Habitat - Outdoor :: My new and improved Pond

[fluz2]

nice looking pond. for those thinking of something along those lines landscape timbers are cheaper an about the same dimensions. what are you using for filtration ? have you thought of some sort of surround for your pond, keep turts in predators out ? great job.

[Petfreak1321]

Thank you, luckily I am fortunate enough to have a large patio area, enought for that pond, plenty of room to walk around all sides and still extra room left over. Otherwise it would have been very difficult.

The filtration is:
CA6000 SINGLE VENTURI AQUARIUM PUMP (1500gph)
pumping to:

inside of those are; fine pad, coarse pad, biospheres, lava rock and activated carbon (not in that order)

It is easy to keep clean, I clean out one of the filters every 6 months. I alternate to keep the benifical bacteria alive. When I rinse out the media, I fill a bucket with water directly from the pond.

Sometimes at the beginning of the summer I get that micro algae (algal bloomsa) that turn the water green (just happened). I just add 3 teaspoons (¼ of the recommended dosage for 600 gallons) of PondCare: AlgaeFix, works within a few days without any harm.

[Petfreak1321]

...and I turn the UV light on at night during the summer.

[Petfreak1321]

landscape timbers were not readily available for me.

as far as a surround, I plan on adding a small waterfall and some plants.

The turtles can't escape because the water is always at least 6" below the top and they cannot climb out due to the 2" lip all the way around.

Not worried about predators for a few reasons:

In my area the only predator would be stray cats, never get birds big enough, plus the pond is under a thick screen so the bird would have to come down pretty close to even see the pond.

I also have 3 dogs, one of which is a Jack Russell Terrier. She will not allow cats, birds or lizards to even get on our wall, let alone near the pond. She is always on the lookout and the doggie door is near the pond.

Thanks,

I appreciate all the feedback, very helpful. It is always helpful to have many opinions and ideas.

[zoologist]

once again. absolutely beautiful and when i get a house i am stealing your idea. I LOVE IT

[Petfreak1321]

One thing that I left out...
The re-bar listed in the shopping list, there are 3 pieces on each 8' side and 2 pieces for each 4' side. I drilled a hole vertically through all the wood and hammered in the re-bar, just for added support.

[timmyng531]

what size drill bit did you use to make the holes for the 1/2 inch rebar?

some websites ive seen say to use the same size, 1/2 inch, others have said to use 3/8 or 3/4.

if you used 1/2 inch drill bit, how difficult was it to get all the rebars in? would it e ok to use a 3/8?

[bently11]

Impressive pond! Your turts are so cute! The fish are really pretty. Your pond looks sweet!