Planning a pond

[xiaan]

I am about to venture into the world of ponds soon and I have a couple of questions.

Here is what I am planning. 7x5x2 foot pond with a 9 foot stream &  1' water fall.
I am planning on using a flexible liner (not one of those prefab ones)

Should I get a skimmer for the pond? what are the advantages/disadvantages of a skimmer?
Do I need to get a waterfall box?
Those things seem to be pricey is there any way to DIY them? (they just look like fancy buckets with filter media in them  )
What size of pump do I need (I am thinking of a 1000-1500 GPH)?

Where is the best place to get rock for the pond (I am going for the mountain stream look with lots of small rocks and boulders)

Right now the plan is to get some minnows for the pond (I am not planning to have Koi/Goldfish) and I have some WCMM that I might put in there when they come home from school.

[Rybren]

I didn't have a skimmer nor a bottom drain on my last pond, but I wish that I did.  If the pond will be located in an area with a lot of trees near by, the leaves and buds and such will quickly accumulate in the pond.  A skimmer will remove a lot of this stuff prior to it sinking to the bottom.

Is the plan to have the waterfall feed the stream or will it fall from the stream into the pond?  If it feeds the stream, then it's fairly easy to DIY.  I had a DIY Barrel Filter that just overflowed into the falls.  At the end of the stream, it flowed over a flagstone ledge and into the pond.

A note of caution:  If you don't have a fenced in yard, the max depth of the pond can only be 23 inches.  In the City of Ottawa, anything at 24" or deeper is considered a pool and must be fenced in.

Jerry

[xiaan]

Is the plan to have the waterfall feed the stream or will it fall from the stream into the pond?  If it feeds the stream, then it's fairly easy to DIY.  I had a DIY Barrel Filter that just overflowed into the falls.  At the end of the stream, it flowed over a flagstone ledge and into the pond.

The plan is to do a Small Waterfall->Stream->Pond. I was thinking that to a 5G bucket filed with Bio Balls and some Fiter material would probably work.

A note of caution:  If you don't have a fenced in yard, the max depth of the pond can only be 23 inches.  In the City of Ottawa, anything at 24" or deeper is considered a pool and must be fenced in.

The yard is fenced in but I will dig a 23" deep hole then (It will probably be less deep after I add the rocks and gravel)

[Rybren]

Sounds good,

I used a 15G barrel as my filter - water dumped into an empty 12" chamber at the bottom (for settling) then flowed upwards through furnace filter media and lava rock and came out a 1 1/2" pipe to the falls.  I had a drain on the bottom to empty the settling chamber.  The media sat on an egg-crate/PVC stand.  It worked quite well on my 10'x5'x30" pond stocked with 2 koi and 12 goldfish.

If you decide to go with a skimmer (you can DIY one from an old plastic laundry sink) the flow from it can feed the filter.

[Fishnut]

Not only is more than 23 inches considered a pool, but you have to have a permit for anything deeper...which is a ridiculous fee and headaches because you have to submit a plan with measurements etc so that some city worker can approve it.

I'm using a rubbermaid tote box to make my new filter...using bulkheads for hose attachments because silicone doesn't stick to those boxes.  For media, I'm going to use a layer of filter floss that I can take out and change to catch any debris that makes it through, a thick layer of those plastic put scrubbers and a final layer of either bio balls or lava chips.  I'm also not going to bother with the skimmer because we're putting one of those metal gazebos over it to prevent leaves from getting in and we have a net stretched over top of it to try keeping the raccoons out.

[Anja]

I'd definitely go with a skimmer. Makes it much easier to keep clean. We did go with the store-bought kit, it was a birthday present (yeah big one, I know). But I don't see why you couldn't make the stuff yourself, if you're handy. Getting the fittings watertight would prolly be the hardest part, I'd imagine.

We got our rocks from the Pond Clinic. You tell them the size of your pond and they deliver the right amount of accent boulders, river rocks and pebbles right into your driveway. Then prepare for some muscle work. 

If you're interested, you can follow the building of our little pond here:
http://canadanja.googlepages.com/2007
(starts at the bottom of the page) You can see the second year, if you click on [home].