# Building an above ground pond



## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

For those who may be interested, I'm currently in the middle of building an above ground pond in the back yard. The idea is to have a few areas dedicated to growing out cichlid fry from spring to fall. Here's the concept:









I plan to do Koi in the bottom area and use the three top areas with the cutouts for waterfalls as fry growout. The Koi can stay in the pond year-round and will keep up the bacteria colonies during the winter so that I can put fry in as soon as it gets warm enough.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

I got a little ahead of myself, so here are some pictures of where things currently stand:

Frames for main section standing in garage after completing them (I wanted to make sure they lined up).









Corner of back yard where the pond will go. As you can see I've already leveled the ground.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

I was conflicted on how to address if I needed a footing or not. The center part of the pond will be resting on the ground so there is not a weight issue, but I was concerned about the wood being in direct contact with the ground so I found an in-between way. After leveling the ground I am placing hardie planks beneath the framing. Hardie plank can handle the moisture and gives me a sturdy barrier underneath without having to pour concrete.









Pic of framing placed on hardie plank. So far so good.


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## Woodworm (Jan 3, 2009)

Interesting concept I hope it works out like you planned. I look forward to following it.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Is that pre-treated lumber? Looks like it but just wanted to be sure.

Have you thought about pouring a concrete pad to sit it on?

I think it is a great idea.....if I lived in a warm climate(I am just a bit north of texas) then I would consider something similar except I would do almost nothing but africans...


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## famikert (Feb 20, 2003)

are you going to be using a rubber liner to line the pond, also what type of filtration will you be using, you may want to invest in a good UV (ultraviolet) Sterilizer


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## quentin8 (Sep 30, 2011)

Forget the backyard, that would look great in my living room. :thumb:


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

It is pre-treated lumber. All materials will be rated for outdoor use so that it will last. As for the concrete pad, I considered it but decided it wasn't necessary.

I will be using a rubber liner. The liner will come up and over the top edge, then will be held down by a finishing board on the top to hide it. The liner has already been ordered and will hopefully come in this week. Still haven't decided on filtration. Probably going to go with a magnetic drive pump with a prefilter attachment, though it does depend on cost...my funds are limited.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

I am assuming you are going to sheet the inside yet. It is difficult to tell from the pictures but the corner connections look a little sketchy. What is holding the sections together? I wonder whether the back corner needs to be braced to the center front peak to prevent bowing. Should be nice when done.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Ah, sorry, should have clarified. The picture of the framing laid out in the yard is just the frames placed on top of the level boards. No connections have been made yet, though the frames will be screwed together at each of the junction points. I'll be sure to get a closeup pic to show. And yes, the inside and outside will both be sheeted with hardie plank. About to go out and work more now, so hopefully I'll get far enough along to post some pics of the sheeting tonight.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Here are 2 pics of the corners screwed together. I used 3" wood to wood screws.

















I also realized that I had to put the hardie plank on the back before screwing the frames together or I would have no room to work. In the picture below only the back corner is screwed together. Everything else is just sitting in place for effect.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Ran out of daylight! So far half of it is sheeted on the inside and connected, which is pictured, while the other half is sheeted and waiting for enough light to be connected. It's a tedious process, making sure that it is perfectly level before connecting them together.


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## quentin8 (Sep 30, 2011)

looking good... keep us updated... opcorn:


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Thanks! All sides are now connected and the inside is completely sheeted. 
Looks like I have my first fish...I think it's a keeper!

















Big storms come through tonight and tomorrow so progress will be delayed. Will probably update late-week or weekend depending on progress.


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## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

I am a little skeptical about how it will stand against the weather, especially in Texas (rain, hail, snow and heat). But I hope it works out (probably will). I think that with the rain the whole pond with either shift, sink an inch or two, and or become out of level. What would you do if this happens? Any way of preventing this? Perhaps a few more layers of hardy back on the bottom and not just the perimeter but the hole bottom...?

A few panes of glass would have been awesome but not cost effective...

Just some things to think about.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

mightyevil said:


> I am a little skeptical about how it will stand against the weather, especially in Texas (rain, hail, snow and heat). But I hope it works out (probably will). I think that with the rain the whole pond with either shift, sink an inch or two, and or become out of level. What would you do if this happens? Any way of preventing this? Perhaps a few more layers of hardy back on the bottom and not just the perimeter but the hole bottom...?
> 
> A few panes of glass would have been awesome but not cost effective...
> 
> Just some things to think about.


shifting and sinking with that much weight is why I asked about a concrete base.....


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

You're right, I am running that risk, but our soil where I live is a heavy clay so I don't expect shifting to be a problem. The type of soil I have has a load-bearing capacity of 2000lbs. per square foot and the pond has a 20 square foot base. The weight of the water will be way less than the limit so I'm banking on it not being an issue, but I also know that I'm no expert. I guess we'll find out!


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

magic_cichlid said:


> You're right, I am running that risk, but our soil where I live is a heavy clay so I don't expect shifting to be a problem. The type of soil I have has a load-bearing capacity of 2000lbs. per square foot and the pond has a 20 square foot base. The weight of the water will be way less than the limit so I'm banking on it not being an issue, but I also know that I'm no expert. I guess we'll find out!


It's funny you bring up the soil in texas. I am not sure where you are located in relation to austin but I was watching a 2007 epside of "this old house" where they were doing a renovation in austin. Anyways.....one thing they noticed after it started raining on the project was the house was shifting a bit. Fireplace especially dropped about 1/4" overnight. They had someone come in and test the soil and said it was form of clay. Anyways....they added some drainage and whatnot and fixed the front porch foundation and the fireplace but said the clay could be tough to work on. I can't remember the specifics to save my life. I just thought it was interesting that you brought up your soil/clay and you live in texas and we were discussing shifting and sinking. Just thought I would mention it.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

I had to change the design of the waterfall boxes a little bit. I'm truly an amateur who has barely touched a saw in the past, so my tools are very basic. The angle on the center box seemed too difficult to pull off so I went with a more rectangular box. The center box kind of fits like a puzzle piece with the two side rectangular boxes. Hopefully the pictures will help that make sense! It took some thinking, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

































Next step is to get the liner in, then bolt these into place on the framing with the liner caught in-between to hold it in place.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Had my first big setback, hence the delay with updates. I got it all lined and screwed together so I began filling it with water. Water is very heavy, and the center corner that points inward toward the pond began to shift. The weight of the water was pushing it outward even though I had a dozen screws holding it together. It was only halfway full when it began shifting and I knew it wouldn't hold if I filled it all the way, so I began draining it. I had to go buy a bunch of metal braces to put at the top of each corner joint and on the bottom where the frames connect. I installed the braces and began filling again, but the corner still tried to give, though not as drastically as before. I had it 3/4 full and stopped to install even more support for the center section. Yikes! Here's a pic of the braces.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

After adding the extra bracing, everything seems to be holding (keeping fingers crossed). Now time to get the pump ready. I've purchase a Pondmaster 7 which pumps 700gph at 1 foot of head. I'll be pushing the water approximately 4-5 feet up, which puts the gph at 400-500 which is plenty. I researched a ton and the only negative thing people had to say about the pump is that the filter clogs quickly. I can understand why, so I came up with my version of a solution. I bought 2 planters designed for planting plants inside of ponds and wound them together to create an incasing for the pump. First pic is pump inside planters, second pic is planters enclosing the pump. I figured this way at lease the bigger stuff would be filtered before reaching the pump.

















The red rope is there for 2 reasons: hold the top together, and have something to pull the pump out with for maintenance. And yes, it is a "stringer" from my fishing equipment.


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## Woodworm (Jan 3, 2009)

:lol: I use some of my "minnow traps" to help catch fish out of my tanks


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Ha! I do the same, only I'm so cheap I make them out of water bottles!


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## Woodworm (Jan 3, 2009)

some of these I've had pre fish keeping days


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Structure is solid, no more movement even when I pull and push on it as hard as I can. I've now moved on to the aesthetic part. Hopefully I'll have the upper area complete and looking like the lower area by the end of the weekend. Once that's done, all that is left is to paint! Here's where it stands as of right now. 









As for the waterfalls, there was a lot of splashing and it was too loud. I've attached these grids (used for sewing) so that the water flows down it and lightly enters the water below. I figure after a little while they'll start to grow algae and it might look kind of cool. We'll see.

The grids are what I will use to make open top boxes to slide down into the 2 middle waterfall boxes. That is where I'll be growing cichlids out and the boxes made out of this stuff will make it easy for me to catch them by just pulling the grid out.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Everything is now finished...just need to paint. Not bad for someone who hasn't even really used a saw before!


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

:thumb:

Looks sweet!!


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## deaver (Apr 23, 2011)

nice, can't wait to see pics of it running.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

It actually is running in that pic. The water is so smooth over the grids that you can hardly tell visually, though you can hear the water trickling. I'll get a pic of the waterfall entering the main section for you.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Here you go. 1 of each of the lower waterfalls + 1 of upper section.


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## Woodworm (Jan 3, 2009)

I think if it gets sun it will develop a nice coating of algae on the plastic needle point cloth. I saw a thread once where people where intentionally using it in their filters to help control nitrates etc


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## 123vb123 (Feb 10, 2012)

Interresting  Im not into that sorta ponds but please know your time wasnt wasted. Very educating, please post more pictures or a list of the process.

Tobi


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## thegoose (Jan 19, 2012)

Looks awesome. But if you'ld like to really strengthen the corners you could consider adding an additional top plate to the walls which overlaps the corners on to each other, same as used to tie the wallls in a house together. Otherwise it is pretty cool, wish it didn't get so cold up here lol.


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

It is painted! 2 tips if you ever do this:

1. Paint your boards first--it proved impossible to stop little tiny splatters of paint from entering the pond. I hope the fish can handle it...
2. Don't let your 6 year old son "help"--he ended up stepping in the pan, covering his shoe in paint and stopping me from working for 20 minutes to clean his shoe off...

Here's the pic of the final product. I'll update it as I add koi and pond plants(and I'm still not sold on the waterfalls so if I change them I'll update):


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## deaver (Apr 23, 2011)

beautiful!!!


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