We would have loved to have gone very large, but budget was an issue(isn't it always...?), so we figured 5000gallons should suit our purpose's for the Koi only pond. We choose to stick with the 45mil EPDM liner and opted to building our own gravity fed vortex/chamber filter. We purchased a 3500gph(1/4hpw) pump to be plumbed to the filter and a linear air compressor to drive the diffuser for the 4" bottom drain we planed for.

 (May'02) We tried to leave the original pond intact as long as we could - but it will be moved shortly to complete the planned pond. The hole is 6ft deep - and when finished will measure 21' x 10' x 6'. There will be a narrow,shallow shelf for access in and out of the pond - also to be considered a "safety" feature incase someone might fall in! The hole you see behind is where the vortex and filter chamber system will be. Lucky for us the ground was only backfill/clay for about 2ft down, the remainder was quite sandy making for easier digging.

Next to install was the bottom drain, which again was a DIY Home Depot purchased 4" pipe and gaskets.

 A off cut of liner was used to block the drain hole for the install. A 4" pipe runs up a 45degree angle to the vortex. Once all the pipe work was joined the concrete was poured around the drain. The bolts were removed from the top gasket ring after curing to discard the liner patch - and the pond's liner was then ready to be installed.

 You can't run a pond with out a pump! We added a Hayward self-priming centrifugal pump(series SP-2600) - 3500gph. Intake is within the final filter chamber and output runs to two separate lines - one 2" pipe to the waterfall(which then splits into three 1 1/2" lines) and the other 2" pipe goes to the stream(which splits into two 1 1/2" lines).

  The pump is also connected to a skimmer. There's also a Thomas linear air compressor(115v) feeding the diffuser attached to the bottom drains dome and 2 air lines in the filter chambers.

Here you see the final filter chamber where the pump draws. There is a valve on the intake pipe(before the skimmer connection) allowing shut off to the filter for maintenance.

2" and 1 1/2" lines to the main water fall

2" and 1 1/2" lines to the small stream opposite the waterfall

....Finishing Touches

With the filter complete, the pump and plumbing installed and the pond filled...time to add the finishing touches. We've collected rock from all over southern and central Ontario over the past few years. We really like the look of the "native" rock and chose to surround the pond, and use it also for the waterfall and stream. Creating a natural looking waterfall isn't easy...we put up and tore down this ponds waterfall twice, but I think the results were worth the effort. In some ways I'm still not satisfied with the look...may do some re-designing another time.

But wait...we're not finished yet! Remember I mentioned two ponds...with the Koi pond complete it was time to move onto the next stage - the watergarden. We used the ordinal(old) pond liner for the lower pond and an off-cut of the koi ponds liner for the top part....but we had to dig some more first...*feel the pain, feel the burn, gotta love it!*

Top ponds depth approximately 15".
Plant shelf is 8" deep x 12" wide.

Ok, so we started this renovation of the ponds in mid - May, it's now mid - July, and it's hot! Thankfully we have all this water around to keep cool! The deck over the filter and pump is being re-designed - and will probably change by next year...but here's a photo of what looked like in August 2002.

That's it! Pretty much done, just some landscaping to do with perennials, etc. Like any Ponder knows....it's never really finished....