I am welding now the fence for the pond...It will have a fence on top of the edge so the fish dont jump...and I have welded the window too...Made it from two parts since there is no 10mm glass here...only 6...but I will put double on each side...
So here is the progress...I am doing everything my self...building welding plumbing...everything.My massage guy is doing the welding under supervision from me...he he he!
My home made welding machine:
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Found some swimming pool paint...rubber paint.The owner of the factory is a friend so he sent me a sample to try...He said he will make black one for me.I painted also one dish and put some guppies inside to see if they will be poisoned...so far they are alive...Tested it also on top of my experimental plaster...to see how it is...
It says it is a rubber paint...elastic...and for food industry and fish ponds...too
What do U think? Will it be OK to seal the pond???
I have only two options: pool paint or bitumen...
I painted my filters in the old pond with bitumen...and it was OK.
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Wow, that's gona be so great!!!! If we ever move again I hope to be able to do something like that. Beautiful.

koigal50 wrote:

Wow, that's gona be so great!!!! If we ever move again I hope to be able to do something like that. Beautiful.

Thanks Darling,
Did U see the old one? I am going to break it after I finish this one.

Neli wrote:

koigal50 wrote:

Wow, that's gona be so great!!!! If we ever move again I hope to be able to do something like that. Beautiful.

Thanks Darling,
Did U see the old one? I am going to break it after I finish this one.

Hi there Neli ,


Are you planing a bigger pond when you going to brake down ur old pond?

Regards

quinten wrote:

Neli wrote:

koigal50 wrote:

Wow, that's gona be so great!!!! If we ever move again I hope to be able to do something like that. Beautiful.

Thanks Darling,
Did U see the old one? I am going to break it after I finish this one.

Hi there Neli ,


Are you planing a bigger pond when you going to brake down ur old pond?

Regards

It might end up bigger, since I want to make it deeper...and rearrange it in cascading pools...so the maintenance is easier with an well organised flow patterns...But!!!! Dont get a shock...he he he!
I will revamp that huge old concrete pond I found in the new plot...and use it to grow my babies inside.
Just put one wall to partition it and remove the part that is cracked...and plaster it inside again with some steel wire inside. It will not even take a week.

Neli wrote:

quinten wrote:

Neli wrote:

koigal50 wrote:

Wow, that's gona be so great!!!! If we ever move again I hope to be able to do something like that. Beautiful.

Thanks Darling,
Did U see the old one? I am going to break it after I finish this one.

Hi there Neli ,


Are you planing a bigger pond when you going to brake down ur old pond?

Regards

It might end up bigger, since I want to make it deeper...and rearrange it in cascading pools...so the maintenance is easier with an well organised flow patterns...But!!!! Dont get a shock...he he he!
I will revamp that huge old concrete pond I found in the new plot...and use it to grow my babies inside.
Just put one wall to partition it and remove the part that is cracked...and plaster it inside again with some steel wire inside. It will not even take a week.

Thank you Neli ,

I cant wait for ur next project

good job

I think we have the same problem, we are completely crazy

Thanks!
Some progress...
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Hi there Neli ,

You are almost finish.


Regards

quinten wrote:

Hi there Neli ,

You are almost finish.


Regards

Just to plaster ,one line blocks...paint and do the filter media...

Neli wrote:

quinten wrote:

Hi there Neli ,

You are almost finish.


Regards

Just to plaster ,one line blocks...paint and do the filter media...

Hi there Neli ,

Do you have any updates for us?


Regards

I was benching the floor today. Finished plastering the filters...benched one side today tomorrow the other side and plaster and decorative wall.
My welders welded the door not OK tomorrow I will cut it and weld it my self.
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This is my custom made mould for my custom made skimmers...
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Near the Y I will put some ball valves so I am able to control the flows to each return.
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I dont want to use both returns on top and bellow at the same time...one or the other...I reduced each return to 1.5" pipes to increase the velocity of the water.
Benching the floor...

Looking good Neli

quinten wrote:

Looking good Neli

Thanks darling>
Not too much left now.
Something bit me and I decided to put panels infront and on the sides of the pond...I am using aluminium tile ends as an edge...First plastered and after I put the frames I will fill with plaster around them so that there is a indented square in the center...
Hope it will look good...I can put something there when I decide later.
Filled half the pond walls with concrete today...will finish tomorrow.
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WOW !!!



Looking Good Neli

You almost there , i cant wait.

regards

Hey Neli

Seems you're getting closer and closer....exciting time!

How many pumps you using on your pond? Also what is the size pumps you are using?

Where are the pipes that are leading to the pump inlet coming from?

Do you have/need valves to control the flow to the pump inlet as the straight line will have the most impact on flow if not.

Must say the pump inlet and outlet look a little complicated, how do you plan on hiding that piping down the side?

Otherwise exciting for you I'm sure

quinten wrote:

WOW !!!



Looking Good Neli

You almost there , i cant wait.

regards

Darling,
still lots of wait....need to test it...dry it...paint it...and it will take time.

Cliff wrote:

Hey Neli

Seems you're getting closer and closer....exciting time!

How many pumps you using on your pond? Also what is the size pumps you are using?
As a start I am using two pumps...one on each filter...with a provision to add another pump or two.

Where are the pipes that are leading to the pump inlet coming from?
There are two filters exactly the same...and each of this filters are split after the SC into two eric like filters, each with MF and BF. That was done to reduce head losses.Pump inlet is coming from the last two chambers, whuch are next to the pump, so that the suction friction is minimal the distance between chambers and pump is 20cm.also in order to reduce friction on the inlet and outlet of the pump I have a Y and all pipes are double...I wanted to put 3" pipes but we dont have them here, so I used 2x2" pipes as suction...outlets...all to reduce friction.

Do you have/need valves to control the flow to the pump inlet as the straight line will have the most impact on flow if not.
I have ball valves on each return, inlet, outlet...There is no pipe without valves. Even each return is controlable...I want to do experiments with different configuration of returns, and see which one works best...like: only surface returns, only bottom returns...a mix...also I have reduced the returns at the end to 1.5" to increase the velocity of the returns.I found some research that says that the velocity of the water in the pond is directly proportional to the velocity of the jets and there is a formula to calculate that...so with two pumps of 30000 liters each plus 6 airlifts, I will be OK for now. I will also have a bakki, discharging with waterfall in the center of the pond, over the airlifts.

Must say the pump inlet and outlet look a little complicated, how do you plan on hiding that piping down the side?
There will be a high wall between the filters and the pond...so pipes will not be seen much. It looks like a spider web because I am using double pipes instead of one everywhere to reduce friction.the pump basket is level with the pond level, and since I am using Y's for splitting the flow...the piping exploded upwards...but I dont care how it looks behind there just tried to make it functional...

Otherwise exciting for you I'm sure

Thanks Cliff,
I just hope my babies will be comfortable soon. Tried my best...hope it will not leak...not much help here and though I employed a contractor...he has never built a pond before.

My bypass is after the mechanical filters...so I need valves on the inlets and by pass both to redirect flow.

Hi Neli, it looks good. Most of my concerns were addressed in your last response to Cliff. The valves on the inlet will be important, because water will take the shortest route, and you want to pull equally from each source.

You mentioned 30 000 liter pumping power. Are you going to feed all 30 000 through the filters? You don't want a too fast flow through the chamber filters, otherwise some solids will be pulled straight through to your sucking chamber and back into the pond.

What size of piping do you have to connect each filter chamber to the next?

BTW, I love that DIY welding machine. Looks like an antique and has got a lot of character.

Some good steel reinforcing you have there. You should not have problems with cracks. Just fill that walls with very sloppy concrete and work it into all pockets thoroughly.

Well done so far.

Admin wrote:

Hi Neli, it looks good. Most of my concerns were addressed in your last response to Cliff. The valves on the inlet will be important, because water will take the shortest route, and you want to pull equally from each source.
Each pumps pulls from one source only...so the valves will not be used to regulate the flow...no need for that...My last two chambers from which I am sucking, are connected with 4" pipe....in the last chamber (next to the pond) I will have the airlifts...in the last chamber away from the pond I will have the pump suck...the two chambers are connected with 4" pipe to equalize the flow.

You mentioned 30 000 liter pumping power. Are you going to feed all 30 000 through the filters? You don't want a too fast flow through the chamber filters, otherwise some solids will be pulled straight through to your sucking chamber and back into the pond.
That is the reason why I split my flow after SC into two separate filters...to avoid problems like that.I have an option to connect the pumps to the skimmers also. Inside the skimmer I will have prefilter...it is a DIY skimmer...so I can suck some water from the skimmers if I see I have this problem...There are two options for my skimmers: discharge directly into SC or have it connected with flexible special suction pipe to the pump in 1 min. The same pipe will be used for emptying the pond if connected to the top of the BD pipe

What size of piping do you have to connect each filter chamber to the next?
It is all 4". I have also a connection between the two mechanical filter chambers for the by pass.

BTW, I love that DIY welding machine. Looks like an antique and has got a lot of character.
He he he! It works very well and it is very cheap...I kept on getting stupid quotes for welding jobs...got annoyed...jumped in the car and went to the location...asked at all the markets and within half an hour bought it...now I do all my welding my self...Just supervise my gardeners who do it.

Some good steel reinforcing you have there. You should not have problems with cracks. Just fill that walls with very sloppy concrete and work it into all pockets thoroughly.
I am using a plunger (????) a machine that vibrates the concrete.My neighbor has it and he lends it to me together with his compactor, and floor concrete shining machine.

Well done so far.

Thanks Admin!
No any advise before it is too late?

Maybe this will explain it better:
This is only half of the filter, which will be serviced by one pump.
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Finished the floor , now final touches:
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Nice job, Neli. Your construction was done so good from the beginning, it will last for many generations! Can't wait to see the final product.