Habitat - Outdoor :: Our 2000 Gallon Outdoor Pond

[johnQguy]

Thanks everyone!

wow, that is very nice work, need more pics of turtles though

Funny... I noticed also (after collecting all the shots to show the pond)that the turtles are nowhere to be seen!

I have tons of shots of the turtles, which I'll post on the pictures thread.

[taurusgirl]

wow nice pond

[Gary's Mom]

my favorite part of this story is someone pulling up with a van full of turtles

what an incredible habitat!!

[Swaypippin]

That is truely Ah-mazing!

[zoologist]

i am very jealous. i will probably be contacting you in the future to get the exact blue prints if you don't mind!


By the way, i watched your webcam before seeing this post. no turtles to be found, but the pond looks great!

[johnQguy]

By the way, i watched your webcam before seeing this post. no turtles to be found, but the pond looks great!

Sun isn't out yet. Try again at 9AM Pacific time. I guarantee you there will be turtles out!

[craigal_31]

How many turts have you got in there? Great pond, great pool lovely house lol..

[johnQguy]

15 at the moment.

[sanoske312]

15 at the moment.

hey john just a quick question how much did the total cost of the labor and everything come out to with the revisions? not like im able to afford it but its an amazing pond

[johnQguy]

Let's see...

- Construction and all materials (including first pump, filter, light, vacuum, etc) =$9000
- Added Ultraviolet Ultima II 2000 BioMech filter = $500
- Added T-valve for vacuum and reworked major plumping = $200
- Added 57W Ultraviolet sterilizer with minor plumbing rework = $365
- Added no-niche skimmer (and reworked plumpiing for it) = $80

That's about it.

[sanoske312]

Let's see...

- Construction and all materials (including first pump, filter, light, vacuum, etc) =$9000
- Added Ultraviolet Ultima II 2000 BioMech filter = $500
- Added T-valve for vacuum and reworked major plumping = $200
- Added 57W Ultraviolet sterilizer with minor plumbing rework = $365
- Added no-niche skimmer (and reworked plumpiing for it) = $80

That's about it.

wow for alittle over 10k you did an amazing job

[Ankit]

no doubt !!! its a taj mahal for turtles !

gr8 planning and awesome execution

[raverqueenage]

Wow, just wow.

This has helped me out so much with a cool design for when we get a house and build Hurley his own summer pond. You did such a fabulous job with everything and it looks very well thought out and precise.

Thank you so much for posting this, beautifully done.

[johnQguy]

Thanks!

There were still a lot of lessons learned after this one was finished. I solved a lot of problems with this pond that I learned with our previous 600 Gallon pond, but here are the things I failed to realize before constructing this one....


- You absolutely need a skimmer. Niche or no-niche, and turtle safe! The poop floats before it sinks. Amazing how much cleaner it is with one (even though it is no-niche I added later.)
- An in-wall lighting system is better than pod lights with wires everywhere.
- Bottom of both tanks needs a drain\pickup.
- Equipment chamber needs a drain! (DOH!)
- Vacuum adapter needs a way to prime and should always be below the water level, not have to go up and then down.
- UV sterilizer is essential for clear, healthy water.
- A large bio-mech filter is essential also.
- Don't use a lot of lava rock. You'd be cleaning filth for days annually.
- Always add a lot of waterfall. Don't have it hug the tile like this. The more distance the water falls (preferably off shelves and over rocks), the more oxygen.

[smokeylt]

Too bad you are in california. I am looking for a home for my two red ear sliders who have outgrown their 29 galon indoor tanke