Third Time is the Charm – We Hope!

 

 

In 2001 we moved from Atlanta to Dallas.  At the time we had 22 koi that we bagged and boxed and placed in a temporary tank in the garage.  We contracted with Mike Wood to build us a “true” koi pond.  At the time we were unsure of how long we would live in Dallas so we asked that all the filtration be above ground and be bead filters.  We also wanted to incorporate streams into the pond similar to the streams we had on our water garden in Atlanta.  We thought it would be great to include plants in the stream to increase the filtration in the pond.

 

Streams with Plants

 

After about a year we developed leaks in the streams where the plants had become overgrown.  We thinned the plants but the steams continued to be problematic.  Finally we removed all the plants and shored up the sides of the streams.  We still had issues with the clay ground and now constantly having to remove the string algae.  Needless to say the streams were real labor intensive and after 5 years of dealing with them we decided it was time to get rid of them. 

Streams without Plants

 

The bottom drain system on the pond was going to an Aqua Bead bead filter rated for 17,000 gallons.  The skimmer and mid intakes were connected to an Aquadyne Bead filter rated for 5,000 gallons.  We also had matting in the two biofalls at the beginning of the streams.  A 120 watt Aqua UV was also included in the system.  Sound like enough filtration?  Not.  In our second year we developed the dreaded green water.  We determined that although beads are great for finishing the water, they were not as good at doing the entire job so we opted to build a DIY filter out of concrete block and liner.  We excavated the yard to be able to access the bottom drain pipes and now make the bottom drain system gravity fed.

 

After a number of months dealing with all kind of leaks, we ripped out the liner and purchased a channel filter from Dickson Brothers.  It was installed inside the concrete block filter and did a very good job of removing the solids.  There were several issues with this filter.

 

  1. We could not open the bottom drain gate valves more than about an inch or the water would overflow.
  2. If the power went out the pond would drain down a foot and shut down the skimmer system.
  3. In order to clean this filter you had to lean over about three feet and pull all of the brushes and pads out and hose down.
  4. The channel did not drain completely so we used a wet dry vac to clean out the bottom.

 

Between the maintenance on the streams and the maintenance on the bottom drain system, we were spending about a half a day each weekend just on the pond.  Time for a change!

 

We divided the pond project into two phases.  The first phase was removing the streams and creating a more formal water fall.  We contracted with the Pond Store to complete this.  Here are some pictures of the project.

 

 

 

 

 

The streams and rocks were removed by Tom and me.  You wouldn’t believe how much junk has built up between the rocks.  They weren’t mortared in so they were a haven for collecting mulm.

 

 

 

 

The next step was to move the biofalls to the side of the pond and set them in concrete.

 

 

We used part of a pool cover to protect the fish and pond from concrete splatters.

 

 

The liner is attached and rock work begins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final product.  The biofalls are now completely covered which will prevent algae growth and other debris from collecting inside.  They continue to provide the final stage of filtration for the skimmer and mid intake system.

 

The next phase of this project was the replacement of the channel filter with a vortex system that is correctly sized and installed at the appropriate level to prevent water loss when power goes out.  Since this was a retrofit of existing plumbing we went to Suburban Ponds to have the Vortex system manufactured to our specifications.  They provided all the required hardware with the exception of PVC and connectors to connect to the existing system.  The Pond Store was once again brought in to do the installation of this new system.  Before the Pond Store could start the installation, Tom had to demo the area.  Here are a few shots of demolition.

 

 

Taking out the concrete block from the DIY channel filter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bringing in the heavy equipment to finish.

 

 

 

The next step was the excavation and installation of the new filtration system.  Things got pretty messy as you can see from the next shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally the finished filtration area.  All three vortexes and the beads are all plumbed into a sump barrel. 

 

Bottom Drain system – 3 - 4’X 4’ Vortex – 1 Settlement Chamber, 2 Bio Chambers, 1 3700 gph pump, Aquabead Bead Filter (rated 17,000 gallon pond)

 

Mid Range and Skimmer System – 1 -  2400 gph pump, Aquadyne Bead Filter, 120 Watt Aqua UV and 40 Watt Aqua UV, 2 -  80 gallon Bio Falls with Matting.

 

 

 

 

 

The final touch was to replace the fence and camouflage the area.

 

 

We would like to thank the Pond Store for both of these installations.  We would also like to thank Suburban Ponds for their assistance with the filtration system itself.

 

Once we cranked this new filter system up, we noticed an improvement in water quality within the hour!