An Inconvenient Tube

The Koi have not eaten since Sunday, and so are disappointed with me.  The filtration is all moved, properly plumbed, and the electrical work is complete.   The all-important bottom drain was connected to the Sieve line and set in place...was set in place.  The pond guys ran into a snag.

A landscape drain pipe is in the way of a deeper pond.  Oh no!



Due to the errant pipe (blue arrows, aqua pipe), the pond could go no deeper.  So the bottom drain (red arrow) and skimmer (grey pipe/yellow arrow) were placed, but I had a worried night about that errant pipe and a pond that would end up too shallow.  What to do?

With that pipe in the way, the pond was only going to be 32"  (81 cm) deep, just 8"-10"  (20-25 cm) deeper than the original.  For all the effort involved, it didn't seem right.  I spent time after the guys left for the day running a hose down drains to see where the water went.  That white pipe (white circle) went nowhere and drained nothing, so it's going to be capped off.  The aqua pipe handles the water from that lawn drain (pink circle).

After some discussion, we decided it was best to re-route the aqua pipe around the sides of the pond and out its original exit.  This will make the pond around 42" (106 cm) deep.  

This extra effort will make the Koi safer from predators.  "Real" koi ponds are usually at least 6 feet to 10 feet deep (1.8 m - 3 m).  Koi get big.  Repeat:  big.   But my Koi are of the more common sort, and our space is limited.  Though our pond will be relatively shallow, it will still be nearly twice as deep as before.  Heron like to wade in a pond to hunt, and a depth of 42", while shallow for a "real" koi pond,  is too deep for a Heron's wading pleasure and adequate for my modest team of seven.  Who are all very disappointed in me right now.   It will likely be Monday before they will be in their new deeper, healthier, better filtered home.  Where they can eat.  And eat.  And eat. 

New filtration set-up.  In the photo, it is not quite all plumbed, but it is done in real life:


Real actual on/off switches!!  Wow!


As I type they've already re-routed the errant pipe.


The plumbing essentially complete, they've filled in the big hole next to the wall where all that piping was, and are now fine-tuning arrangement of the soil in the pond to a bathtub-like shape so that all waste drains cleanly out through the bottom drain.  Tomorrow the last plumbing connections and then the 45 mil rubber liner goes in.  After that the coping goes back on to hold it in place.  And all that dirt to be moved. 

It's one exciting hole in the ground, nearly complete. 





Well pictures of a hole in the ground, even an expensive hole in the ground, are not very eye-appealing.  How about a couple shots of the gully?  I was up on the balcony taking shots of the pond, and my eyes strayed to plants, naturally.



That Brug is getting big.  I really need to trim it after the pond is done.