Pond/Pool Layout

[Bill83]

I am building a deck area with a cutout that a pond/pool can rest into. This way i can put plumbing on the bottom of the pond/pool without having to dig it out in the ground. I want to put something on the wood up top aroudn the pond and the ramp to keep the ducks feet from getting splinters and to keep the wood from rotting out as i dont want to use treating wood near their water. Does anyone have any suggestions ? I considered using a trex composite decking and i still may but i worry because the one i have attached to my house gets very hot in the summer. Any advice would help

Thanks!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Deck restoration paint? Truck-bed liner?

 

[Alaskan]

My only thoughts:
1. If your Trex gets hot, anything you use will get hot, maybe you need a shade umbrella. I think the Trex is the best idea.

2. Are you SURE you want to attach the pond to plumbing? It will get filled with sludge. If it is just small enough to still be able to lift and tip over the water could go down a spillway and onto a rose bed or some such. If you stick with plumbing, go with huge pipes and a way to easily deal with clogs.

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

This way i can put plumbing on the bottom of the pond/pool without having to dig it out in the ground.

Waste water only, or also water?

 

[Michael P]

Trex and other plastic/wood fiber composites conduct heat better than wood, so "feel" much hotter to bare skin. One way to lessen this is to use the lightest color Trex you can find. Light colors absorb less solar heat and feel cooler.

My guess is that the ducks will splash so much water on the Trex that it will stay relatively cool.

 

[Alaskan]

Trex and other plastic/wood fiber composites conduct heat better than wood, so "feel" much hotter to bare skin.

Huh! Thanks, I never would have guessed that! I have trex as part of my deck... but we don't see heat, so I never noticed. (Like my summer highs are in the 60s)

 

[Bill83]

My only thoughts:
1. If your Trex gets hot, anything you use will get hot, maybe you need a shade umbrella. I think the Trex is the best idea.

2. Are you SURE you want to attach the pond to plumbing? It will get filled with sludge. If it is just small enough to still be able to lift and tip over the water could go down a spillway and onto a rose bed or some such. If you stick with plumbing, go with huge pipes and a way to easily deal with clogs.

Yeah so i was just thinking that earlier too, it will be under a roof so it shouldnt get as hot as my deck gets. I was planning on using like a 4" pvc just because i dont want to spend 45 min draining it either. I can run the pipe along the side of the yard into a rock garden i have which is pitched already it should work out well

 

[quackiemama]

We made our little deck/swim area out of heat treated pallets (husband gets free John Deere pallets all day long). We have one deeper pool that we have attached a drain spout with a hose attached. I just plop the hose in the garden box and fertilize my soil when it's time for a cleanout. So far I have not had a sludge issue but it was a pain when the hose was frozen. But to give my girls some peace from Leonard I also put in 2 little kiddy pools. He cannot be in all 3 pools at once! This system has worked for us so far.