Thanks Wayne

I will see how the day progresses

If I go for option one, I will build 1 wall underneath the old wall, and put concrete behind wall one. Then I will leave a space between the 2 walls from the bottom up, approximately 1.8 m. I will fill the gaps between the walls with concrete.

For waterproofing, I will stay away from butamen. I thought of mix the plaster with salt and Coprox. Once completely dry, I will use Hydro Seal.Pieter de V swears by it- it has a cement base that penetrates the plaster.

But I might still go for option 2, but thought we should dig a bit today.





Thanks

Albie

Will try to keep everyone posted. What do you say Pieter, Paul??

Just another point

The guys thats working in the pond, feels that the sides are not make of brick, but of concrete, re-inforced with steel. So that might be difficult to break.

End of the 2nd day of work:

Only at 130cm at the deepest:





Look at the bottom of the side- it does look like concrete

Hi Albie,

The best ratio regarding salt and cement is 25kg salt per 1 bag cement.

Pieter
Would you add the salt to the concrete mix as well?

Would do you think about Coprox in addition to painting the pond with HydroSeal?

Regards
Albie

1. The next step is the bottom drain, which will need to go directly to the pump filter via the basket.

So, I cannot use a 110mm pipe, as I cannot go beneath the waterfall:
Which one will you chose to link up with a 50mm pipe:

A.

B.

The pipe will be in the concrete and join with the swimming pool pump:




Next is the concrete- I want to throw on Friday:



Depth in total is 1.6m.

Should I throw a flat slab of 15 mm and later add concrete to create a "fall" to the drain, or do it all at once? I plan to put plastic under the slab.



I plan to build 2 walls- two for the lower 85cm with a space in between, and one above to the surface. These spaces. The top half of the existing pond is built from concrete an we could not break it.

Then I thought of mixing the plaster, with salt and Coprox and paint with ydro seal. This will surely make it waterproof.

Any comments will be useful, as I am very new to this.

Will later ask about the inlets as some suggest a Venturi as well as a deeper inlet for proper circulation.

Thanks
Albie

Albie, I would have made a plan to take the 110 mm pipe all the way to the "sediment" /"settlement" chamber. What a waste to reduce it to 50mm and it is never a good idea to suck directly from a bottom drain. Can't you lift the paving next to the pool and go around the waterfall with a 110 mm pipe?

As far as the waterproofing are concerned, Pieter's suggestion of 25kg salt/bag of cement mixed with Coprox should do the trick. I normally use Sikalite and salt with my mixture and paint afterwards with Coprox.

Hi Paul

I wish I could get a 110 mm pipe to the bottom of my chamber, but see how full it is and the chamber has a concrete floor- tried to break it. The path between the pond and pool is also quite narrow. Any other suggestions?






I just thought of something else- I have a submersible pond. I will be able to suck water from that bottom drain close to the chamber into the 1st chamber (I thought of trying to create a type of vortex effect in that one, sides built round and the bottom cone shaped. The overflow will be in the second chamber.

Just three questions:
1.Should I mix salt and Coprox with the concrete?
2.What do people think- should I do the slab all at once, or first throw a flat one and a few days later the slope?
3.Will 15mm be enough- depth now 1.6 m

Albie

Albie,

Paul is correct with:

Quote:

As far as the waterproofing are concerned, Pieter's suggestion of 25kg salt/bag of cement mixed with Coprox should do the trick. I normally use Sikalite and salt with my mixture and paint afterwards with Coprox.

Regarding the bottom drain; Ultra-Zap could help you there. Please don't use the drains and fittings in your photos!
Phone Bruce at Loolilocks, he will help you; 011 918 2262 or Email loolilocks@absamail.co.za

Don't mix Coprox with anything, apply it onto the "plaster" according the instructions. You may apply Flash Harry (six coats) afterwords.

All concrete work should be done in one go, to avoide cracks. A floor of 250mm should do the trick.
The section between the floor and "wall" should not be square, but
round-off .

_________________
Pieter J de Villiers
http://southafricankoi.11.forumer.com
"I am KoiMad...........but garlic wise!"
FEED GARLIC, NO PARASITES!!

I would go for a slightly thicker base then 15cm just to make double sure. Remember that you are going to slope the pond, so certain areas will even be thicker. I would make the corners round as Pieter said; by doing it this way you will able to clean the pond far easier and you will not trap all the baddies.

If you suck directly from the bottom drain you stand a change to suck your pond dry if something goes wrong (but with the stronger water flow if you suck directly the bottom will remain cleaner)
In my setup, my skimmer and bottom drains runs into a settlement chamber and when I drain my filters the water level falls below the skimmer and it sucks the drains clean since I have no water entering the skimmer at the time.

Coprox is the way to go. My small 4000L pond was built about 3years ago and no single leak or even a hairpin crack. I had a huge crack in my 30000L pond (no Coprox)and had to drain all the water when I went home. When building the big pond I was in a hurry and I completed it from scratch in 2weeks not allowing things to dry and it cost me a lot of money. With the leaking water I ended up with a R6500 water bill and nearly faded.

I am sure you will have great success with your pond since you are doing it the right way from the start

Just to make hundred percent sure:

Concrete
Plastic underneath
20 bags cement
3 cubic meter concrete mix
Re-inforcing
? plus 25kg salt added to 1 bag=roughly 25kg per half a bag of cement.
Wait 10 days to get completely dry

Plaster between stones
2000 bricks
2 cubic meter building sand
8 bags of cement
? plus 25kg salt added to 1 bag
?plus Coprox (the powder)

Plaster

0.5 cubic meter plaster sand
2 bags cement
salt
Coprox

Painting

Hydro seal

What do people think?

Hi Doc,

Looks Ok, no need for any salt in the concrete mix or the building dagha!

Plaster mix 4:1: plus 25kg salt

Pieter

Do you mean a bottom drain like this?

Doc,

Yes! You can get them from UltraZap with a 50mm nozzle/outlet