Pond and Enclosure Size for Mandarins

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Anny, you are right, this is a very informative thread. Wifezilla, that is a very cool pond. Very creative!

The idea of pumps and filters and all sounds like maintaining an aquarium, only messier. My husband suggested it would be as time-consuming as caring for the red ear slider turtles we had for a while. Those guys were a ton of work.

i'm leaning towards a kiddy pool or something similar with a drain. i suspect the pool would need to be slightly elevated so the water runs down and off.

Jason, do you have a picture of your pond?

Giffy, the predators we have here are raccoons, possums, and skunks. Our lot is about half an acre in a residential neighborhood on a cul-de-sac, so our backyard is surrounded by other backyards. There may be coyotes closer to the river than we are. i've never seen them in our backyard. Not sure i've seen pvc coated hex netting in person, but looked it up. Would that be as strong as hardware cloth?

Here is the spot we're thinking of putting the duck habitat. It's tucked in a corner, gets a little sun but we would put the pond under the shade of that big tree. We would clear out the brush for the pen and leave the flowers and shrubs to surround it.

 

[giffy]

Quote:
I have the same predators as you, I have been using the pvc coated hex wire for quite a few years with no problems so far. My initial reason for using it was to cover the cold-frame.......nylon netting would not have worked and the hardware cloth would just build up the snow. Your most expensive investment will be your wire. There are many places that carry different types, I used BFProducts.

giffy
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[giffy]

One more thing.........the area you have pictured to build your pen is beautiful.

giffy
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[cawooduck]

Quote:
Here ya go!!

 

[cstacatto]

any possible way you can show how it drains out? like where the drain is, and where the outlet for the water is. I know i'm being a P.I.T.A. hehehe, but i love that idea so much jason, that i might have to borrow it, but don't worry i'll give it back.

 

[CurlyLindsay]

I've been reading a lot about pond filters. The best resource I found was youtube. Go and type in "DIY pond filter"

 

[Lil_Chickadee]

Here is a site that I have dealt with that shows what the drains look like. You can use them with skimmers or depending on the way the land lays without. Where I live everything is on a hill LOL so we can get good flow with our drain without a skimmer, however skimmers (filters) are good to take small debris out of the water too. I'm not using a skimmer right now because I can just drain water off the bottom add fresh to the top and the pond also has an overflow system on the opposite side of the fresh incoming water. Any install and setup questions I have found the dealers like koi joy and justliners very helpful in assisting in accordance with your project. You can e-mail them pics of your layout and they have been very helpful.

http://www.justliners.com/drains.htm

 

[Wifezilla]

The idea of pumps and filters and all sounds like maintaining an aquarium, only messier.

Having previously had a 55 gallon fresh water aquarium, you got that right!​

 

[cawooduck]

Quote:
I actually deleted the pictures off my picture site, i knew i should have saved them!!!LOL

What i did is made a frame out of the 2 x 10 lumber. I put some gravel inside of the frame until i had about a 2" slope from the shallow end to the deep end where the drain is located. I then laid the liner in it and let the sun beat on it for a few hours so it would be a form fit. When the time passed i located the area where my drain would go and i cut a small 1 1/2" round hole in the liner. Now its time for installation of the drain inlet and outlet.

Here are the parts you will need:
2 1/2" elbow
1 1/2" reducer (i think that the measurement, when at the hardware store make sure the reducer fits somewhat snug into the elbow).
2 1/2" x 10' long section of pvc pipe (or more if you want of course!)
pvc ball valve

Now, take the elbow with the section of pvc pipe installed and run it under and inside the frame of the pond to the bottom side where the hole in the liner is (gravel/dirt side). Take the reducer and from the top of the liner (water side) pound it into the elbow through the hole in the liner. You will want to go somewhat gentle, yet firm enough to be able to pound the reducer almost flush with the elbow. There will be wrinkles in the liner where the reducer meets the elbow after it is installed so dont worry about that. If the reducer is hard to get started, make small cuts in the liner where the hole is. You may experience a cracked elbow, if this happens, just fill the crack in with pvc glue and let dry. Now you are ready to finish the procedure!! Make sure that the pond slopes towards the drain, and a good idea is to form a "pit" where the drain is the lowest spot in the pond. Now, my pond is about 5' from the side of the pen, so i cut a 3" hole through the side of the pen (keeping slope to the outside) and on the end of the pipe i put a ball valve which i open or close to drain/fill the pond!! Most of the time i just take the valve completley off when draining so all the muck and feathers and leaves wont get hung up in the valve. Now, i didnt glue any of the parts together incase i want to do repairs in the future or i want to change something.

If you have a question about something, let me know!!

I hope this helps!!.............Jason

 

[cstacatto]

Thanks for the info jason!!!

Just wondering though, how often do you drain/fill your pond.

I'm asking all these questions, cause we have a pond that is smaller, but deeper, but in two days it is all mucky, and the sump pump gets all sorts of clogged from all of the muck and stuff.