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Koi Water Garden Ltd How to build an Eco friendly modern Koi pond
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updated 28th February 2010 |
Phone/Fax 01844 342390 |
Here we discuss the construction of not one, but two new stock ponds located inside a greenhouse. The aim of the project was to construct two new super energy efficient or "eco" ponds which could be simply maintained and were cost effective to build and especially to run in terms of ever increasing energy costs. |
The ponds and fish house feature fairly simple design and construction methods and the ponds were designed as stock ponds for our high grade Koi. An important aspect of installing stock/display ponds is to make them weatherproof, not only to protect the Koi from the elements and make them more thermally efficient, but also to protect our customers from inclement weather !. |
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As with any pond
construction project, careful though was given to the siting of the new
ponds and fish house, and in this case one of the most important aspects
was to locate the fish house where it would gain most heat by choosing a
position in full sun for as much of the day as possible, both Summer and
Winter. Our premises are surrounded on three sides by very large and mature trees, which means that much of the ground is at least partially shaded even in Summer, so we decided to locate the new ponds at the north East perimeter of our site, as far away from large trees as possible. This however meant running services, water and electricity 50 yds from our existing fish house to the new unit, and therefore incurring some extra expense to lay on these services, but in our view well worth the investment.
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The design objective
were :-
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The site chosen for
the new fish house had already been used previously as the site
of one of our large semi natural growing on ponds which is no longer
regularly used. So this was emptied and the liner removed.
This had been around 2ft deep on average. First we carefully drove
a hired 3 ton digger down into the old excavated area and dug out the
area to be occupied by the new ponds to a depth of around 6 ft below the original ground level. This took
less than one full day. In this case
we drove the digger ourselves - its really great fun! However it
is worth the extra £120 or so to hire an experienced driver as getting
the hole square, with a level floor and clean cut vertical walls (as far
as possible) can save a fortune on hardcore and other backfill materials.
The spoil removed was heaped up alongside the excavation as this would
later be used for backfill and making good soil levels. The picture (right) shows the excavated and prepared area, with the floor levelled and a rough area dug out where the filters would ultimately be located. The picture shows the bottom drains, just laid in the approximate position that they would occupy. To aid with the levelling of the site, a tripod mounted laser level was used, these can be hired, but now simple models can be purchased for as little as £60 and these make the job of levelling any site very easy indeed. |
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The next stage was
to measure out and mark with pegs the wall positions for the ponds, so
that the correct positions for the bottom drains could be established.
The drains were then set on circular pads of concrete, checking that
they were oriented correctly (with the outlets pointing squarely toward the
filter area) and absolutely level. The concrete was left to cure for 24
hours before any further work was undertaken. Here we use circular
plastic templates (cut from an old water butt) to make the formers for
the concrete pads. The concrete was benched up around the drains to
ensure that they would be held securely in position whilst the bottom
drain pipe work and concrete floor were laid. Next we barrowed in soft sand into the excavation, which would act as a flat, level and well compacted base on which the floor insulation material was to be laid. This is the correct and recommended type of material to use as a firm and level base for the insulation which was was 50mm Cellotex board. The sand was laid to a depth of 50mm and was levelled and well compacted down using a plate compactor before the board was laid. |
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The sand base was
completed and Cellotex insulation applied across the whole floor area of the pond.
Then the bottom drain 4" pipes were cut to length and glued into
position in the bottom drains. Swept 4" bends were used to convert the
horizontal pipe runs into the vertical pipes that would connect into the
filter chamber, taking great care to ensure the pipes entering the
filter chamber were vertical
and then both bottom drain pipes were supported in position with
more concrete round the swept bends to hold the pipe runs securely in
place. The picture (right) shows the completed base ready for the floor slab to be laid.
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The picture (left) shows a close up of the bottom drain and pipe work installation and support. |
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The next step was to
lay the reinforced concrete floor. This was formed using 8" (200mm)
thick Gen 3 grade concrete reinforced with plastic fibres which
was delivered to site premixed. Ready mix is a much better ,
faster way of laying a concrete floor or raft foundation and ensures
that the whole floor is of a consistent mix, and is laid in one go for
maximum strength and integrity. Our floor used 5 cu metres
of concrete, not a job to undertake using a small on site mixer! The plastic fibre reinforcement
represents a much better method of reinforcement than steel in our
view as the reinforcing material is completely inert and is not affected
by ground water or chemical attack. It is also easier to work with
than conventional rebar mesh, which cannot properly reinforce the area
around the bottom drain and pipe runs unless much greater depths of concrete are
used. Also, re bar mesh is invariably rusty when installed, and unless
specialist methods are employed, will continue to rust in situ over the
years and can eventually crack the concrete base - not normally a
problem in a mass concrete building foundation, but not particularly
desirable with the floor of a pond ! Once the floor had been allowed to
cure for around 3 hours, we trowelled up the base to a smooth
finish using a steel float. The picture right shows the completed base, along with the first stack of 140mm hollow concrete blocks which have already been positioned ready for laying. |
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Now we are ready to
start the wall construction. Here we opted for 7 Newton dense ,
hollow concrete blocks 140mm. Hollow blocks are considerably lighter to
lay than solid blocks and key together very well when laid, as excess
mortar automatically expands into the voids. They can also of course be
backfilled with aggregate (pea shingle) or a weak concrete mix to
further improve strength and integrity. Blocks should be laid conventionally on edge, and do not need to be laid flat on their sides - this really does little to improve strength (better to use a bigger block in the first place) but can double the cost of the block work required - not a really sensible idea.. First we set out the building lines, marking out the corner and wall positions on the base, and then checking the squareness of the construction by measuring the diagonal dimensions, corner to corner to ensure the walls would be parallel to each other and that the whole construction would be square. Then we started by building the corners first as illustrated (left) |
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All the corners were
built first, this is the most difficult and time consuming part of the
construction, as obviously we must continually check that the walls are
vertical and square and each course is level. One of the biggest problems can be to
ensure that each corner being built, is the same height, exactly ,
course for course, as each other corner. As the distance between corners
here is up to 20 ft, we clearly could not use a conventional level, so
we used a tripod mounted laser level to mark the intended height
of each course on a wooden stake hammered into the ground just outside
each corner of the concrete base. Reasonably good laser levels can
now be bought for around £60, or hired as required. Once the corners had been constructed, the walls could then be filled in, a much faster and easier part of the build. (see right)
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Here you see the wall construction nearly completed, with just the
centre dividing wall between the two ponds to be finished.. The dividing
wall was built using exactly the same sized blocks as the rest of the
construction. (see left) Below, note that holes for return pipe work were pre-cut before the blocks were laid. This is much easier than trying to core out holes for the pipe work after the construction is completed.
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![]() The picture above shows one pond completed - and two of the three pond returns can clearly be seen in place - one near the top of the wall at the top left, and one tangential return, five courses down near the centre of the picture. |
The picture - right
shows a 3" main drain pipe laid into the excavation, at one end of the
build and at low level. This would be used as a drain to waste for all
water from the filters. It also shows the Cellotex insulation board in place against the built wall. In addition one of the 1/5" return pipes can clearly be seen in place - this one feeds a deep water tangential return, 5 courses down, which would be used to improve water circulation, and also act as a return for water purified via an ozone system. |
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With the shell of
the ponds completed (right), we completed the installation of pond return
pipe work, and bedded all high level pipe work in sand to allow for
movement and to reduce any risk of compaction. Then the peripheral areas
were finished off with top soil to complete the backfilling exercise. We
then added one more course of 100mm block work to the top of the outer
shell walls, which would later form the base on which to mount the
greenhouse. Note the Cellotex insulation right up to the top of the wall areas. |
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Next we rendered all
the internal walls of the ponds with a special mix to waterproof and
reinforce the entire structure. It is this render, which when
properly mixed and applied massively increases the strength of the
structure. The render is a mix of 2 parts soft (building) sand to 1 part
cement with reinforcing plastic fibres added. One coat only is used to a depth of 5 - 10mm and this should be finished with a steel float to provide the necessary smooth finish. Multiple coats are not necessary or recommended since 2nd or subsequent coats using the plastic fibre additive will not bond as well. It is very important to use this strength of mix with the fibres added to give the necessary degree of strength and waterproofing. Weaker mixes, using multiple coats and without the plastic fibres will quickly degrade and eventually fail since the structure is essentially always wet. We are not plastering an internal house wall here but an in ground structure which must remain waterproof and withstand the adverse conditions. When applying to the floor area, a mix of soft and sharp (plastering) sand can be used to make the application quicker and easier and the depth of render can also be increased, but the strength of mix with the addition of plastic fibres is still vital. |
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To
finish the shell of the complete structure, including the filter area,
we then rendered both the inside and external surfaces of the extra
block course forming the green house base, and added extra insulation
inside the filter chamber to the dividing wall, and then concreted the
filter floor. (Above)
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![]() Above:- New Koi house completed with filter housing now also completed |
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Now we were ready to
begin the installation of the filter systems. Here we had chosen Nexus
filters for each pond, each coupled to a Cetus prefilter sieve. Of
course the choice of filtration for your pond is a very personal thing,
and people have strong views about various types of filter, but we have
been using and fitting Nexus filters to customers ponds for around 5
years now, and we know they work very well when installed correctly and
in the correct environment. They are extremely easy to maintain,
give excellent water quality and are very compact. Also, they can be
used with low pressure, low wattage pumps to reduce running costs, and
in this installation, reduced running costs were a must. They are also the
only filter on the market where more media can be added to cope with a
higher fish loading as the stock increase or simply grows. Of
course they can exhibit some annoying little faults, but later in this
article we will explain how to get the very best out of them with
minimal work and some simple modifications. However to ensure the very best from any filter ,
regardless of type or make, its pretty much essential to use a
pre-filter in the shape of a large Vortex, or better still a sieve to
remove as much of the solid detritus before water enters the filter
proper.. Initially when sieves were first launched it was thought that they could only be used with pumped filter systems, but we came up with a simple and effective way to use them on all gravity filter systems as well, and we are happy to say that our design has now become the industry standard for all sieve installations. The pipe work layout when using a sieve is a little more complex than normal, but the following pictures and accompanying text should serve to explain all. The first thing with any filter installation is to make sure you plan the size and depth of the filter chamber round your preferred filter system, allowing plenty of room for plumbing, pipe work and all necessary electrical gear. Allow enough depth to install the filter components on blocks, so there is no pipe work, valves etc actually touching the floor. Most filters need a 4" inlet connection from the bottom drain, and if 4" bends are required, they take up a lot of space and depth, so ensure you allow for this by making the filter floor 6" or so lower than you really need.
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![]() Above - Smaller 3000 gallon pond using Nexus 200 and Cetus pre-filter sieve, with basic bottom drain pipe work in place, connecting both filter and sieve. |
![]() Above - general filter chamber layout during installation |
![]() Above - Larger 4000 gallon pond using Nexus 300 and Cetus pre-filter sieve, with basic bottom drain pipe work in place, connecting both filter and sieve. Note drain hole in the floor of the filter chamber to help avoid any possibility of flooding |
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In our filter system design, we
had the Cetus sieves mounted on 3 x 100mm blocks laid flat and bedded in
mortar. This provided for the water level in the ponds, when full to be
50mm below the top of the Cetus - just as the manufacturer recommends.
The one design fault with the Cetus is that the main 4" lug to which you
must connect to the bottom drain pipe work using a rubber 90 deg bend is
way too shallow, and without support for this important joint, the
connection can actually come off over time. To overcome this, we
use a 4" rubber socket, instead of the rubber 90 deg swept bend
supplied, to join the Cetus to the main 4" pipe which comes up
right under the connecting lug, and this in turn is supported from
beneath by block work, so there is absolutely no way the 4" joint can
come adrift. (see below) Then the 4" pipe work was supported as well, at various
points, to ensure no strain on the pipe work when full of water. Using any sieve, water from the bottom drain feeds both the sieve and filter in parallel, not in series, so that the filter system will still work normally whether the sieve is running or not. When the sieve is running water is drawn through the bottom drain pipe, into the sieve and then the cleaned water is pumped back into the same bottom drain pipe, just before it enters the main filter using a separate pump. Providing that the pump powering the sieve is the same power as, or more powerful than the main filter pump all the water coming through the bottom drain pipe will pass through the sieve first, and therefore all the water entering the filter will be pre-cleaned.
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Above - Close up of the correct way to connect the 4" inlet pipe to a Cetus - the 4" pipe joint you can see is firmly supported on blocks to prevent movement, and a rubber socket joins pipe to Cetus. |
Right - Complete
Cetus circuit showing 4" feed to Nexus, "T" joint joining the 4" pipe
into back of Cetus - then a 2" return from Cetus re-enters the 4" pipe
in the right hand side of the "T" joint you can see under the 4" slide
valve at the Nexus inlet. Note the 2" purge pipe to waste
controlled by the 2" ball valve (orange handle) which you can see in the
centre of the picture - this allows the correct purging of the bottom
drain pipe to keep it clean at all times. The Cetus waste 2" drain pipe
is in the foreground at the bottom of the picture. Note also the extra
take off point added to the base of the Cetus controlled by the black
slide valve - this will be used to connect another pump which will drive
the ozone system reaction pipe work via a venturi.
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.![]() Left - Close up of one of the Cetus pumps - here we used Optimax 10,000 and 15,000 for their ultra low wattage. Note the swept bends |
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Both ponds use Yamitsu 55
watt electronic UVs and Secoh 80 lpm air pumps. Yamitsu, made by
Kockney Koi, are not only really good value for money, but are one of
the only UVs on the market which are fully CE compliant, use standard
Philips long life bulb technology (really the ONLY bulbs which
are worth having) and use electronic controllers, so that the power
consumption of a 55 watt rated UV is actually around 40 watts!
Conventional ballast resisted UVs with mechanical controllers can use as
much as 150 watt per 55 watt UV - quite a difference. Secoh, in
our view, make one of the best air pumps ranges on the market, from 20
lpm to more than 200 lpm, and are very reliable, quiet and are fully serviceable,
with the full range of spare parts being available from UK
distributors. All return pipe plumbing used 1.5" and 2" pvc pressure pipe, and as many swept bends as possible to reduce friction losses in pipe work. Return pipe work is fully valved using ball valves to separate every component, pump, UV and filter so that everything can be removed for servicing if required without the risk of flooding. UVs and pumps are all fitted using single union threaded de-mountable connectors to make removal easy if required. In our systems We used a Red Devil 150 DC induction pump for the main Nexus 300 filter pump with an Oase Optimax 15,000 powering the Cetus for our larger 4,000 gallon pond. On the smaller pond we used an Oase Aquamax dry 8000 on the Nexus 200, and an Oase Optimax 10,000 on the Cetus. Optimax pumps are ultra low wattage, the 10,000 model using only 65 watts and the 15,000 model only 85 watts - again all aimed at reducing electricity consumption. Optimax pumps are classed as water movers and have poor head characteristics, so are no good for water features such as waterfalls or fountains, but are absolutely ideal as filter pumps, especially on applications such as sieve pumps, as pipe runs are invariably short, and 2" pipe can be used throughout, so flow losses can be minimised. The decision to use one of the new Red Devil pumps was an experiment - we had heard very good things about them, so had to try one - and I have to say we are very pleased with its performance so far. Red Devils use DC induction motors (direct current) which makes them way more efficient than AC motors - in a conventional AC motor, much of the electrical energy is lost in the form of heat, this does not happen with DC motors, and the energy consumed is much more efficiently used to turn the impellors, not heat fresh air. DC motor technology is rated at around 94% efficient, compared with around 45% for a conventional AC motor. In addition, DC motors are completely controllable, and by adjusting the power applied, we can reduce or increase the revolutions - anywhere from 30 - 3000 rpm to increase or reduce the water flow. This is actually very important, as we cant practically work out frictional flow losses in pipe work and plumbing, and therefore normally the decision of which pump to use, in terms of power and flow requirements is little more than guessology, as its not until the pump is installed and the system run that we can actually measures the flows. In addition, flow rates can now be simply increased in Summer when we may need a higher turnover rate, to match the higher organic load on the pond, and can be reduced in Winter, when we only need a much lower turnover rate. The flexibility and controllability of these pumps also mean they can be used for a very wide range of applications from normal filter applications, water features such as waterfalls and fountains, bead filters which need much more power, and Trickle towers which similarly need high flow rates. Here we are using the Red Devil 150, the smallest pump in the range, but still capable of producing flows up to 5000 gallons per hour at 3000 rpm. We have set ours to 1750 rpm, at which speed it produces around 2000 gallons per hour and is using - wait for it - just 77 watts !
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![]() Above - Showing simple return pipe work arrangement from Red Devil pump, through UV and then splitting the return via a "T" joint to the two top level returns in the pond. The open ended return and ball valve (top centre right of picture) will be used for the ozone injector system which will return water via the deep water tangential return seen earlier. |
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![]() Right - Red Devil controller - allowing full control between 30 and 3000 revolutions - which equates to 0 - 5000 gallons per hour. |
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![]() Above -shows pipe work arrangement from Nexus outlet through ball valve to pump, and also shows the overflow system installed in the Nexus 300 outlet chamber which joins onto the Nexus waste outlet manifold at the base of the filter. The return pipe at top left of the picture will be used for the ozone disinfection system |
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Above - top. The standard s/s weir plate on the outlet chamber shown topped off with a tailor made piece of Jap matting to stop any Kaldnes getting into the exit chamber. The standard plate is too low and Kaldnes can easily escape. Lower picture - Eazy mechanical filter chamber shown with standpipe in place for backwashing. In its standard form, when backwashing, Kaldnes will bubble over the top of the tube and into the central pipe where it is definitely not wanted. |
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We are now testing the units performance over the next couple of months and will monitor and report our findings on a regular basis - but early results are pretty spectacular with the unit performing as anticipated but using way less electricity than anticipated. So great stuff so far.
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