Pond Statistics
Bigsnest Pond Statistics
DIMENSIONS:
AREA/SHAPE - 20 X 24 foot oval.
DEPTH - varies from 4" - 36"
- The 2 narrower 'sides' of the oval are shallow (only 4-6") for ~ 2.5
feet out, then have a planting shelf that is about 24" deep and 18" wide, then
drops to the full 36" depth of the 'deep end'. Note - 18" is the
bare minimum needed to provide a hiding place for critters to escape from
raccoons, herons and other predators. But such a shallow pond would be much more
likely to get warm enuf to have algae grow due to the warm water it would have.
We know that 36" is better.
- The waterfall 'side' is the deep end of the old swimming pool and ~ 36" for
entire distance.
- The waterfall's total height is ~ 3 ft
- The beach 'side' is half beach which starts shallow for 2 ft and then has 4
steps that go down to the 36" depth. The 'log' half of the beach 'side' is ~ 6"
deep for 3 ft and then drops to the 36" depth.
HARDWARE:
LINER - different than most:
- The old swimming pool liner is what actually holds are water in.
- But, the blue swimming pool liner didn't look 'right' for a pond, so we
covered it with cheap black plastic liner, which surprised us and floated, so we
added rocks to weigh it down. Read about this at pictures of our pond's development
during its 1st year ).
PUMP - Supreme Pondmaster Mag-drive Utility Pump (500 gallons per hour):
- Recirculates the water via clear plastic tubing from the deep end up under the
waterfall boulders and then the water goes out at a tip split on top, hidden under a few rock
'shingles,' thereby creating the waterfall. This is a lift of 6 ft.
FILTER - We 'sort-of' have a filter
- Our underwater pump is placed in a dark colored plastic bucket, which
is filled with 1" river rock and has 'filter medium' (~1 ft sq) just under the
lid (we've cut lots of holes in the plastic bucket lid).
- But, really, the pond's main 'filter' is in having 2/3 of surface area
covered with vegetation and 1/3 of the area planted in underwater plants such as
Elodea (goldfish plant). See steps for creating
a wildlife pond. The reason all the pond books/nurseries are always pushing
filters is 'cuz they cater to koi/goldfish ponds. Fish poop. Fish poop is
fertilizer. Fertilizer is what makes for algae growth. Our pond is RIGHT
outside our kitchen window and is the center point of our whole back yard and it
is beautiful without fancy, expensive filters BECAUSE it is a wildlife pond
using many plantings.
OVERFLOW - Ours is VERY simple
- At the lowest spot, we put a 6" length of 1.5" black PVC pipe. When the
pond is ready to overflow, it does so thru this pipe, just into our yard in
general.
LOCATION:
SEBASTOPOL, CA
- One hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge in coastal California.
Our temperatures range from the low 20s to 100s, with usually mild winters
and summers.
RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR KITCHEN WINDOW
RESEARCH:
LOCAL LIBRARY
- We did our research at the local library in 1995-96. Library books can
answer all your questions about hardware requirements for your pond's
dimensions, etc.
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BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!