Not a diagram but if you just install a tee into the wetland feed line at the highest point in the line and then reduce the tee line down to a 1” line you will be fine. Put that line just above water level so it can “suck air” in a reverse flow event it will break suction. It doesn’t matter what you do with that line-it can be just a jet flow-a fountain-a small waterfall-whatever. Just as long as it is the high point in the line so it can break suction in a check-valve failure event it can do it’s job. Even if you ball valve it down some it will still work!
Thank you that’s too kind. I think it’s just going to take time for the world to catch up with what we’re doing out here but I really appreciate people like you taking the time to say thanks :-) I appreciate it more than you know
@@KoiAddiction Yeaah, I know, right? Sometimes I feel bad about good channel with good content, but people doesn't seems to notice. Most of us just love trash.. LoL. But I'm pretty sure your aquascape business will be so successful, I've seen some of your work, all of them are exellent. I love to have this kind of business, but in my country is still a long way to be a good business, most of us can't afford to have a water feature like what you create. This monday luckily one of my friend ask me to build one, for a really low budget compare to your price, but most of the knowledge I'll put in this project will be come from you guys...👍 Wish me luck. And keep up the good work.
No carnies in the wetland?! I love that you put the exact names of the plants in the subtitles. I think the Colocasia is a ‘heart of the jungle’ but don’t quote me on that.
I will be loading up my personal Water Feature, the oasis, with Carneys galore :-) I’m sure I will be back to much more educational stuff as soon as I get finished with our personal feature this year but it’s keeping me pretty busy in all of my spare time.
John, just completed watching the wetland filter portion of your design series. Very interesting stuff. I like the detailed information. For instance, having to use round river rock over angular stuff. I do have a request, for your design series. How about a good lesson on how to use the laser level. When I built my pond last year, I had to use a string level. I kept telling my wife how crucial it was to establish water level etc etc. she thought I was nuts out there in the yard, with the level and string and all. I had to do it that way, cuz, for the life of me, I could not find a video on RUclips that gave me the vision on how a laser level works. I see pond builders using these all the time in their vids. It seems so simple and easy. And much easier than using a string level. But, for some reason, I just can't see it for myself. So,... if u think it a worthwhile video, maybe one on how to use it for the specific purpose of pond and stream building. One way or another, I love your videos, enjoy your builds. Tell u one more thing. In your oasis videos, the surrounding property u live on looks beautiful too. U got one helluva set up down there in Tennessee bud. Hope your new year is off to a great start. Derek.
@@KoiAddiction I think it was making sure to leave a dedicated shelf around the bog for edging rocks. I watched this and went right outside to expand the width of my berm.
Hi John, I still love watching this - everything I need to know is included in this 2 part video - thank you. What I'd like to know more about is when an liner overlap is acceptable or when a seam join is more appropriate - a short video on that would be really useful 👍thanks again buddy
Overlap should be at least 12” vertical drop. I ALWAYS seam now, it’s just so much easier than fixing stuff or dealing with root issues 10 years later!
@@KoiAddiction going as well as can be expected for the times. hey that breather T that just doubles as a jet right? am i seeing that right what a smart idea and no small gravel on the top? just medium? is it just supply issues?
Your videos are pure gold for the many tips, tricks and just in case situations that might or will pop up. If the devil is in the details, then the specifics are sexy. Definitely a go to for a how to. Thanks again.
So tell me this do you think our project showcase videos are an asset to the channel? Unless it’s for a famous person we seem to get much less viewership from our projects. I probably shouldn’t look into this too much since were still a pretty new channel but I always like to ask people what they think...
@@KoiAddiction while reading thru the comments and questions, I must reply. This project showcase is outstanding! I have seen lots of beautiful ponds, and owned a beauty till I moved recently. Now, I am anxiously awaiting the end of construction on my new home so I can build an new, bigger, better and more beautiful pond using the wetland design. I am seriously thinking of making it a swimming pond, too! ( Why not! Just need to think about where I’ll can put the pump box. ) But yes, these videos are fantastic, and I appreciate all the knowledge you share.
John ! I’m literally binge watching all of your awesome content to soak up as much knowledge as possible ... thank you 100 fold for producing such valuable content ! Wondering if you have any brief thoughts to point a guy like me on a path to one day be in this awesome arena of pond ecosystem creators. Do I start with the online aquascape training ? Thanks in advance for any help or thoughts !
Fab vid, second time of watching it. Excellent info. I like the sound of the air valve, that also acts as a water jet to help circulate 👍 and avoids back siphonage excellent idea 🍻
Hey John,Great vid and Customer served right as always. Love the Technical Info and how you explained everything,it’s awesome how the aquatic plants go into the rocks and nothing else,just as Mother Nature intended! 👌
The pumps are down below in the skimmer (or often in the intake bay) if they are submersibles. I am doing externals on my Oasis build, currently working on that,,,STAY TUNED :)
Really appreciated this whole series of your blow by blow description of how to design and build a wetland filter, including the adding of the plants! Great job! I like the fact that you do not put the boulders on top of the filter itself. I had always wondered about that in other videos I've seen. I'm guessing that in some situations it is just a matter of how much space is available, but it seems better to put them outside the filter itself. I have question that is not specifically related to wetland filters, but rather to water feature building in general. When placing the larger boulders, I have always wondered about how you get the straps off after it is in place. I caught just a little of it in the time lapse on this video, but was wondering if you could do a video where you go in depth into all the ways of handling large boulders? Thanks!
I am hoping to finish my pond this year. If you ever come to the Boston area I invite you to come see my build. It is all possible from your vids. Building it all by hand and by myself( I'll probably get help with the liners and rock) Wet land is 90% dug but I need to go deeper now. Found out from the 7.1 vid to maximize the rock depths. Thx again for your vids and the Oasis is looking insane 😍.
Hi John, you have, by far, the most informative water feature channel on YT. I'm going to add a bog filter in the spring and I'll be using 6" PVC pipe. I'd like to know if adding a hole near the top of the vertical cleanout pipe would accomplish the same goal as the whip or is it not as effective?
That depends - the point of the breather is to break the siphon, so if whatever you create will effectively break the siphon when the power goes out then you should be good. We put the whip in line because we feed our wetland from the bottom. If water begins to siphon from the wetland and there is nothing to break the siphon then potentially you could backflow all of the sludge from your wetlands down into your pond.
I follow you and Ozponds for tech and knowhow. The best ones in youtube. One question. How is the water flow in this pond? Where does the water stream come from? How does the wetland filter percolates? Do you have one motor for each task? Let me watch it again so I can deduct by myself, but...
Hi John, amazing video, this has solved the tangle in my brain, but I have a question? How did you attach the pond liners? What did you use, how durable would it be for a large swimming pond?
We have a video on how we seam a liner. Super “easy” but must be done right. A proper seam is the strongest part of the liner though. No worries having them in the bottom of the feature at all!
Hi, I love your video. Would it be possible to go integrated detail on parts needed for the whip or bleeder valve that you installed in the wetland filter that serves as a check valve and jet?
Install a 2” tee in the main line in the highest point where it “hops” over the liner to go back to the bottom of the wetland. The “top” of the tee shall be reduced to a 1” outlet. The 2” now goes through to the bottom of the wetland. On the 1” line run a length of flex to top of wetland water level and install a ball valve. After the feature is flowing, adjust the ball valve on the 1” line and position the outlet right at water level✌️😎
I think we need to make a wetland filter for our duck pond. It’s probably about 700 gallons and just being filtered by a small pond filter we bought at the feed store lol. It gets so filthy within hours of being cleaned!!! This seems like it would really help
Yes, ducks make alot of mess! Been there-done that ;) A wetland would def. help- I would make it same size as the pond. Another great option would be a large canister filter that can be back-flushed. That would be more frequent maintenance BUT would allow you to mechanically filter out more duck poo more often!
@@KoiAddiction would it be possible to run the water through some mechanical filtration first and then have it go through the wetland or would that starve the wetland?
Thank you for a another great video. I do have a question. What is your recommendation for gph pump? I’ll be starting my wetland in a few weeks for my koi pond.
Hey John me again great series, I see you have 6” of drop down for depth and 3” of water allowance for a total of 9” of clear water above gravel, same question os there a limit of height? Can I go to 12 inch or more before water heading to water feature?
Hi John. Thanks so much for all of the obvious effort you put into your videos. They are an extremely helpful resource for us newbies. Just a quick question regarding the T-line into the pipe running into the wetland filter. I had considered a non-return valve however this sounds like a better option. If using flexible hose do you use the same diameter pipe for the jet or is it rigid stand pipe with valve / what sort of flow should you have through there / where should you situate the T join just before entering the centipede and how far below the surface is necessary. Thanks again. regards Andrew
Any size will do. And all you need is for it to be in-line before the wetland. Anywhere it is able to “breathe” will break the suction and keep the back-flow so don’t put it under water!
Great video John. What is this term “ whip” just so I know. And thanks for that info. I have check valves on all my pumps but I’m definitely going to install this on my wetland.👍
Simple “Tee” in the main line that dumps water out on top. We show how we installed it at the end of the video. I can give you more details if you need em let me know!
I know there can be no limits. I have seen them built into the side of a pond 3-6” deep and into the bottom of a pond at 6’ deep. There is no “depth requirement” anything will go ;)
Yes, we tamp to a point. If its not structural (boulders on top) then it’s a trample-in so the plants can grow. Fine line between concrete tamped and still a stable soil that won’t settle too much !
Hi John. Im designing a pond in a known termite area and am paranoid about them chewing through! What extra precautions would you suggest taking? I plan on using 2 layers of 8oz underlayment under the liner.
100% make sure you protect liner with geo. LEAVE NO LINER. EXPOSED TO SOIL! We have had no problems when doing this. BUT don’t think they wont chew through flex pipe too lol!
We buy from local vendors on small jobs like this. If you have big projects or a place to store bnulk mats get it delivered from a quarry in tri-axle or semi-dump loads and it is typically much cheaper.
Hi John, so many thanks for this video and all others. I have a doubt on this point: whenever you inject, say 2000gph, water in the filter, these 2000gph needs obviously to get out through the waterfall. Not less (or you will overflow the filter), not more (or you may not have enough water to make a nice waterfall). So: how do you calculate the size (width ? depth ?) of the waterfall to equalize that much quantity of water that goes in and that goes out? Does my question make sense ?
I answered this in the other post for you! Sorry for delay I have been on a big swim pond project in Denver working every day for the last 3 weeks and am behind on answering people ;)
Theres a chart in Myerstown video, its from Aquascapes catalog. It starts at About 15% of pond surface. The bigger the pond gets the smaller the % gets. Anything is better than nothing though. You can always add a second filter later if needed.
1500-4500 square feet. Depends on variables. You could always build one wetland at 1500 ft.² and then if that’s not the quality you were looking for add another. There’s no downside to having multiple wetland filters, it actually improves circulation in the feature.
Hi there sir. Thank you so much for all the information you put on this video. I mean on this series. Im finishing my dream house and I'm planning to have a swimming pond with wetland filtration(after watching several videos of yours). Im from the philippines and I'm still looking for alternatives because that centipede and snorkel vault might not be available in my country. I checked it on the amazon and it's currently not available. But aside from that, I guess the shipping fee is another problem. Anyways, you're really awesome and please keep sharing all those knowledge you have. Subscribed!
Thanks for tuning in! I am sure you can find an alternative. The Snorkel / centipede can be fabricated with some effort from drain pipes. The aquablox are used for storm water management so you may find an alternative if you search that?
@@KoiAddiction just what I am thinking for the centipede and snorkel. For aquablox. I will keep on searching for it. Thank you once again. You are awesome. One day, once I make it, I will update you here or on social media. Keep it up!
Is there a size of pond (maybe gallons or length by width) that you would recommend a skimmer instead of a wetland and zero-edge? How small is too small to be worth it?
It attaches anywhere above the wetland that will allow the system to break the siphon when the power goes down. The check valve at the pump will stop the back-flow scenario, the whip is for when the check valve fails ;)
I love your video. I love to add that glitter valve to my wedding filter, but she didn’t give instructions on how to do that possible for you to shoot me the information.
I’ve been enjoying your beautiful creations and wanting to start one myself. Would you please help clear an issue I’m contemplating about? What is the process for building a wetland filter that feed into a waterfall which is potentially 3ft high from all flat land? Should I use the dirt from excavating the pond to build up a berm, then carve out a wetland area afterward? Thank you so much!
Great video John. Thank you so much for doing this wetland videos. I am about to start adding (or should I say digging) wetland filter to my existing koi pond. I already have all of the equipment, just waiting for cooler weather to start. I have a few questions. First, the jet that you installed, is it 2” all the way to the ball valve or did you have to reduce it to a small size? I saw that you put a snorkel cap completely under water. Most video with wetland on RUclips here usually have the cap above the water level. Are there any pros and cons between the cap above or under water. I really love to put mine under like yours because it looks more natural and easy to hide the cap. I want to do it right the first time, so I have to ask. Thank you so much for your help :)
Cap under is always good for me, make sure it’s on tight is all. All of our plumbing was 2” for the centipede feeder line up to 7000 gph then we use 3”. The line for the syphon break doesnt matter, just make it near or above the water surface for proper function👍
So to stop bugs, ants , and animals.. the secret is using multiple layers of underlayment correct???... I think you are the 1st I have heard of addressing the problem of ants...
Underlay or rock pad has been a deterrent for us. I have witnessed liner holes from carpenter and fire ants as well as termites in TN. It has not been a problem when liner has been protected by Geo-textile though.
The breather line just needs to be big enough to let air in to break the vacuum of the siphon. If I’m running a 2 inch mainline I will often use I want inch line for the breather. Of course if you’re installing some sort of a fountain or Waterfall up above it doesn’t matter because it will get air from that👍
Great how to videos I am fixing to start my own wetland filtration with a small 10 foot stream going into 24 x 30 Pond probably around 3 1/2 to 4 foot deep I’m wondering is it best for me to go with the 1000 series skimmer or do a negative edge or small basin which would be the perfect design for low maintenance and having koi and largemouth bass thanks for your input
hey John great work, love how you present all the information. I was wondering if by chance you know of a way to calculate water loss by evaporation for a pondless waterfall? there's a calculation on aquascape's site for ponds, but I can't find anything about the amount of evaporation for a pondless waterfall. I had one built this past spring and I'm currently seeing a loss of approx 150 gallons every 8-10 days and just trying to figure out if that's normal. Thanks for the great videos, looking forward to seeing more builds.
Donnie Beck thanks for the fast reply. The overall length of the feature is about 13 feet from spillway down to the basin and its split into two streams at the top. The basin I believe is just over 150 gallons as it is made up of 5 large aquablocks plus of course the pump vault with an extension. The width of each stream is about 12-14”. Located in south eastern Ontario Canada. Feature sees full sun from about 8am-5pm.
tanner alford if you want peace of mind go to our friend Atlantis Water Garden RUclips channel. Jaak put out a great video about a year ago on a 5 step leak test that you can follow. If anything you can learn easy steps to identify potential leaks.
Hi john love your vids what about the wetland filters, should you put plants in them or not. I hear different stories about this, one says plants are really necessary to remove all waste materials, others say that the filter bed is closing up because of the roots. and that more rot occurs through the roots. what is your opinion? I want to apply a wetland for a koi pond, and it seems ideal to me to make a platform floating above the filter, but then I cannot place plants in the filter.
I love the plants, they have to help out but are not necessary. Don’t use invasive-or use tropical that may die back in your area if possible! Remove plant growth and it will be removing nutrients, simple as that!!
@@KoiAddiction love that you take the time to read and answer! love your channel, keep up the great work, greetings from your fans from the Netherlands
Modern Design Aquascaping Inc. Do you also put a ball valve on the main feed line to manage total water volume through the wetland filter? I.e. I have a total of 7,000 GPH going thru the feed line but my centipedes can only handle 4,000 GPH so I want to redirect the excess through my “breather” exit to relieve the pressure and increase my water fall.
Hey John having problems with my whip I added in my wetland filter have a 3 inch line with a 2 inch line T fitting coming off more of a Y fitting but I’m not getting any water out of my 2 inch line on top just all is going into my centipede any help would be great thanks
Is there any resistance? (Ball valve etc)- As long ass you can unplug your pump and it will suck air through the whip breaking the siphon you’re good. Let me know if you’ve tried that
Modern Design Aquascaping Inc. hey John I do have a ball valve on the end of the whip haven’t tried turning the pump off and let it break the water but I will try that tomorrow also I was going to add a large stack sllate urn to the wetland filter and I was going to try to tee off of the whip line is there a way for me to make sure there is water pumping through the whip to operator the urn thanks
Yes, not really important. You can make it as deep as you like, just depends on your goals. I have a friend who put his in the bottom of his swim pond!
I live in the Arizona desert and evaporation is a concern when considering a large footprint wetland filter. Would it be better to make the reservoir of aquablocks deeper with a smaller footprint or single layer of large blocks? There are 2 aquascape contractors here in the valley but both are incredibly busy and my budget isn't such that I am able to have it all done professionally. My pond is 33 feet long avg 18 feet wide and 32 inches deep. The pond is lined with large river rock sitting atop each other and no shelving. I have a lot of work cut out for me to retrofit. I'm currently building a filter similar to the nexus but have many rabbits, birds, lizards etc I want to provide an aquatic habitat for as well as filtration for my koi and goldfish. My goats do not get into the pond when filled but will probably drink from it when roaming the property. I get monsoon flooding which I think I have managed but because I am on a well I would like to maintain some of the runoff to integrate back into my local aquafer.
The Aussies do deeper gravel, faster flow rates, smaller footprint wetlands with success. I have no personal experience. If I were to experiment, I would do so with a dissolved oxygen meter and do research on what the beneficial bacteria is happy with, and then measure and dial in the flow until you have acceptable oxygen rates when the water reaches the top of the filter substrate. You may get a local college to work with you there??
Thank you for the recommendations. I had not thought to touch base with the schools. We have some amazing colleges and universities here so I'm sure one of them has programs that could use the field experience.
I've been watching videos of your team aquascape...want to ask question about the ideal wetland diameter innrelation to size and deep of the pond? Thanks!!!
Aqua Scapes has a basic formula that they use and it’s in their catalog. I believe if you consider the size of your typical biological filter, any wetland filter is a huge upgrade based on surface area for bacterial colonization.
You said only round rocks, but what about volcanic angular rock that has a lot more surface area for benificial bacteria? Does it not have an advantage ? For final small stone layer ?
My experience with lava stones is that they clog pretty quickly and become outer surface only. The need for round is so we can “reverse-flush” the filter. Angular stone tends to lock the debris in more, making cleaning more laborious.
Maybe I missed it, but do you just T off the incoming main line just before going into your wetland filter for the anti siphon whip? I assume it could be very small (like 1/2")? Thanks
I need help with my mud puddle, haha!! I have no liner, won't ever because the water table is too high. Mud sides and no plants yet, suggestions to make this swim able??
That project is going to take a lot of patience and technical skill to pull off. I don’t think I could just give you answers and shorthand here but definitely doable if you can work within the space that you have I’ve put liner in to a situation where it was underwater with rocks on top not The ideal situation though.
@@KoiAddiction I completely understand, hard to support without a 3 page description. I don't think the liner is going to be an option with the research I've found. Would dumping sand and gravel down the sides make a difference at all?? Cheers for the speedy response.
Help me John! In other aquatic life spheres we use porous rock for more surface area for the beneficial bacteria to live in our bio-filters . I have been planning to use lava rock for the middle layer above the large smooth stones and below the top layer small of smooth stones. I always see people using all smooth round stones for pond filtration. Do you have any experience with lava rock in wetland filtration? I ask, because I am about to build a wetland filter for my large pond in NW Mississippi.
I have never used the lava stone in a wetland. If it’s angular it may clog more readily than smooth round and be more difficult to back-flush efficiently but it may be a valuable addition in actual filtration capacity. I would love to hear how it works out for you long term, let me know how it goes!
Honestly we can never keep everything pitched away, its just not typically possible. We pitch edges away as much as we can and use clean mulch to hold back runoff. Short groundcovers around the edge help as well. If there is runoff that will potentially contain anything harmful I would make a dry stream or berm to push that water away (around) the feature. Rainwater from a rroof is OK IF you make sure it is going into the skimmner or pump vault so that it mixes with pond water before getting to the fish AND you make sure you calculate that the downspout you are using isn’t putting in too much water!
Modern Design Aquascaping Inc. We don’t get a lot of rain here in western Colorado - only 8-10”/yr. do you think a rain water recovery is worth it for my pond? Nothing like where you guys are based. Do you have any issues with PH changes due to rain water?
i am buildind a upflow biofilter for a swimming pond . The pond is 12' deep and 75x150 shaped like a bowl. how many runs and how long of centepedes do I need . I was thinking 4 runs 25' with clean outs on each run . An area that is 40'x80' for the filter . and a 15000 gallon an hour pump. Does this sound workable?😊
There are a lot of variables that go with a design of this size! You have about a 9,000 SF pond. In a typical ecosystem pond of this size I would shoot for a 3000 SF wetland (without knowing more details). That filter for a 9000 sf pond will be a 25’ x 50’ wetland with 16 centipedes and a minimum flow of 32000 GPH. From there I would also consider circulation- are you using jets or aeration for additional water movement? That may increased flow needs as well. I would hire someone (like Aquascapes or myself) to assist with total design and help you get that all planned out on the front end. This is a large project to miss the “small stuff” that will determine success or failure.
Is it really worth all the money to put a wetland filter on a 1 1/2 acre pond average depth of 25 foot ? It is going to be used for scuba diving , wanting great visibility . The pond is not going to stocked but I know you cant stop nature . Is there another way to get the water clear and keep it that way ? I live in SW Louisiana the pond is in the middle of a field field by a well .
I have put wetlands on (even undersized) and they have made a significant difference in water quality and clarity on large ponds (up to 70,000 SF.). Re. The value/ return on investment/ etc., that totally depends on your situation. It costs to build, run, and maintain. Value is in your eyes. Build it without and see how the clarity is and then decide??
Ok thank you very much , if you dont mind I would like to contact you . A few months before I dig the pond to have information from you or can get name of someone who tell me the bedt to do s wetland for the money i have ?
I am no expert on that subject, I have seen it but never installed it on one of my jobs. I wonder why the termites, fire ants, chipmunks, rats, etc. don't like to shew on RPE?
Do you by any chance have a diagram on the anti re-flux whip thingy? i couldn`t quite follow as you were explaining. thanks.
Not a diagram but if you just install a tee into the wetland feed line at the highest point in the line and then reduce the tee line down to a 1” line you will be fine. Put that line just above water level so it can “suck air” in a reverse flow event it will break suction. It doesn’t matter what you do with that line-it can be just a jet flow-a fountain-a small waterfall-whatever. Just as long as it is the high point in the line so it can break suction in a check-valve failure event it can do it’s job. Even if you ball valve it down some it will still work!
@@KoiAddiction So should the end of the breather tube be above or just below normal water level?
@@KoiAddiction it would be awesome to see a detail video on this topic. Thank you!
Just watched part 1, these videos are pure gold.
Thx so much😎✌️
Wow. You’ve got the most wonderful job in the world.
Why didn't this channel come up before I spent $2500 on the aquascape academy. 🤦🏿♂️
Thank you sir‼️
Yea, I got nothing. I should charge a bit so I could spend all of my time teaching on this channel!
Whole video is worth it just for the siphon break tip
Small trick of the trade :)
Best Aqua team in the south
Thanks Rudy!!
You have done An Excellent Job on teaching about how to build this wetland.
Awesome to hear, I hope it helps some people get it right on the first try!
Damn! With all the knowledge that you throw out in your channel, You definitely deserve lot more subscribers! Respect and salute!
Thank you that’s too kind. I think it’s just going to take time for the world to catch up with what we’re doing out here but I really appreciate people like you taking the time to say thanks :-) I appreciate it more than you know
@@KoiAddiction Yeaah, I know, right? Sometimes I feel bad about good channel with good content, but people doesn't seems to notice. Most of us just love trash.. LoL. But I'm pretty sure your aquascape business will be so successful, I've seen some of your work, all of them are exellent. I love to have this kind of business, but in my country is still a long way to be a good business, most of us can't afford to have a water feature like what you create. This monday luckily one of my friend ask me to build one, for a really low budget compare to your price, but most of the knowledge I'll put in this project will be come from you guys...👍 Wish me luck. And keep up the good work.
Well good luck to you, I hope all goes well on your project!
Bleeder valve info was gold! 👍
It’s the little things eh?
You can't understand how much you have helped me with your channel. Thank you
Fer shure, glad to be an aid to the industry👍🏻
Thank you for sharing. Great VDO. Keep up the great show.
We are keeping it real, glad you are sharing the journey with us ;)
No carnies in the wetland?! I love that you put the exact names of the plants in the subtitles. I think the Colocasia is a ‘heart of the jungle’ but don’t quote me on that.
I will be loading up my personal Water Feature, the oasis, with Carneys galore :-) I’m sure I will be back to much more educational stuff as soon as I get finished with our personal feature this year but it’s keeping me pretty busy in all of my spare time.
John, just completed watching the wetland filter portion of your design series. Very interesting stuff. I like the detailed information. For instance, having to use round river rock over angular stuff. I do have a request, for your design series. How about a good lesson on how to use the laser level. When I built my pond last year, I had to use a string level. I kept telling my wife how crucial it was to establish water level etc etc. she thought I was nuts out there in the yard, with the level and string and all. I had to do it that way, cuz, for the life of me, I could not find a video on RUclips that gave me the vision on how a laser level works. I see pond builders using these all the time in their vids. It seems so simple and easy. And much easier than using a string level. But, for some reason, I just can't see it for myself. So,... if u think it a worthwhile video, maybe one on how to use it for the specific purpose of pond and stream building. One way or another, I love your videos, enjoy your builds. Tell u one more thing. In your oasis videos, the surrounding property u live on looks beautiful too. U got one helluva set up down there in Tennessee bud. Hope your new year is off to a great start. Derek.
Great, great video. Job well done! Press On!!!
We are back in the saddle! New content is cooking up right now ;)
Great job. Looks incredible!
Good stuff!!! See you soon! 😎
You are a rockstar JD!
@@KoiAddiction only when I’m with you!
Love to see such high quality work👍🙏
Thank you so much 😀 We love to get artsy-fartsy!
There is SO MUCH great information in this video!
Glad to help. What was your best tip?
@@KoiAddiction I think it was making sure to leave a dedicated shelf around the bog for edging rocks. I watched this and went right outside to expand the width of my berm.
Thanks John
Hey thanks for watching ;)
Thank you for this important information
Awesome job
Thanks Linda! Glad you enjoyed it😎
Hi John, I still love watching this - everything I need to know is included in this 2 part video - thank you. What I'd like to know more about is when an liner overlap is acceptable or when a seam join is more appropriate - a short video on that would be really useful 👍thanks again buddy
Overlap should be at least 12” vertical drop. I ALWAYS seam now, it’s just so much easier than fixing stuff or dealing with root issues 10 years later!
very nice 👍
Thanks man how are ya doing out there in Aussi land?
@@KoiAddiction going as well as can be expected for the times. hey that breather T that just doubles as a jet right? am i seeing that right what a smart idea and no small gravel on the top? just medium? is it just supply issues?
Great videos!
Thanks John, I will continue teaching everything I know! We appreciate you hanging out with us ;)
Another great job and love he tip on a blow off valve.
Thanks, I’m sure there is no fuel siphoning experience involved in that idea😂
I always had that doubt about back flow of wetland. Now I know why there is an urn over every wetland. That bleeder valve cleared my doubt. Thank you.
You can’t beat gravity but you can outsmart it sometimes😎
You are giving so much great info I have to watch the video twice!
Thanks for tuning in🤘🏻😎
Lol I watch them a bunch myself. I'm building my on pond myself by hand.
Your videos are pure gold for the many tips, tricks and just in case situations that might or will pop up. If the devil is in the details, then the specifics are sexy. Definitely a go to for a how to. Thanks again.
So tell me this do you think our project showcase videos are an asset to the channel? Unless it’s for a famous person we seem to get much less viewership from our projects. I probably shouldn’t look into this too much since were still a pretty new channel but I always like to ask people what they think...
@@KoiAddiction while reading thru the comments and questions, I must reply. This project showcase is outstanding! I have seen lots of beautiful ponds, and owned a beauty till I moved recently. Now, I am anxiously awaiting the end of construction on my new home so I can build an new, bigger, better and more beautiful pond using the wetland design. I am seriously thinking of making it a swimming pond, too! ( Why not! Just need to think about where I’ll can put the pump box. ) But yes, these videos are fantastic, and I appreciate all the knowledge you share.
I love your plant selection and edge work... Holy Cow is that God or Man made? You guys are awesome!
Yer too kind Nick🤠
Another awesome video😎😎🌻
Thanks 🍯
Nice job,Very informative
Tyvm😎
Love your work mate
Thanks boss! Appreciate you watching👍
John, you are a master of your trade. Genius tips like the anti syphon valve. You can't buy experience like this. Bravo mate! 👏
Thanks man, hope it helps you on your journey😎✌️
Great, Congratulations!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for making theses detailed videos for all of us new contractors to learn from!!!
My pleasure, hope it helps you out!
So glad I found this guy...absolutely awesome informative content...wish you were in Perth Western Australia to help me build...
I was in Australia a couple years back. Hope to get back out there in 2023. Have England and Mexico on the list to do this year, such exciting stuff!
John ! I’m literally binge watching all of your awesome content to soak up as much knowledge as possible ... thank you 100 fold for producing such valuable content ! Wondering if you have any brief thoughts to point a guy like me on a path to one day be in this awesome arena of pond ecosystem creators. Do I start with the online aquascape training ? Thanks in advance for any help or thoughts !
Yes! Follow Aquascape Academy-online etc. Follow Ed the Pond Professor -The Pond Advisor-etc. and sponge it all up! & us of course!
Homerun!!! Great information
Glad you liked it. What else are you interested in learning? It’s time for a new topic.
You guys are amazing
Thanks for your kind words!
Great video. Very educational
Thanks Geo! See ya next week?
Modern Design Aquascaping Inc. yes you will
Awesome tip on the breather! Thanks
You bet!
Awesome as always👍
Thanks🤠
Fab vid, second time of watching it. Excellent info. I like the sound of the air valve, that also acts as a water jet to help circulate 👍 and avoids back siphonage excellent idea 🍻
Thanks for hanging with us!
Hey John,Great vid and Customer served right as always.
Love the Technical Info and how you explained everything,it’s awesome how the aquatic plants go into the rocks and nothing else,just as Mother Nature intended! 👌
It was a fun video to make, It will be nice to re-visit in a year to look at the progress and see his pond!
Great video. I have an architecture and project management background. I appreciate the details. Thank you so much.
Glad to help-let us know if you have questions or design needs👍
Great series Jon. 🍻👊🏼 that’s one good looking wetland.
Thanks😎
Great videos can you show the electrical component of how you plug in the pumps and concealed at the same time. Thanks!
The pumps are down below in the skimmer (or often in the intake bay) if they are submersibles. I am doing externals on my Oasis build, currently working on that,,,STAY TUNED :)
Very informative as always! Great video John!
Thanks Tanner, hope you’re well out there in the land of Covid🤣
Really appreciated this whole series of your blow by blow description of how to design and build a wetland filter, including the adding of the plants! Great job! I like the fact that you do not put the boulders on top of the filter itself. I had always wondered about that in other videos I've seen. I'm guessing that in some situations it is just a matter of how much space is available, but it seems better to put them outside the filter itself.
I have question that is not specifically related to wetland filters, but rather to water feature building in general. When placing the larger boulders, I have always wondered about how you get the straps off after it is in place. I caught just a little of it in the time lapse on this video, but was wondering if you could do a video where you go in depth into all the ways of handling large boulders? Thanks!
We will get it done!
I am hoping to finish my pond this year. If you ever come to the Boston area I invite you to come see my build. It is all possible from your vids.
Building it all by hand and by myself( I'll probably get help with the liners and rock)
Wet land is 90% dug but I need to go deeper now. Found out from the 7.1 vid to maximize the rock depths.
Thx again for your vids and the Oasis is looking insane 😍.
Super glad to help and inspire you out there- I would love to see what you’re doing!!
Hi John, you have, by far, the most informative water feature channel on YT. I'm going to add a bog filter in the spring and I'll be using 6" PVC pipe. I'd like to know if adding a hole near the top of the vertical cleanout pipe would accomplish the same goal as the whip or is it not as effective?
That depends - the point of the breather is to break the siphon, so if whatever you create will effectively break the siphon when the power goes out then you should be good. We put the whip in line because we feed our wetland from the bottom. If water begins to siphon from the wetland and there is nothing to break the siphon then potentially you could backflow all of the sludge from your wetlands down into your pond.
I follow you and Ozponds for tech and knowhow. The best ones in youtube. One question. How is the water flow in this pond? Where does the water stream come from? How does the wetland filter percolates? Do you have one motor for each task? Let me watch it again so I can deduct by myself, but...
Please make a video on how you clean those ponds
Next 3 videos (after this week) are how we clean ponds, waterfalls, and wetland filters!! ;)
Hi John, amazing video, this has solved the tangle in my brain, but I have a question? How did you attach the pond liners? What did you use, how durable would it be for a large swimming pond?
We have a video on how we seam a liner. Super “easy” but must be done right. A proper seam is the strongest part of the liner though. No worries having them in the bottom of the feature at all!
Hi, I love your video. Would it be possible to go integrated detail on parts needed for the whip or bleeder valve that you installed in the wetland filter that serves as a check valve and jet?
Install a 2” tee in the main line in the highest point where it “hops” over the liner to go back to the bottom of the wetland. The “top” of the tee shall be reduced to a 1” outlet. The 2” now goes through to the bottom of the wetland. On the 1” line run a length of flex to top of wetland water level and install a ball valve. After the feature is flowing, adjust the ball valve on the 1” line and position the outlet right at water level✌️😎
Awesome just one question if you don’t mind. The T with that siphon thing. I dont understand. How does that work?
think of a gas siphon- then let air into the siphon, siphon is over! It stops gravity from emptying the wetland out in the yard. That simple!
Great Helpful videos, THANK YOU. would you suggest adding a "Starter" Bacteria to our Wetland filter at construction?
Absolutely, a couple pond gummies or something stronger if there is an existing food source for it.
I think we need to make a wetland filter for our duck pond. It’s probably about 700 gallons and just being filtered by a small pond filter we bought at the feed store lol. It gets so filthy within hours of being cleaned!!! This seems like it would really help
Yes, ducks make alot of mess! Been there-done that ;) A wetland would def. help- I would make it same size as the pond. Another great option would be a large canister filter that can be back-flushed. That would be more frequent maintenance BUT would allow you to mechanically filter out more duck poo more often!
@@KoiAddiction would it be possible to run the water through some mechanical filtration first and then have it go through the wetland or would that starve the wetland?
Thank you for a another great video. I do have a question. What is your recommendation for gph pump? I’ll be starting my wetland in a few weeks for my koi pond.
2000 GPH per centipede into the bottom, the rest of your flow can run out of the jet on top of the wetland!!
Thanks again
Hey John me again great series, I see you have 6” of drop down for depth and 3” of water allowance for a total of 9” of clear water above gravel, same question os there a limit of height? Can I go to 12 inch or more before water heading to water feature?
No you can adjust to your needs. The water in mine is 16” deep. I have seen people put them in the bottom of their ponds…
Hi John. Thanks so much for all of the obvious effort you put into your videos. They are an extremely helpful resource for us newbies. Just a quick question regarding the T-line into the pipe running into the wetland filter. I had considered a non-return valve however this sounds like a better option. If using flexible hose do you use the same diameter pipe for the jet or is it rigid stand pipe with valve / what sort of flow should you have through there / where should you situate the T join just before entering the centipede and how far below the surface is necessary. Thanks again. regards Andrew
Any size will do. And all you need is for it to be in-line before the wetland. Anywhere it is able to “breathe” will break the suction and keep the back-flow so don’t put it under water!
Great video John. What is this term “ whip” just so I know. And thanks for that info. I have check valves on all my pumps but I’m definitely going to install this on my wetland.👍
Simple “Tee” in the main line that dumps water out on top. We show how we installed it at the end of the video. I can give you more details if you need em let me know!
Yes please
John, live your videos! Just wanted to ask what is a good value of fall for a wetland filter? Thanks
Don’t understand the question…The filter simply purifies the water organically and removes sediments organics and debris.
You recommend how much water on top of your rock? I was going to build mine even with the rock? Great video.
I know there can be no limits. I have seen them built into the side of a pond 3-6” deep and into the bottom of a pond at 6’ deep. There is no “depth requirement” anything will go ;)
When you're making this wetland 2 feet above water level, you build the garden up to that height and tamp as you go?
Yes, we tamp to a point. If its not structural (boulders on top) then it’s a trample-in so the plants can grow. Fine line between concrete tamped and still a stable soil that won’t settle too much !
Hi John. Im designing a pond in a known termite area and am paranoid about them chewing through! What extra precautions would you suggest taking? I plan on using 2 layers of 8oz underlayment under the liner.
100% make sure you protect liner with geo. LEAVE NO LINER. EXPOSED TO SOIL! We have had no problems when doing this. BUT don’t think they wont chew through flex pipe too lol!
Awesome content man, very informational as always, one quick question. What’s the best/most affordable way going about getting a bulk supply of rock?
We buy from local vendors on small jobs like this. If you have big projects or a place to store bnulk mats get it delivered from a quarry in tri-axle or semi-dump loads and it is typically much cheaper.
Hi John, so many thanks for this video and all others. I have a doubt on this point: whenever you inject, say 2000gph, water in the filter, these 2000gph needs obviously to get out through the waterfall. Not less (or you will overflow the filter), not more (or you may not have enough water to make a nice waterfall). So: how do you calculate the size (width ? depth ?) of the waterfall to equalize that much quantity of water that goes in and that goes out? Does my question make sense ?
I answered this in the other post for you! Sorry for delay I have been on a big swim pond project in Denver working every day for the last 3 weeks and am behind on answering people ;)
One more question. When you are sizing the wetland filter. do you do it as a percentage of pond surface? If so what is the % that you shoot for?
Theres a chart in Myerstown video, its from Aquascapes catalog. It starts at About 15% of pond surface. The bigger the pond gets the smaller the % gets. Anything is better than nothing though. You can always add a second filter later if needed.
Hello, we keep going back and forth...how big would you suggest our regeneration zone be for a 100x150 pond?? thank you!
1500-4500 square feet. Depends on variables. You could always build one wetland at 1500 ft.² and then if that’s not the quality you were looking for add another. There’s no downside to having multiple wetland filters, it actually improves circulation in the feature.
Hi there sir. Thank you so much for all the information you put on this video. I mean on this series. Im finishing my dream house and I'm planning to have a swimming pond with wetland filtration(after watching several videos of yours). Im from the philippines and I'm still looking for alternatives because that centipede and snorkel vault might not be available in my country. I checked it on the amazon and it's currently not available. But aside from that, I guess the shipping fee is another problem. Anyways, you're really awesome and please keep sharing all those knowledge you have. Subscribed!
Thanks for tuning in! I am sure you can find an alternative. The Snorkel / centipede can be fabricated with some effort from drain pipes. The aquablox are used for storm water management so you may find an alternative if you search that?
@@KoiAddiction just what I am thinking for the centipede and snorkel. For aquablox. I will keep on searching for it. Thank you once again. You are awesome. One day, once I make it, I will update you here or on social media. Keep it up!
Is there a size of pond (maybe gallons or length by width) that you would recommend a skimmer instead of a wetland and zero-edge? How small is too small to be worth it?
I just answered you on the other post!!
That "whip" that you called it. Where does that attach? Will a check valve work?
It attaches anywhere above the wetland that will allow the system to break the siphon when the power goes down. The check valve at the pump will stop the back-flow scenario, the whip is for when the check valve fails ;)
I love your video. I love to add that glitter valve to my wedding filter, but she didn’t give instructions on how to do that possible for you to shoot me the information.
I’ve been enjoying your beautiful creations and wanting to start one myself. Would you please help clear an issue I’m contemplating about?
What is the process for building a wetland filter that feed into a waterfall which is potentially 3ft high from all flat land? Should I use the dirt from excavating the pond to build up a berm, then carve out a wetland area afterward? Thank you so much!
Yes that would be my method. Tamp soil into raised area and then carve, easier to me than all the backfilling!!
@@KoiAddiction Thank you so much!
after 30 years how much would it cost to reline everthing for a recreational swimming pond?
I couldn't say, although If properly designed and built I would hope for more years out of my project.
Great video John. Thank you so much for doing this wetland videos. I am about to start adding (or should I say digging) wetland filter to my existing koi pond. I already have all of the equipment, just waiting for cooler weather to start. I have a few questions. First, the jet that you installed, is it 2” all the way to the ball valve or did you have to reduce it to a small size? I saw that you put a snorkel cap completely under water. Most video with wetland on RUclips here usually have the cap above the water level. Are there any pros and cons between the cap above or under water. I really love to put mine under like yours because it looks more natural and easy to hide the cap. I want to do it right the first time, so I have to ask. Thank you so much for your help :)
Cap under is always good for me, make sure it’s on tight is all. All of our plumbing was 2” for the centipede feeder line up to 7000 gph then we use 3”. The line for the syphon break doesnt matter, just make it near or above the water surface for proper function👍
So to stop bugs, ants , and animals.. the secret is using multiple layers of underlayment correct???... I think you are the 1st I have heard of addressing the problem of ants...
Underlay or rock pad has been a deterrent for us. I have witnessed liner holes from carpenter and fire ants as well as termites in TN. It has not been a problem when liner has been protected by Geo-textile though.
Is the air valve line the same diameter as the main line?
The breather line just needs to be big enough to let air in to break the vacuum of the siphon. If I’m running a 2 inch mainline I will often use I want inch line for the breather. Of course if you’re installing some sort of a fountain or Waterfall up above it doesn’t matter because it will get air from that👍
Great how to videos I am fixing to start my own wetland filtration with a small 10 foot stream going into 24 x 30 Pond probably around 3 1/2 to 4 foot deep I’m wondering is it best for me to go with the 1000 series skimmer or do a negative edge or small basin which would be the perfect design for low maintenance and having
koi and largemouth bass thanks for your input
I have had great luck with that size pond doing small wetland from a 1000 skimmer! Let me know what you decide to do👍😎
hey John great work, love how you present all the information. I was wondering if by chance you know of a way to calculate water loss by evaporation for a pondless waterfall? there's a calculation on aquascape's site for ponds, but I can't find anything about the amount of evaporation for a pondless waterfall. I had one built this past spring and I'm currently seeing a loss of approx 150 gallons every 8-10 days and just trying to figure out if that's normal. Thanks for the great videos, looking forward to seeing more builds.
tanner alford we need more info. What’s the length, width, avg falls drop of your stream, do you know what your basin size, where are you located?
Donnie Beck thanks for the fast reply. The overall length of the feature is about 13 feet from spillway down to the basin and its split into two streams at the top. The basin I believe is just over 150 gallons as it is made up of 5 large aquablocks plus of course the pump vault with an extension. The width of each stream is about 12-14”. Located in south eastern Ontario Canada. Feature sees full sun from about 8am-5pm.
Yea what he said!
Your loss sounds very reasonable to me @ Less than 1 gal/ hour loss
tanner alford if you want peace of mind go to our friend Atlantis Water Garden RUclips channel. Jaak put out a great video about a year ago on a 5 step leak test that you can follow. If anything you can learn easy steps to identify potential leaks.
Hi john love your vids
what about the wetland filters, should you put plants in them or not.
I hear different stories about this, one says plants are really necessary to remove all waste materials, others say that the filter bed is closing up because of the roots. and that more rot occurs through the roots.
what is your opinion?
I want to apply a wetland for a koi pond, and it seems ideal to me to make a platform floating above the filter, but then I cannot place plants in the filter.
I love the plants, they have to help out but are not necessary. Don’t use invasive-or use tropical that may die back in your area if possible! Remove plant growth and it will be removing nutrients, simple as that!!
@@KoiAddiction love that you take the time to read and answer! love your channel, keep up the great work, greetings from your fans from the Netherlands
The whip you mentioned is T valve off the input line? Can you give a bit more detail. I'm digging a wetland right now!
Just a tee off the feed line. It’s nothing more complicated than that. Use a ball valve on the teed line so you can regulate flow!
Modern Design Aquascaping Inc. Do you also put a ball valve on the main feed line to manage total water volume through the wetland filter? I.e. I have a total of 7,000 GPH going thru the feed line but my centipedes can only handle 4,000 GPH so I want to redirect the excess through my “breather” exit to relieve the pressure and increase my water fall.
Hey John having problems with my whip I added in my wetland filter have a 3 inch line with a 2 inch line T fitting coming off more of a Y fitting but I’m not getting any water out of my 2 inch line on top just all is going into my centipede any help would be great thanks
Is there any resistance? (Ball valve etc)- As long ass you can unplug your pump and it will suck air through the whip breaking the siphon you’re good. Let me know if you’ve tried that
Modern Design Aquascaping Inc. hey John I do have a ball valve on the end of the whip haven’t tried turning the pump off and let it break the water but I will try that tomorrow also I was going to add a large stack sllate urn to the wetland filter and I was going to try to tee off of the whip line is there a way for me to make sure there is water pumping through the whip to operator the urn thanks
John what is the depth of the water level in the wetland would 6" to 10" be OK?
Yes, not really important. You can make it as deep as you like, just depends on your goals. I have a friend who put his in the bottom of his swim pond!
I live in the Arizona desert and evaporation is a concern when considering a large footprint wetland filter. Would it be better to make the reservoir of aquablocks deeper with a smaller footprint or single layer of large blocks? There are 2 aquascape contractors here in the valley but both are incredibly busy and my budget isn't such that I am able to have it all done professionally. My pond is 33 feet long avg 18 feet wide and 32 inches deep. The pond is lined with large river rock sitting atop each other and no shelving. I have a lot of work cut out for me to retrofit. I'm currently building a filter similar to the nexus but have many rabbits, birds, lizards etc I want to provide an aquatic habitat for as well as filtration for my koi and goldfish. My goats do not get into the pond when filled but will probably drink from it when roaming the property. I get monsoon flooding which I think I have managed but because I am on a well I would like to maintain some of the runoff to integrate back into my local aquafer.
I too would like diagram info about your anti siphon feature.
The Aussies do deeper gravel, faster flow rates, smaller footprint wetlands with success. I have no personal experience. If I were to experiment, I would do so with a dissolved oxygen meter and do research on what the beneficial bacteria is happy with, and then measure and dial in the flow until you have acceptable oxygen rates when the water reaches the top of the filter substrate. You may get a local college to work with you there??
Thank you for the recommendations. I had not thought to touch base with the schools. We have some amazing colleges and universities here so I'm sure one of them has programs that could use the field experience.
I've been watching videos of your team aquascape...want to ask question about the ideal wetland diameter innrelation to size and deep of the pond? Thanks!!!
Aqua Scapes has a basic formula that they use and it’s in their catalog. I believe if you consider the size of your typical biological filter, any wetland filter is a huge upgrade based on surface area for bacterial colonization.
You said only round rocks, but what about volcanic angular rock that has a lot more surface area for benificial bacteria? Does it not have an advantage ? For final small stone layer ?
My experience with lava stones is that they clog pretty quickly and become outer surface only. The need for round is so we can “reverse-flush” the filter. Angular stone tends to lock the debris in more, making cleaning more laborious.
Maybe I missed it, but do you just T off the incoming main line just before going into your wetland filter for the anti siphon whip? I assume it could be very small (like 1/2")? Thanks
Now I see your answer
Yes sir!
I think I figured out how to hide the plumbing now. Looks like it's better to use flex PVC
Mix it up! Use the right pipe in the right place🤠
You have great videos I really enjoy watching them.
What size pump are you using to feed the wetland filter in this application? Thanks!
We feed the wetland 2000 GPH per centipede module-of course you can push more water flow out on top of the filter to create a more dramatic effect
I have a 13,000 gallon pond with 65 Koi fish what size wetlands filter would I go with?
I go by the surface area of the pond @ 30% of surface area for the filter on smaller ponds and rec ponds!
I need help with my mud puddle, haha!! I have no liner, won't ever because the water table is too high. Mud sides and no plants yet, suggestions to make this swim able??
That project is going to take a lot of patience and technical skill to pull off. I don’t think I could just give you answers and shorthand here but definitely doable if you can work within the space that you have I’ve put liner in to a situation where it was underwater with rocks on top not The ideal situation though.
@@KoiAddiction I completely understand, hard to support without a 3 page description. I don't think the liner is going to be an option with the research I've found. Would dumping sand and gravel down the sides make a difference at all?? Cheers for the speedy response.
Help me John! In other aquatic life spheres we use porous rock for more surface area for the beneficial bacteria to live in our bio-filters . I have been planning to use lava rock for the middle layer above the large smooth stones and below the top layer small of smooth stones. I always see people using all smooth round stones for pond filtration. Do you have any experience with lava rock in wetland filtration? I ask, because I am about to build a wetland filter for my large pond in NW Mississippi.
I have never used the lava stone in a wetland. If it’s angular it may clog more readily than smooth round and be more difficult to back-flush efficiently but it may be a valuable addition in actual filtration capacity. I would love to hear how it works out for you long term, let me know how it goes!
What kind of precautions do you take for toxic liquids running into wetland then making way into pond? Would you take rainwater from roof gutters?
Honestly we can never keep everything pitched away, its just not typically possible. We pitch edges away as much as we can and use clean mulch to hold back runoff. Short groundcovers around the edge help as well. If there is runoff that will potentially contain anything harmful I would make a dry stream or berm to push that water away (around) the feature. Rainwater from a rroof is OK IF you make sure it is going into the skimmner or pump vault so that it mixes with pond water before getting to the fish AND you make sure you calculate that the downspout you are using isn’t putting in too much water!
Modern Design Aquascaping Inc. We don’t get a lot of rain here in western Colorado - only 8-10”/yr. do you think a rain water recovery is worth it for my pond? Nothing like where you guys are based. Do you have any issues with PH changes due to rain water?
Is there a video where u find water lever without a laser.
You can use a clear hose with water in it to find water level as a most basic method 😎
i am buildind a upflow biofilter for a swimming pond . The pond is 12' deep and 75x150 shaped like a bowl. how many runs and how long of centepedes do I need . I was thinking 4 runs 25' with clean outs on each run . An area that is 40'x80' for the filter . and a 15000 gallon an hour pump. Does this sound workable?😊
There are a lot of variables that go with a design of this size! You have about a 9,000 SF pond. In a typical ecosystem pond of this size I would shoot for a 3000 SF wetland (without knowing more details). That filter for a 9000 sf pond will be a 25’ x 50’ wetland with 16 centipedes and a minimum flow of 32000 GPH. From there I would also consider circulation- are you using jets or aeration for additional water movement? That may increased flow needs as well. I would hire someone (like Aquascapes or myself) to assist with total design and help you get that all planned out on the front end. This is a large project to miss the “small stuff” that will determine success or failure.
The more I see the bog/wetland filtees, the more i like them.
[To my wife] Honey, we need to up the budget on the pond. Honey? Babe? Hello?
🤣😂🤣😂
I couldn't agree even more. Im almost finishing my dream house and I'm planning to have a swimming pond with wetland filtration.
Is it really worth all the money to put a wetland filter on a 1 1/2 acre pond average depth of 25 foot ? It is going to be used for scuba diving , wanting great visibility . The pond is not going to stocked but I know you cant stop nature . Is there another way to get the water clear and keep it that way ? I live in SW Louisiana the pond is in the middle of a field field by a well .
I have put wetlands on (even undersized) and they have made a significant difference in water quality and clarity on large ponds (up to 70,000 SF.). Re. The value/ return on investment/ etc., that totally depends on your situation. It costs to build, run, and maintain. Value is in your eyes. Build it without and see how the clarity is and then decide??
Ok thank you very much , if you dont mind I would like to contact you . A few months before I dig the pond to have information from you or can get name of someone who tell me the bedt to do s wetland for the money i have ?
I prefer RPE liner. It's lighter and does not require underlayment.
I am no expert on that subject, I have seen it but never installed it on one of my jobs. I wonder why the termites, fire ants, chipmunks, rats, etc. don't like to shew on RPE?