Progress on the Whishing well around the DIY filter.

[Cinnamon]

I thought I would put a few pics up of this past weekend's progress. We are about half done with the wishing well. I worked mainly in all my flower beds this weekend. They needed attention big time. Hopefully we will have another good weekend with no rain to finish it. We got the rain yesterday!!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pamth@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=fcd6&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

[Jackie Ramo]

Looks like you have Rembrandt working hard!!! Going to look great.

Remeber to post hwo you are working around the draining and cleaning of the filter as well. Why think for myself when others can do it for me :lol:

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I will snap a pic of the gate valve also to drain the filter. We left just enough room to work behind it if you are careful. No one has fallen in yet! :lol: We will put the roof on this weekend. Heiko wants wood shingles on it. He asked if I could do it. I said NATURALLY! :lol: It helps having construction expertise. I owned my own company for many years. I am going to paint the top green to fit the rest of the decor out there. The crank will be set towards the back and it will be used to lift the lid of the filter. :)

[Busy B]

I bet you're going to be so happy when the construction phase is over! That's a really clever way to hide the stock tank! Keep us updated:smile:

[Terri]

Lookin' good :grin:

[Cinnamon]

Busy I will be glad when it is finished. Everyone asks what am I going to do next. I say REST!!!!!!! They say Yea Right! I am really getting so tired right now. The heat isn't helping. It makes me a wet noodle. It affects my MS big time. But I will live :smile: After the wishing well is complete then all I have to do is get the flagstone down! YEA YEA! Then I can sit back and stare at it :lol: I can see a light at the end of the tunnel now!

[Busy B]

It's going to be absolutely beautiful :wink:

Where do you get the flagstone?

[ozzyrockman]

Lookin good Rem & Cinn. Did you decide if you where going to get one of those fancy little low level sensors to shut the pump down if you loss water level? I am sure looking forward to seeing that wishing well, did Rem decide to do the Tim Taylor lid lift on it? How much do they charge for flagstone where you are, in these parts the average is about $0.33 per lb and just one of those darn things cost us 307 lbs good golly. Luckily for us we have an endless supply of river rock in our own back yard, I am digging another hole in the yard that may be used for a pond but for now I am digging to get the rock so I can say its all native rock except the flat rock. I know it’s a lot of work but fill is cheaper than rock so what the heck not to mention you'd be amazed as to how much frustrations a pick ax relieves. Have fun and I'll talk to you soon. Allen

[Cinnamon]

Busy we have a big rock place about 20 miles south of us. They deliver for us also. They have every rock you can imagine and all sizes. From pea gravel to HUGE boulders!

Allen I wish we had river rock! We have to buy it all! Now the flagstone the guy gave us a deal on an open pallet. It is usually 0.16 lb and he gave us what we bought for 0.10 lb. I have a feeling we will have to get more. The river rock was $500 for a pallet. I think it runs around 0.18 a lb. Compared to your's I guess it is cheaper here. Now the river rock came from the Rocky Mountains it says on the tag. Now in west Texas they have all kinds of river rock. My BIL has a dump truck and Heiko thought about getting it and getting a load. I told him for what it would cost to drive out there and back we could buy it here! :lol: It is a 12 hr drive or more! I still need to tell Heiko about that sensor. He is real busy at work right now and hasn't had time to check in here this week.

[Rembrandt]

Hey Ozzy
Getting ready to leave the office after another fun filled day of collsions, etc.
Have gotten way behind on my reading and posts but stuff happens. :wink:
I was thinking..... If I put a valve out there, I could use one of those cool new commode valves and make that work easily enough. The only problem I can see is that the water that is dumped in would be chlorinated and then we would have to chase it with dechlorinator. If we are there to chase it with dechlorinator, then we would be there to catch the initial failure,.... I sense a chonundrum... (sp?)

Of course,... a new shallow well system would take care of that. !rofl

I haven't had time to think any more on the mechanical lift of the lid. As soon as I can catch my breath, I'll get back on it. Was going to pick up a few more things this evening but I've already missed that opportunity.
A never ending project (it seems)... A challenge... A masterpiece (I hope)... Definately a source of great pride for both Pam and myself!!
....time for me to go home... I'm babbling....
Heiko

before I sign off here, I keep thinking of another Koi Vet's sgnature: "My wife wanted a simple water feature, I should have listened." :lol:

Very similar only the rolls were reversed at our place.

[ozzyrockman]

Humm now let’s try to figure this one out. The cheapest I have ever seen flagstone in these parts was $.22 lb yet we can go east a bit and prospect for our own, I believe $24 per truck load and max 3 loads per year. The down side to that is you have to know where to go. Depending upon where you are located you can call the parks and rec and see if they allow prospecting f/rock in your area and they can give you a rough loca to go and see what you can get.

After you see what and where they offer you can get the permit however don't pay for the permit until after you see what they have to offer b/c from my experience you might be better off digging a hole in your back yard for river rock !rofl .

Anyway what can I say I grew up on a dairy farm in Mn and can not see paying for rocks and my parents would tell me I'm NUTS for paying for rock especially if I told them how much I have paid so far in flat rock.

Rem the low level sensor I am talking about simply turns power off to prevent the pump from sucking the pond dry. I don't think I would use one of the stock tank type H20 level switches b/c you are correct if your pump is pumping water out of the pond and the system is not returning it you could potentially have a disaster on your hands.

Is there such a thing as a simple water feature, once it starts your hooked.

Allen

[Cinnamon]

Allen I wish you could get your own some place here but alas I do not believe you can. This area has no flagstone or river rock. I think most of the flagstone here comes out of Mexico. I believe that is what the rock guy told me. Maybe that is why we get it so much cheaper here. Most of his rock no matter what it is is between 0.10 on sale and 0.18 is his highest. So I guess that isn't too bad compared to ya'll. Heiko's Mom would have a fit if she knew how much we paid for these :lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

My parents laugh all the time about us buying rocks. One year she sent xmas presents down to us and Smith picked one up and said wow your mother made a huge xmas cake for me. Anyway come xmas morning we open the package and its two rocks in in box :lol:

[Cinnamon]

Heiko's Mom and Dad went to California for 5 weeks about the time we were building the pond the first time. She went around out there finding us rocks. I had to swear my SIL (which is Heiko's sister) to secrecy about how big the pond is and all the rocks. Every time I talked to her she asked. I said it is coming along. I told her if we were lucky it would be finished when they got back. She would brag about finding the rocks she did. When she walked in our backyard she gasped loudly at the size and the rocks :lol: I did incorporate her rocks as well. They are pretty rocks. Two of them are hearts they found walking. I put them on the outer face of the rock waterfall :) she loved that!

[Rembrandt]

....and the water is just FINE!!!! :lol:

....just ask Cinnamon! :roll:
Rembrandt

[Rembrandt]

....a Sunami in the KOI pond??? !wow!

Rembrandt

[Cinnamon]

Sorry I am posting so late. It has been a busy morning this morning! I have all the pics from the Wishing Well up on my site. Here is the link!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pamth@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=/f21b&urlhint=actn,del%3as,1%3af,0

I did put them in a seperate folder that way you don't have to wait for all the old pics to load. I am going to start the wood shingled roof in just a bit. The project is now turned over to me! :lol:

Okay I have to tell you this. I have said from the start that Heiko would be thet first one to get drunk and fall in the pond. Every time someone mentions that I have Heiko will be the first. Not that he has a drinking problem we just have a few parties. I was getting the fish an orange yesterday morning and was about to walk out the door when I heard this tremendous splash! I looke out and Heiko was IN the pond! !rofl He was standing on the edge of the lower part of the wishing well working on the rafters. He lost his balance and away he went backwards in the pond! !rofl I asked him if he was okay and he said yes. I said what about my plants? !bonk There is a pic of him on the site standing there soaking wet. Cigarettes and all! I laughed adter that.

Now the problem. My fish underwent their first "Tsunami". Now they are back to running everytime something comes close. It will take me week to get them back trusting me again. Cinn the Fantail is the ONLy one hhat came to eat out of my hand twice since this happened. <sigh>

[Jackie Ramo]

:lol: At least the water was warm... Nearly did a header myself on Saturday while trimming all the plants back. Seems everyone ends up falling into thepond once or twice. you're next Pam!!! Keep the camera ready!!

Wishing well looks great. and since Rembrandt wasn't covered in green slime, it looks like its working as a filter :frisbee:

Don't worry the fish will be hungry come morning.

[Rembrandt]

Hi Jackie :)
Actually the water felt pretty good. I was impressed. I was thankfull that when I realized I had reached that point of no return, I had the sense to push off and away from the rocks. It seemed like it took me 45 minutes to fall but I know that was not the case.
Yes, fortunately the only part of me that sustained injury was my pride. :(

Cinn? I'll keep my camera on hand. You're next! :smile:
Rembrandt

[Jackie Ramo]

Now Popeye!!! No pushing :frisbee:

[Cinnamon]

Jackie he better NOT get any ideas! :lol: It was so funny after the fact. I called him around 5:30 pm and told him he was out of the Doghouse now. My fish were back to normal all over again! They missed their feeding at 1 pm today. The would never come. This afternoon was a different story. They were there begging for food. Even Herculese ate out of my hand. He has only done that twice so far.

[Jackie Ramo]

Well I told you so :grin: I think mine are getting used to the vacuum. One, Bullet the soragoi was beside me to see if I stirred any goodies up for him...

Don't turn your back on him when near the pond though, especially now that he knows the fish will forgive him faster than you will. :lol:

[Cinnamon]

Hey I never turn my back on him! :lol: He made the mention that is was MY turn! I told him heck no I am in that pond enough the way it is!

[Jackie Ramo]

Men, are not to be trusted near water. or most other places :frisbee:

[Rembrandt]

...... Rembrandt is quietly lurking in the deep end.......

[Jackie Ramo]

I hear shark music :lol:

[Cinnamon]

Jackie !rofl He better be in the deep! He is still at work. He is trying to get some things finish so he can get off early tomorrow. We are going to see the Doobie Bros front row seats! yea

I did get one side of the wishing well shingle today. I am putting wood shingles on it. It looks good I will take a pic tomorrow and upload it!

[Jackie Ramo]

I love the Doobie Bros. How cool. I didn't know they were touring. Actually I thought they were dead... sorry guys :-?

[Cinnamon]

Jackie some of them are dead. One of the drummers died just not long ago. The concert Wed was awesome. They still sound good and strong. We loved it.

I just uploaded some more pics. I worked on the roof last night. It was a lot cooler. We setup the lights and away I went. It was suppose to be cloudy today but it wasn't enough for me to finish. I am hiding in the house under the cool a/c :grin: One side is complete and I just have a little on the other side.

Oh I threw my hammer at Heiko last night. He looked up when it slipped. He wound up with a cut in his eyebrow. I told him not to stand under me !bonk It bled just a little. He survived.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pamth@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=f21b

[Rembrandt]

!bonk
I have amnesia now from the "concussion". I have forgotten how to work on KOI ponds.

[Busy B]

It looks like that little bonking smilie should be renamed Cin and Rem :lol:

That'll teach you Rem for falling in the pond! :grin:

[Jackie Ramo]

:lol: :lol: Maybe another bonk will restore his memory Pam

[Cinnamon]

I ran out of wood shingles Friday night and had to get more early yesterday morning. I finished the roof and Heiko finished the rest of the wishing well! We can put a big DONE stamp on it. I will upload some pics shortly. I need to take a couple of the finished product. It really looks good. WHEW! Can you believe it? Now all we like is flagstone. Heiko told me for my Anniversary present he is going to get me another pallet of flagstone! What we have is not going to be enough. Even though we built a lot of things we are expanding the area of flagstone.

Jackie maybe I should bonk him 3 or 4 more times! :lol:

[Busy B]

Isn't it funny how when you have a pond, rocks make you happy :lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

Looks great Pam. So you are leaving it to age naturally not staining it. I love the grey weathered look.

We ended up expanding the second patio. It was supposed to be just big enough for 2 chairs and a small table, now it sits four for dinner, if one can get around the potted plants. I think we need to add a few more flagstones to it for the plants....

Yeah Busy, rocks make me happy, except when I'm the one that has to lift them.

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I just uploaded the pics if you want to check them out! The completed photos are up. You will notice our Sea Captain sitting on the wishing well. We have a new theme for the pond. We are going to make it really nautical. We bought a solar light house as well. The sea captain's light in his hand lights up. We are going to make the rails across the bridge out of the big 2" rope from the shipyards :grin: I will be awesome!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pamth@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=f21b&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

And I don't plan on lifting the flagstone. I would definitely be down for a long time with my back!


We started trying to fix that pile of dirt also this morning. Here is Heiko playing with the tractor and bucket. His Dad and a friend are getting in the action as well! :-)

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pamth@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=2873&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pamth@sbcglobal.net/my_photos

:smile:

[Jackie Ramo]

You guys sure have been working hard!! Looks really good. To go with the natical theme, you could wrap those white pvc pipes in rope to hide them and make them fit in better. I guess you need one of the round life savers for Rem :lol:

BTW I can't figure out if the guys were piling the dirt or moving it, either way it didn't look like much progress was made in the pictures :lol:

[Cinnamon]

Jackie much progress was made. I will snap a pic tomorrow and post it. We planted my 2 palm trees also. The dirt had to be moved to do that. It really looks funny looking out there. I am so used to seeing sawhorses piled with wood and that pile of dirt! It looks odd to have part of my yard back! :lol: It has just been there 8 months :lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

I know what you mean. I'm just getting used to seeing green in the backyard instead of white !rofl

[Cinnamon]

Jackie, Heiko loved your idea on covering the pipes with rope! Consider that a done deal :grin: THANK YOU! I did snap a pic. I will post it in just a bit!

[Rembrandt]

Hey Jackie,
Thanks for the great idea on using the rope to hide the pipes. That will work perfectly. :)
This past weekend was a major accomplishment on the wishing well and the removal of the dirt pile. We have had that view for so long that Cinn and I have gotten used to it. It now looks like we have a new yard!
I also have a large piece of driftwood that was donated by one of the ladies in an adjacent suite near my office that I was considering using to hide the pipes but I love your idea of the rope. Thanks again!!
Cinn, thanks for posting all those pictures.
Rembrandt

[Cinnamon]

Jackie i forgot to add that the pic of the meter is one Heiko put in the waterfall so I don't have to go around the house to the street the check gallons I add! It makes it very nice :grin:

[Rembrandt]

HEHE....
They call us "Hi-Tech Rednecks" :lol:

Hey Cinn,....... !bonk

Remmy

[Jackie Ramo]

I think I need Rem up here for a couple of weeks. Hubby is worse than me when it comes to pipes never mind putting in a meter for me. I'm lucky if he manages to plug in the pump. He usually just yells - there something wrong with the pond and then he hides in the garage 'wood carving' until I fix it. :lol:

Glad you like the rope idea. Seemed to go with the natical theme.