Our pond, “Loch Lomond (jr)”, is an irregularly shaped liner pond with a flagstone surround and a cedar spillway at one end. It is situated between our gazebo, the patio walk to the gazebo and an area of trees and shrubs. The area of trees and shrubs has a small hill nicknamed Ben Nevis from which the spillway issues.
The purpose of this page is to share our experiences in building a pond and to encourage others to give it a try.
Last Updated: August 30, 1997.
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This material is Copyright ©
1997 Craig Buchanan. All rights reserved. This page may be freely
linked to.
Please send comments or questions to mailto:
buchananc@acm.org.
Dimensions: Outside Edges: 11' x 17' Inside Edges: 8' x 13' Liner: 15' x 20', 40 ml liner from Tetra . Circulation: Pump: Little Giant 1200 gal/hr. Spillway: 8' cedar trough. Capacity: Unknown. Filters: Skimmer Basket. Reservoir filter. Plastic filter medium. Biofilter. Lava rock medium. Surround: Flagstone. Pump House: 24"w x 19"l x 26.5"d. Made of 2" treated lumber. Plumbing: 1" pvc throughout. 1.5" pvc between pool skimmer and reservoir. 0.5" pvc drain on biofilter.
The current inhabitants of the pond include:
The goldfish are large feeder goldfish. The feeder goldfish were used to test the water quality and to season the pond. The domestic Koi came from the local pet store. The catfish came from the boys next door who caught it while fishing and decided not to eat it. (I suspect someone didn't want to clean and prepare it.) The snails simply turned up.
At various times I have toyed with the idea of UV filters, pond lights and fountains. At the moment however I don't think the pond needs anything other than a few plants. I gauge the quality of the water by the buildup of algae in the pond and in the spillway. The spillway makes a great water quality indicator. When there are excess nutrients in the pond, algae forms in the spillway. At one point the rocks in the spillway were completely covered with green and brown algae. But it cleared and now all the rocks are visible again.
Additional plumbing is planned in the form of a drain valve ahead of the spillway. The drain would shunt the return water allowing the pond level to be lowered easily.
This material is Copyright ©
1997 Craig Buchanan. All rights reserved. This page may be freely
linked to.
Please send comments or questions to mailto:
buchananc@acm.org.
