here in the US. I look forward to the day I can work on the same project as PondGURU. Our styles are very different but the same, if that makes any sense. We would have a good time trading construction tips and tricks!

[pondguru]

Thanks, man. I was getting a hard time from that guy......

[BigBadCrazyDave]

Pondguru - I need a bit of advice... I'm about to build a 4000 gallon pond and was hoping to have a few koi. I was only planning on getting a good quality pump, chest filter, and air pump, but i've seen koi specific filters that cost hundreds. Would my original plan be sufficient?

[pondguru]

As long as you add some plants and not too many koi, the filter shouldn't get overworked. By chest filter I assume you mean the traditional box filter. This is the most cost effective way to get maximum filtration at minimum cost. If the filter comes with flocor (chopped up bits of corrugated pipe) you could substitute that for alfagrog which will increase the surface area / efficiency of the filter. Putting an air stone into the filter will feed the bacteria with more oxygen also.

[BigBadCrazyDave]

Brilliant, thanks for the advice. I've decided to splash out a bit more and go for a higher spec box filter, but i'll still check out some alfagrog. I was originally going to run 2 air lines into the pond, but i'll use one in the filter now!

Thanks again for the advice.

[pondguru]

No worries, man.

[raywoolshy]

1:02 wots that

[pondguru]

A sturgeon of some sort. Not sure which type - may be white tip. It's difficult to tell from underneath and the picture was one I got off internet image search.

[HeroDarren1993]

How deep i need for a turtle pond? What other requirements is needed?

[pondguru]

I don't know where you live so all I can do is advise based on my pond. Mine is about 12'-15' deep and 100' long by 50' wide but I live in North East England and the weather gets very cold, freezing the top of the pond. This forces the terrapins to hibernate which is not ideal for them. If you live in an area that gets no frost then the pond would need to be no bigger than approx. 10' x 8' x 3' deep with basking sites (important). You would obviously need to feed them also in a smaller pond.

[HeroDarren1993]

I live in Malaysia and possibly coldest temperatue would be 25*C. 10' x 8' 3' with a hibernating site eh? Do you have a video of your own turtle pond? I would like to see how it look like.

[pondguru]

Ha, Ha. No need for any hibernation site then! My own pond is down in my videos as 'Pondguru - natural koi pond' but it crops up on a few of my videos including this one and 'Pondguru's garden'.

[rcooper95]

look at the pond on my homepage and ask questions there

[howarth004]

Good video you have put together there and some well designed ponds, with usefull information

[pondguru]

I still intend to do videos with detailed construction of cascades and filter installation, but never seem to get round to it....

[Arteolike]

what type of underlayment is that i need some!

[pondguru]

It is non-woven polyester which is 300 gram per sq. metre. There are various forms available but you want an underlay that easily moulds to the shape of the hole - Not carpet. Also, do not use sand as it will get integrated into the soil and leave you with no protection.

[Arteolike]

Alright, were can i but it? Is it expensive? Because some maniac invented these things and their 1/2 the price of the liner! For my 15' x 20' pond i need to spend $89.00USD and for my stream $35.00USD! Enough i paid $165.00USD For a 15' x 20' piece of rubber, now they are expecting me to pay $89.00USD For a piece for worthless fabric! My Grandpa Built a pond 29 Years ago (Still remember it in my child hood) with regular roofing ribber and carpet underlayment! And its full of fish and plants!

[pondguru]

Carpet underlay is the next best thing to 'proper' underlay. I always use the polyester underlay as it can be easily pegged down, follows shelf contours well and will not rot. If you can get carpet underlay its not a bad second choice. the polyester underlay is probably the same as I use as it is about 1/2 the cost of 1mm rubber. Take the entire cost of the job (liner, pump, filter, electrics etc.) into account before leaving out underlay, it doesn't add much to the bottom line cost.

[pondguru]

When I am pricing to install a pond or stream, if the client wants to do without underlay then I turn down the job if I can't talk them round - I think its that important.

[vileda1991]

Super, vs pleased me, especially grotto.

[pondguru]

I like to make different ponds each time.

[bigjayjay75]

Hi Great video

What the specs for the pond built in the blocks please, something like what i am after, i am just down the road from you, cheers.

[pondguru]

Had to watch that back to see which pond it was - There are two similar ones. The one in the example build was at Blackhill near Consett and was approx. 10' x 8' (external) and 2' above ground with 1' below ground. The other similar pond was approx 12' x 7' including top pond and waterfall and was again 2' above ground and 1' below ground. The construction of that one is in my videos as 'Natural stone pond at Sandhoe'. Hope this helps.

[MrWaterfalls]

we have 2 different styles of building

[pondguru]

Styles of construction reflect the environment. We have a relatively wet climate, so mossy rocks and sandstone (local rock) works best. As long as the pond or cascade does not leak, the filtration keeps the pond clear and the customer is happy, the construction methods could be totally different, but both right for long term enjoyment of the feature.

[udderlove]

Who is this song by and what is it called? Nice vid btw, i have been thinking about a pond for a while and your vids are very information rich. Thanks.

[pondguru]

It is 'Sirens of the Sea' from Above and Beyond presents Oceanlab album which is a great collection of tunes. Best tune i've got on Ipod is by John O'Callaghan called 'Big Sky' - its on my video called 'Stone pond and cascade - Prudhoe' and as I got found out there's a link to I tunes on the vid to buy it which is well handy. Every time I get griefed for using rock music the vids are muted or frozen until I change the music to some generic crap with no copyright issues.

[mugzed]

Helpful hints there, building a waterfall is the hardest part for me.Still need to sort out a blinking leak.

[pondguru]

When building a waterfall, just ensure that the liner is way higher than the possible water level after building up with stone, then whatever you build on the liner is personal taste. Could be cobbles laid in cement or formal stone effect. As long as the water is forced in the right direction should be sweet. Where cascade meets pond needs particular attention as this is where most water loss/leaks occur and is harder to spot once cascade is running.