tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56314570202043777182012-01-25T02:48:04.755-08:00How to make an Earth-Friendly, Aquaponic fish pond out of a swimming pool. An economically feasible, "DIY" backyard project.village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.comBlogger711100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-79475093687139258002010-04-27T00:17:00.000-07:002010-04-27T00:20:21.732-07:00

Why is finding solutions now for future problems so important? Maybe this video will help people understand why we cannot wait for solutions. We simply cannot afford to wait. Pay special attention to the last part where he gives an example using bacteria in a jar. Be one of the bacteria that sees the problem ahead of time.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-67717693364859234192010-04-24T00:42:00.000-07:002011-11-04T01:06:13.134-07:00

April 2009 to April 2010... It was April 15th, 2009 when I started the removal of the swimming pool on my way to creating this "one of a kind" system. All things considered it has gone fairly well. At the end of summer last year I had hopes of getting the fish for the large pond. As things turned out I was unable to obtain the type of fish I wanted without jumping through more hoops than I was

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-17750917660331510842010-04-14T21:42:00.000-07:002010-05-22T16:54:32.365-07:00

Bring May flowers, so they say. Well, it's not May. but April showers have brought out many April flowers. Here are some of my flowers that either are in bloom or will be in bloom this April. If this is what I have in April, I can't wait for May! Almost all plants you see here were grown from seed. Alyssum. A minty ground Cover that has been in bloom since February Aptenia. Beautiful

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-35150508452212484122010-03-27T22:36:00.000-07:002010-04-27T00:29:24.401-07:00

It just amazes me how a new life starts. Whether it be a human, another animal, or a plant. It is all equally amazing to me. This is the time of year where so much new life is finding an opportunity to be among the living. On a daily basis it pops up everywhere. The first wildflower in this garden 3 days later(after removing some of the bully flowers) Look closely. See the goldfish eggs?

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-60468377094195710452010-03-20T03:39:00.000-07:002010-04-27T00:32:52.489-07:00

When constructing my pond, I purposely made my pond edging "soft". What I mean by that, is that the edges were not permanently bound to any kind of structure, making them flexible and easy to work with. There is a problem with that, and it is exactly that, they are not permanently mounted and are flexible. So a soft edge is good and bad for the same reason. Having an edge that is easy to "redo",

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-21599623205983059402010-02-23T09:05:00.000-08:002010-04-27T00:34:44.120-07:00

So much to do to get ready for spring. There are new plants sprouting everywhere. The goldfish seem to be getting ready for mating season. The days are getting longer. The weather is warming up. I am excited to get this project finished. With nothing left, as far as the system goes, except to get the fish for the large pond, I am doing a lot of landscaping to get the yard nice for show this

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-47805432259973758472010-02-01T01:04:00.000-08:002010-02-01T01:04:41.237-08:00

1. 2. 3. As Easy as 1-2-3. Checkout this post on the step-by-step blog for complete instructions.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-43774531046565838392010-01-27T06:12:00.000-08:002010-04-27T00:33:40.538-07:00

This article will quickly show how much dirt is needed to fill a moderate size swimming pool. I am going to use the following backyard as an example. Lets see how much fill dirt would be needed by finding the surface area and depth of this pool to get an estimated total volume... 1677 cubic feet of dirt is about 62 cubic yards. That would fill approximately 300 wheelbarrows. The above

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-54669257897896778402010-01-20T15:49:00.000-08:002010-01-20T20:59:15.089-08:00

If you are thinking about getting rid of your swimming pool and/or a natural pond is an option you want to consider? I have just finished a few articles that can help you with your decision. They are on my step-by-step blog and part of the "Thinking about it?" section. Here are the links: Thinking About It? 1. Should I Get Rid of My Swimming Pool? 2. What Can I Do With My Swimming Pool? 3. Why

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-42186521903748041532010-01-20T13:21:00.001-08:002010-01-20T15:38:48.471-08:00

A great way to look at the global warming "debate"

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-70777809468281812452010-01-19T17:26:00.000-08:002010-01-19T17:28:38.744-08:00

Hail, rain, and wind are wreaking havoc on Northern California and have been for the last few days. With no end in sight I will have to figure on being indoors for a while. I'll take the only positive I can see for having to stay indoors for 2 weeks: I get to spend more time on the PC doing my blogs. We need the rain, so I am not complaining. The rain has been very intense, which has made the

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-51791741702767266792010-01-02T12:38:00.000-08:002010-01-02T14:46:53.774-08:00

My step-by-step instructions for building your own grow beds are complete. They consist of ten separate instructions with images and full details. To read them and all of the step-by-step instructions for converting a swimming pool to a "Natural Pond" go to my blog dedicated to that purpose HERE. Feel free to comment on anything about them. Problems and critiques are welcome and will be

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-60985040744809410342009-12-27T01:46:00.000-08:002010-04-27T00:35:40.098-07:00

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything on this blog. I just like showing people ways to save money. Plus I hate it when companies design things solely for the purpose of taking your money. So here I will show you how to save money by deconstructing an unnecessary battery pack that was designed for one purpose, to take your hard earned money. There is NO reason to design something like

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-29038067993851668522009-12-16T11:06:00.000-08:002010-04-27T00:36:50.741-07:00

The pond water can not get any more clear than this. Compare this system to one that employs all the expensive, unneeded equipment that the "experts" would have you unnecessarily purchase. This pond is equipped with one pump, home-made biological filters in the form of grow beds, and nothing else. You need nothing else, and I have all the proof you could ever want right here... Unless you

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-22502202899400091082009-12-05T11:02:00.000-08:002009-12-16T11:22:16.439-08:00

If you have seen my last couple of instructionals on the step-by-step blog you probably noticed the cool 3D images. I used Sketchup to create a 3D model of a grow bed and it was pretty easy. I watched 2 short videos as an introduction and played around with it for about 20 minutes before I jumped right in and started creating the model. Try doing that with AutoCADD(which I spent 2 days playing

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-34643511122087594662009-12-01T20:32:00.000-08:002010-03-30T15:17:33.592-07:00

So it's winter, and your compost isn't getting finished as fast as you would like. Here are a couple of things you can do that will help. 1. Cover the pile - Put some landscape cloth, large plastic bags, or a tarp over the pile. This helps keep the pile warm by containing the heat created during the process. Make sure you uncover the pile during the day a few times a week and mix up the pile a

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-50858641152469689712009-11-24T07:37:00.000-08:002009-11-28T02:49:04.476-08:00

From now on, all the future step-by-step instructions will be posted on my other blog. I created that blog for that specific purpose. It will also contain any helpful tips and information to help you get the job done correctly. This blog will detail everything else related to the project, including what I am currently working on and other yard related topics. The link to the step-by-step's is in

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-49180920326550762452009-11-24T05:48:00.000-08:002009-12-16T11:25:14.215-08:00

This instruction is for the mounting support that will go underneath the grow bed and is attached to the posts. Once the mounts are in place you just set the grow bed on top of it and secure it. The above photo was taken when I was designing the mount and is not exactly what the final support looks like, but it does give you a good idea. An additional three posts(one 4x4 and two 2x4 posts) and

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-69994335243396457502009-11-22T03:03:00.000-08:002009-11-22T03:03:27.344-08:00

You are going to need a lot of plants around the pond and the best way to grow them is using plenty of compost. Making good compost quickly is not as easy as a lot of people might say. If you want it fast, it takes a lot of work to get it right. It is easy if you want it next year, but if you want it in about 6 to 8 weeks, prepare to work for it. First you need to designate an area of at least 6

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-7045720413082039402009-11-20T23:13:00.000-08:002009-11-24T19:50:13.168-08:00

This will give instructions for making a grow bed box out of wood. This does not include the mounting, underneath support, or the liner and drains. Each of these steps will have there own set of instructions. I feel this is a better way to go. A few small sets of instructions rather than one massive set of instructions is easier to follow IMO. So here we go, the first of daily(or almost daily)

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-43064320459832103092009-11-15T07:53:00.000-08:002010-01-28T21:12:58.518-08:00

I didn't feel enough of the water flow was being filtered. This is, in part, due to needing constant water input into the upper pond to keep the waterfall flowing all the time. What I did was direct a lot of water flow directly back into the pond without being filtered. Coupled with the water being used for aeration, I would estimate only about 30% to 40% of the water coming out of the pump was

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-88892261947354847222009-11-14T10:47:00.000-08:002009-11-15T09:01:36.615-08:00

To control mud during winter I decided it was important to finish the landscaping in the grow bed area. After a little rain, I had a taste of what the winter will be like if I didn't do something immediately. I have also spent a lot of time modifying the grow beds to get more filtration. November images:

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-3150440162009643602009-11-13T20:58:00.000-08:002010-01-28T21:12:43.667-08:00

Aloe Vera gel is so good for your skin, I felt I had to show how to get the gel easily from the plant. Here are the steps. 1) Cut a few leaves from the plant. Use the leaves that are closest to the ground. These leaves are more mature and will yield more gel. 2) Cut the thorny edges and the tips from the leaves. 3) Peel the leaves, seperating the two outer layers. 4)

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-19575373590955763492009-11-01T04:24:00.000-08:002009-11-01T04:24:13.326-08:00

No doubt you know about the problems we face in the world today. A quick glance around the internet can be both depressing and enlightening. Whether you believe some or all of potential problems we face, you might fall into one of these three categories... 1) The Overly Optimistic - Everything is going to be fine. Somehow, someway we always figure it out. No need to worry or change our lives

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-85330358811568711672009-10-20T08:00:00.000-07:002009-10-20T08:11:29.268-07:00

...Compost. During a little rainy weather yesterday I got the chance to turn my compost pile. It was steaming hot. And underneath the steam was what I was hoping for, "Black Gold". I'll take the finished compost and screen it to remove the larger items and I will have the best soil amendment known to man. Made from kitchen scraps, paper plates, and yard waste, you can't beat it.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-36954806896960856442009-10-18T02:15:00.000-07:002009-10-18T02:15:37.970-07:00

I need to get the new fish before the weather starts getting really cold. Here, that means November. So I have 2 weeks. October images:

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-34505791960906292002009-10-18T00:01:00.000-07:002009-10-18T01:16:56.845-07:00

Grow beds come in many shapes, sizes, and materials. Choosing the right type for you will depend on a few factors. Money, appearance, ease of setup, and frequency of maintainence are just to name a few. Let's compare the advantages and disadvantages for a few types used for larger systems... pre-made plastic beds, plastic barrels and containers, and wood with a liner. Comparison chart:

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-74716901868100875142009-10-09T14:30:00.000-07:002009-10-09T14:30:57.724-07:00

I finally got all the rock into the last bed and topped off the rest of them. So, all grow beds are functioning and ready to go. The water is a little cloudy from the new rock so I think I will do a partial water change before I put in the new fish. Here are some images of the last grow bed from start to finish:

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-17774311177784505692009-10-02T23:04:00.000-07:002009-10-02T23:05:04.117-07:00

In Northern California, October is, without doubt, the best weather of the year. After reaping the harvest of yet another blistering summer, it is time to relax and enjoy the outdoors. The weather is almost too perfect, if there is such a thing. Take a look at the forecast for the upcoming week... Not bad, in fact, I would say perfect, but I already did. Not much else to report on, just

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-82336902655671449322009-09-30T02:35:00.000-07:002009-09-30T05:11:22.430-07:00

Just over five months from the day I started ripping the swimming pool liner from its depths, the fourth grow bed is holding water and ready for its place among the useful. After a 24 hour testing period in which the bed was filled partially with rock and then filled with water, the ground beneath the bed is still dry. No leaks in the new liner and the drain bulkhead is perfectly sealed. Now

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-10147133017015634522009-09-28T17:44:00.001-07:002009-09-30T04:46:02.773-07:00

I have had success with two very simple self-made bulkheads for the auto-siphon drain assembly. They both have worked well, that is, when they were properly constructed. The first assembly works better for rubber liners. I used this assembly for the plastic liner. The procedures for each will be laid out at the new "step-by-step" blog. I am working on the details and want to be as thorough

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-43195488199767050172009-09-17T22:55:00.000-07:002009-09-18T00:21:35.678-07:00

Had a couple of days of nice weather but now it's back to the summer-like heat in the upper 90's. Was nice to get a lot of work done on the 2 nice days we had, working about 12 hours each day. Unfortunately summer just does not want to go away just yet.Anyway, I made some good progress and should be ready for fish when I can find a local supplier. It's not as easy as you would think to get Bass

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-79519646309390571342009-09-04T20:11:00.000-07:002009-09-04T22:57:19.820-07:00

I finally fixed the leak in the third grow bed. I just need to trim the liner and fill it with rock. One more to go!Even without the grow beds all functioning, the water has cycled well and is ready for some large fish. The smaller pond is full of many types of goldfish and won't need any more.The large pond has just a few common goldfish and is awaiting some Catfish, Bluegill, and Largemouth

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-26825234566036052172009-08-29T15:48:00.000-07:002009-08-31T22:56:00.044-07:00

I want to describe a problem I had with one of the larger grow beds. When constructing the first grow bed I didn't really concern myself with the underneath support. I figured I would do that when I mounted it. With the second grow bed I made the support external to the bed and the mount because I didn't like the support for the first bed. It turns out that the support for the first bed was

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-75414192136159193212009-08-29T15:14:00.000-07:002009-08-31T22:30:02.158-07:00

I have adjusted the new aerators to get better performance. Mostly I just put the outputs closer to the water surface with less angle.Here you can see the shallow aerators.They have a wider spray with more of an angle.They don't penetrate the water more than about six inches.Here you can see the deep injection.They have more of a "Jet" than a spray.These get down two to three feet below the water

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-46339943321775921402009-08-26T21:15:00.000-07:002009-09-04T15:34:40.108-07:00

My methods of aeration described in my previous posts(Here and Here) on the subject were fine as far as aerating the water. What I didn't take into account was the water loss from being directed into the heated 100+ degree dry air. The water was evaporating so fast I was sure there had to be a leak. After searching for wet areas around the pond and not finding any, I came to the realization that

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-26666665877500087572009-08-04T16:00:00.000-07:002009-08-04T16:07:47.472-07:00

Here is a simple image of the system as it will be very soon. I still have to fix the leak in the third grow bed before I can get everything running at full capacity. That will be my next focal point.The second phase will incorporate rainwater storage and a sprinkler system that uses pond water to irrigate the yard.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-45249314045048300522009-07-29T18:39:00.000-07:002009-08-30T18:19:31.283-07:00

Things are coming together nicely. By this time next year everything will be matured and hopefully a mini ecosystem where both plants and fish can thrive in a suburban backyard environment.With most of my focus still on making things look right, I haven't shifted my focus toward function as I had planned. Everything works, but it will work much better once I get the final beds going.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-25397754890121037802009-07-23T06:39:00.000-07:002009-07-25T21:13:04.780-07:00

With a huge project as this, it is no doubt you will run into problems, large and small. I'm not going to go into all the minor problems, just larger problems I have had so far. I can think of 3 big problems that I am dealing with. Here is the first...Pets. I have a very good Labrador Retriever named Lady. She is not the problem. I babysit another dog for a friend, and she is a problem. This

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-50924303337449709102009-07-17T12:37:00.001-07:002009-07-17T14:30:43.504-07:00

Some pix for July.July 7thJuly 9thJuly 13thJuly 17thI got the 3rd grow bed filled but it had a small leak. So now I have to take out all the rock, then the liner, and patch it. FUBAR!

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-5627033004256057182009-07-17T00:09:00.000-07:002009-07-17T00:25:10.777-07:00

Goldfish eat just about anything. They love vegetables and fruit. So it's EZ to make your own by blending vegi's and fruit. Blend them in a blender or food processor, then boil the mixture with some gelatin packs. Pour the mixture onto something flat and cool it in the fridge for a while. Cut it into strips, and freeze. Whenever you want to use some just break off a piece and throw it in the pond

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-70614179957620367592009-07-09T04:49:00.000-07:002009-11-28T01:38:10.311-08:00

(This article is old. I have since changed my aeration as described HERE) I have 7 different methods of aeration in many different areas. My water testing kit didn't include oxygen level, but I'm very sure there is more than enough oxygen at this point. I'm ordering an oxygen test next week, so I will be able to give some actual numbers soon. Moral of the story... You don't need to buy extra

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-27478439951451448502009-07-08T04:16:00.000-07:002009-07-08T04:59:51.793-07:00

Oxygen is vital to the overall health of the system. The fish need it, the plants need it, and the beneficial bacteria need it. Here are a few ways I am using to aerate the pond. The best thing about these methods is that they are all free or extremely low cost. Or you can buy a pump and airstone at a minimum of $200 plus electricity for this size pond. The choice was simple for me...Waterfalls

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-18172170416162866852009-07-08T01:40:00.000-07:002009-07-21T03:32:17.457-07:00

I am getting close to the end of the work and I could not be more pleased with how everything is turning out. Especially considering the entire project has only cost about $3,000. Now that is almost unbelievable, but true. A little thought, some reuse, using natural processes, looking for the best prices, and a lot of hard work has really paid off.Tonight I started the last little bit of pond

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-17067650811917370012009-06-28T16:58:00.000-07:002009-07-21T03:31:46.985-07:00

Well, here we are. Late June and it is HOT! 110F right now, 108 yesterday, and 105 tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm not working in the yard during the day. Last night it was 90 at 9:00pm, so there isn't much going on right now. I have managed to get a few things done and I am starting to clean up the work areas and patios. My tomato crop is in jeopardy because of the heat, so I took some

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-2315766398344116412009-06-25T16:05:00.000-07:002009-06-25T16:11:18.484-07:00

JUNE 2009Well, I only have a couple major tasks left, and it seems, a never ending list of minor details to address. But all in all everything is going well. I'm a little bit behind, but not too bad. I had hoped to have all the major tasks complete by mid-JUNE before it really gets hot. Oh well.JUNE seems to be flying by and most days it seems like I didn't do anything. But looking back at what I

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-49510109495835614432009-05-31T16:52:00.000-07:002009-05-31T17:12:03.357-07:00

In order to start the cycling of the system, I quickly hooked up one of the grow beds. Cycling the water through the grow media lets the necessary bacteria grow for the health of the system. It is necessary to cycle the water for at least a couple of weeks before putting plants into it.A temporary modification to keep constant water flow to the waterfall.This connects to the grow bed output which

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-15375895637324246932009-05-31T16:37:00.000-07:002009-05-31T16:51:54.317-07:00

I have the pump running into one grow bed with another temporary line bypassing everything and shooting back into the pond. The grow bed is the smallest of the four so there is not much water getting filtered right now. I just wanted to get the pump running and get some circulation while I prepare the next grow bed.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-10418594585306058482009-05-30T18:51:00.001-07:002009-05-30T19:41:13.111-07:00

Cut It Out!Before I cut any of the liner I put some of the plants next to the areas in which they will be transplanted. This gave me an idea of how far I need to cut in each area. I also put down some rock and gravel to make sure the liner was fully in place in areas the didn't have a lot of water(the bog area and stream).When cutting, it is best not to cut too much. Always error on the side of

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-15905706273459385322009-05-29T13:46:00.000-07:002009-05-29T14:10:55.512-07:00

Filler up!Not much to say here...hose, water, turn on.Try as I might, I couldn't get the wrinkles out. There are too many angles and contours for it to lie flat. Besides if it is perfectly wrinkle free, it would be too tight and it would stretch.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-91941265496752782662009-05-28T21:13:00.000-07:002010-02-11T21:58:25.761-08:00

Unfold and Cover I put the liner roll in the center of the area. Unfolding was actually easier than I thought it would be. It only took about 10 minutes to fully unfold it. Once unfolded, make sure the farthest 2 points are covered. I pulled it about a foot past the north end and secured it by screwing it to a 2x4 then screwed the 2x4 onto the plywood frame, leaving the south end unattached so

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-11736367732011717302009-05-28T10:28:00.000-07:002009-05-28T21:48:36.105-07:00

For this I am going to assume you have already filled in the pool, dug out your pond, and installed the pump and plumbing.Preparation:Make sure all loose objects are removed. This includes dirt clumps, bits of rock and concrete, and anything that could possibly poke a hole over time. Next, you should put down sand. Put enough to cover any irregularities to make a smooth surface for the liner.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-44712482507860544302009-05-27T21:35:00.000-07:002009-05-27T21:49:24.194-07:00

As of tomorrow there will be no indication a swimming pool ever existed in this backyard. The liner goes in, in the morning to be filled with H2O by evening. Officially a pond, many days of enjoyment are ahead.I have never put in a pond liner, and I am doing it solo. I have read just about every article on the net that instructs on liner installation, so hopefully all goes well. We will see in

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-61667866340267749302009-05-26T17:17:00.000-07:002009-05-26T17:31:18.362-07:00

Wanted to get an idea of what I'm going to need as far as flat-rock to make pathways around the pond so I used some that I already have to start them.Installing the plumbing so tonight I can install the pump. Once this step is complete I will be putting the liner in...finally!

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-55440281908707379542009-05-26T03:17:00.000-07:002009-05-26T03:26:14.474-07:00

View from South end of pool/pond. First photo is from March 22. The last photo was taken May 23.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-1484446266123190362009-05-23T21:40:00.000-07:002009-05-24T20:09:22.296-07:00

Here are many of the plants, mostly flowers, that are going around the landscape once the pond is in: Most have less than a week to wait until they are in their new home.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-62011854314278722842009-05-23T19:24:00.000-07:002009-05-23T19:48:59.161-07:00

Been working at night as much as possible to stay out of the heat.Steps to get back to the original ground levelPlanters to overhang the large pond. Just need to decide on plants now.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-9838838103332212002009-05-19T12:36:00.000-07:002009-05-19T12:54:19.976-07:00

The pond area - view from each end.Deck grow bed is mounted & operational / New planters above large pondPump box to keep it protected / Small pond ready for linerWaterfall/Stream ready for linerTrying to finish up on a few items before I put the pond liner in. I need to make sure that all the construction and landscaping that might cause debris or hardware to fall into the pond is finished

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-70595730337391347052009-05-18T22:34:00.000-07:002010-02-09T17:18:13.078-08:00

There was no lack of planning in any respect to this project. I spent many fall and winter months planning and getting things ready for Spring. Now that I am about halfway through it, I can say, "There is not a single aspect of this project that hasn't changed from the original plan." There are a few reasons for this. The reasons are that I found better ways to do things and that I like to let

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-58223092421324062912009-05-17T16:41:00.000-07:002009-05-17T16:46:02.661-07:00

Not much progress the last few days. Temperatures have been in the upper 90's and today 103 is expected. Been trying to finish the pump installation and putting in the pipes for filtration. Work is very limited because I can't take the heat. 15 to 20 minutes is about all I can take at a time.

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-48279614574486680412009-05-13T23:08:00.000-07:002009-05-24T00:43:18.838-07:00

Here are a few photos to show where I am at as of today.All the plants you see in this photo were grown from seed. They were sown in November through January. I am having a pretty successful season. Starting with about 200 seedlings for the new landscape and the other gardens around the yard, I had only a few casualties. This also shows the grow bed I attached to the deck that is to be used as a

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-84517617113545402692009-05-13T21:32:00.000-07:002009-05-14T01:14:13.163-07:00

Here is a list of all the materials needed and estimated cost. This is just a broad overview and doesn't list specifics. The specifics will be dealt with within the explanation of each procedure.In no particular order:1. Pond liner $5002. Pond pump $5003. Redwood for landscaping items such as retaining walls and planters $2004. Lumber for grow beds and for mounting the grow beds $2505. Screws,

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-26787366673966950132009-05-12T14:35:00.000-07:002009-05-12T15:18:17.415-07:00

The two most important items necessary to insure proper function and longevity are the pump and pond liner. There are as many opinions as there are types of each, so make sure you do your homework to find the best for your needs.My new pump is a Wave Series External Pump (Wave I) - 1/4 HP. This pump will push 6228 GPH @ 4.00 ft. Head. I estimated my pond to be at most 5400 gallons,

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-34421759771473285262009-05-09T22:06:00.000-07:002009-05-10T00:38:46.516-07:00

Materials for grow beds include wood, cement, plastic liner, and hardware...Bulk landscape materials are needed for the soil around the pond and to fill the grow beds...I make my own compost out of food scraps and yard debris so a lot of soil conditioner wasn't needed.I am using an old carpet for the underlayment in the pond, so a lot of sand was not needed.The wood for the grow beds is either

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-79442302128773782292009-05-09T16:15:00.000-07:002009-05-09T21:50:10.750-07:00

Keep in mind that throughout the the project, I searched for ways to reuse existing materials and found ways to do things much cheaper than what landscapers and other contractors would lead you to believe. My goal here is to do this entire project for less than $3,000 and I am projecting under this budget already. A new 5400GPH pump, a new .45 mil EPDM pond liner, bulk landscape materials(sand/

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-87086236389372424272009-05-09T15:44:00.000-07:002009-05-09T16:14:17.804-07:00

Since this project actually started about 10 months ago, I have a lot of catchup to do before I can make my daily progress posts. To catchup quickly I will be skipping all the the experimenting I did before the actual construction phase. I will post these when I get time during the next few months. So I will begin with quick summaries of expenses, growbed construction, and growing most of the

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-17338513666292185042009-05-08T22:22:00.000-07:002009-05-09T17:07:32.477-07:00

Here I sit, broken-hearted. Tried to...uuuh, yeah...Here I sit, looking at a half full(2 years ago it was half empty) swimming pool, once again. Summer coming to an end and I have done all I can to stop the leak(s). I replaced all the seals, repaired broken pipe, patched a hole, replaced the skimmer faceplate, and I'm done. It's me or the pool, one of us is going.I had several options(and me

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-18965692880156229362009-05-08T21:55:00.000-07:002009-05-08T22:08:53.302-07:00

You gotta be kiddn! That is what it would have cost to fill the pool in with dirt - $15,000! Just fill it, nothing more. No landscaping, no grass, not even some Vaseline while they bent me over. Nope, nothing but a dirt flat.That's worse than paying $4.50 for a loaf of plain white sandwich bread, as I did yesterday. You would think something so simple should be next to nothing. I see contractors

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-87042944444192408642009-05-07T16:18:00.000-07:002009-05-07T16:58:40.017-07:00

Aquaculture is the term used for the production of aquatic animals. It basically means fish farming. One of the problems with aquaculture is the need to continuously replace the water. Contaminated water is usually just placed back into a stream or other body of water. With our fresh water supply getting strained the problem only gets worse. Setting aside land for commercial aquaculture systems

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-12279365178949429382009-05-07T15:25:00.000-07:002010-01-02T14:50:24.441-08:00

By definition a "Natural Pond" is a small body of water that occurs naturally. So a man-made natural pond is really a contradiction that can only be partially correct, either it's man-made or it's natural. So I am using the term as more of a loose description rather than a definition. So what I mean by a "Natural Pond" is a pond that closely resembles that which occurs naturally. We will let

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631457020204377718.post-55098651159594048312009-05-07T02:33:00.000-07:002009-05-07T03:12:09.925-07:00

The time has come to say goodbye to my swimming pool. I had spent a great portion of my teenage and young adult years enjoying the benefits of this pool. Man, if it could speak, it would have a lot to say.(Actually, I'm glad it can't, as I'm sure it would reveal things better left to my own recollection) The story of this old swimming pool is the story of my young life. It has seen it all and I'm

village1diothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10418231742234754022noreply@blogger.com0