Tootfinder

Thank god it wasn't too hot today (only 27°C). It still felt like a million degrees in the hole as I pulled and shifted and adjusted the pond liner so it would lay flush against all the contours of the hole and gradually locked it in place with the gravel.
All the gravel bottom is in. The bottom plumbing fixtures are set. And I even managed to start playing with how the stairs might look/work.
I ran out of steam after shoveling/hauling/spreading the last load of gravel 🥵 🪏 🪨
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #pondlife

This is the manifold typt thing that I am currently roughing together for the 2nd pump from the main pond.
The through pipe will go to the filter and the two offshoots will go to the bottom returns and side sorayers which are both meant to keep the water in the pond moving toward the pump bay and discourage settling on the bottom
#poolpond #diy #backyardproject

The rain has topped up the pool pond! 🙏 🌧️
It is overflowing at the overflow and only at the overflow, that I can tell :). I powered the pump up from its 40% (34W) to 75% (120W) to get things moving in the filter while we have the rain.
I might as well use it to allow it to clean the gunk out of the system naturally!
Still feels like I got rushed into filling it, but it is really satisfying nonetheless to see it functioning as designed in my head! lol
#poolpond #diy #backyardproject

I had to do a little more plumbing to at least get things up to a poijt where I could anchor the pipe in the bottom and put pebble down over the whole bottom hopefully tomorrow.
I need two more 45° elbows to keep the pipe close to the side as it comes up but that's not critical. At least like this if I have to fill it with water nothing will be too hard to fix.
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY

#poolpond #backyardProject #diy
I spent the morning cleaning out the big pond. Lots of dirt and gunk and water had accumulated in the bottom over the past months. A combination of the little sump pump and a shop vac cleaned that all out.
But more concerning was the fact that when I walked down into the pond, it was mushy. There was obviously water underneath the liner.
I just pulled back the liner to reveal the water that had gotten under. It is likely that this water is from the overflow when I was testing the filter. It could be from a little bit of rainfall, but I doubt it.
There was a lot of water washing around the yard yesterday as I was figuring out the filter and the stream and overflowing areas so I am sure it got in that way.
Not a big problem. Just some more water to move with the little pump.
I am more concerned about the fact that a horsefly landed on me twice in the past hour. Devils they are.

all right. Done for the day. At some point, it becomes a bit of a losing battle using the shopvac. I'll let nature evaporat it hopefully by tomorrow. Probably take another day for it to dry out and harden up.
in the meantime, I can do the next job that I've been dreading.
Figuring out the fence situation. 😱
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy

i've also drained both the filter and the pump bay. The blueberries are getting a very good drink today. 🫐
I probably won't circulate water through the stream again until I get the main pond weighed down with rock on the bottom. I wanted to try to start building the rock lining around the wall of the main pond to see if it would hold and be sufficient.
But I might just let the bottom of the pond dry out completely. It's going to be nice and warm again the next couple days so it is best for it to let it dry out and harden up.
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy

Hmmmm… here is a problem I did not anticipate.
Every time I empty the main pond hole of water, (the actual hole under the liner) water returns within an hour or two. I’ve done it 4 times now, and it keeps filling back up with water.
Obviously there is water underground infiltrating into the pond hole, and/or the water table itself is above the bottom of the hole. It is not coming from either of the other holes because they both have the same amount of water in them as they did this morning.
I have “watered” the blueberry patch and hazelnut tree a lot with the water that I have been cleaning the filter with… and we also had lots of water flying around outside the liners yesterday as I tested the pump. So it is quite possible that the ground around the pond is simply well saturated.
I think I am going to have to just keep removing the water (and putting it into the sewer) until it does not refill. We have a week of hot weather coming. Surely that will be enough time for everything to dry out completely.
Otherwise I might run into some issues if the rains return before I can anchor down the pond liner with gravel and get the plumbing in!
How is time already running short!?
Never underestimate the ability of water to find a place where it is not wanted. 😆
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy

Progress.
Attachments and hose lengths made final for the second pump. Caps drilled with holes for each return bottom outlet. Three loads of gravel dumped into the #poolpond for the floor. Then I realized there was a section of the wall near the yellow crate that was not actually touching the inner wall, meaning there was a gap. Not good. But the sun has broken through the morning fog so it’s too hot in the hole now to fix it. Will have to wait until Labour Day!
This weekend is the 1 year anniversary of renting the digger to make the holes! I am about where I figured I would be one year later :)
#backyardProject #diy #pond #pondlife #gardenpond

Now that we have had our brief bit of fun with the #poolpond, it’s time to drain it so work on completing it can continue! It took just over 12 hours for my little spare pond pump to empty the main pond of about 80% of its water.
It will be empty by morning. I will empty the filter and intake bay as well just to clean everything out. The movement of the past couple weeks through the system will have loosened up a bunch of the gunk still on the various rocks in the filter so a full pump out should remove all that.
I will then concentrate on finishing the piping in the bottom of the main pond for the intake for the second pond and the “periscope” for the bottom returns.
Then I can work on building the rock wall to line the inside of the pond. Or at least experimenting to see if it will work at all!
If it *does* work and I have enough rock to at least start on the bottom layers of the inside wall, then I’ll be able to achieve another milestone: placing the final pebble on the bottom. Important, because that will prevent any groundwater from infiltrating and causing the rubber liner to bubble out.
Really really want to get past that mark before the autumn rains come! For obvious reasons! ☔️
Other jobs that need to be done before winter:
- finish the manifold for the second pump to distribute water to the sprayers and filter and figure out how and where to house and conceal it.
- Dig the electrical trench from the house all the way around the long side of the pond to the back tool shed so we can start wiring it in.
- Clipping the wires on the pumps and adding extension wire to them so they can reach said electrical supplies.
- permanently shore up/modify the borders of the ponds where they were found to be low.
- make a few other minor terraforming modifications for the stream and some of the edges so the water goes a little more where I want it to and a little less where I don’t.
#poolpond #backyardProject #portalberni #ponds #watergarden

managed to convince the little pump I am using to empty the ponds to get water all the way over to the 1000 L water tank to use for watering everything while we are on restrictions
Turned the big pump on low. It's now at 23 W at 35%. Stream still flows nicely.
#pondlife #poolPond #BackyardProject #water

different flag today. 🇪🇸 #poolpond #backyardproject #pondlife #portalberni #hot #summer

and since it is a poolpond day surely that also means SANGRIA
#poolpond #backyardproject #pondlife #portalberni #hot #summer

The water is surprisingly chilly but on 35°C day, it is absolutely perfect.
SUCCESS
with: @…
#poolpond #backyardproject #pondlife #portalberni #hot #summer

Feels like a #poolpond day.
But first… need to get Sangria mixings!
#poolpond #backyardproject #pondlife #portalberni #hot #summer

The built-in skimmer is skimming! #poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

I just started up the pump! A short video. Lowest setting (40W)
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject
https://youtu.be/gs3dlFQdtYs?si=BStwWZ1u_fQzwk2X

yup... too soon. pump bay emptied before the flow was enough to replenish the pump circulation.
It'll take a few goes to get the pond up high enough. Will turn it back on shortly.
. #poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

I think we are very near critical mass. The pump bay is only barely emptying itself
now. And the pond is gradually overtopping the main part of the weir.
Now to line the top edge of the pond so surface debris only goes through the little inlet.
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

Water off. Level is not 100% full but close enough that the pump can just run. We are expecting rain tonight that might be enough to completely fill it.
No leaks detected.
I’ll leave the pump at 100%/180W for a couple hours just to give it a good run. Then I will turn down to minimum tonight.
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

The main pond is basically full now. I have been gradually increased the power of the pump. Now 100% at 160W. I won't normally have it at full power but this is good for testing.
I am basically patrolling the edge of the ponds looking for low points. Have shored up a few but nothing serious. The first round of tests with the filter addressed most of them.
When the holes filled over the winter I actually shored up the edges of the main pond then, so there isn't much to do there.
Just waiting for the pump bay to fill up completely now. It'll probably be about an hour. (the water hose has not been on full blast this whole time, only about 1/4)
Then we will see the full level of the entire system.
The Finger of water closest to me in this picture is the overflow that goes into the storm/sewer system. That is the final arbiter of the fill point of the pond.
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

alright. emptied the pump bay (watering the hazelnut tree as I go) so I could get down into the box and loosely fit the hose onto the pump.
Now we'll turn the water back on in the filter and let the bay fill back up again from the little diversion stream.
I need to go get a couple big hoseclamps to properly secure it to the pump. But loose is fine for testing.
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #electronics

escape! escape!!
This is what happens when you introduce a big pump (even only running at 30-50%!)
You find out REALLY fast where the low points are. I had suspicions. They have been confirmed, and temporarily rectified!
the pump is now running, hooked into the pipe to the bottom of the filter (I will cut more of it off in time so the pipe is running along the ground), plus the garden hose is continuing to add more water to the system.
No spillage! Ill fill the intake bay and then turn the garden hose off to just let it circulate.
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #electronics

First test of the pump! Just turned the first pump on to make sure everything works. The regulator works! 100% power seems to draw about 160W. 50% was around 70W. Can't take a reliable picture of the display unfortunately.
I will have to cut the main wire and extend it with a good extension cord so it can reach where I need it to. At least to the little grey shed for now. The controller has to stay dry and in reasonable temperatures.
Not really looking forward to that job. I have cut/spliced/shrinkwrapped wire before but not on a $600 pump. 😬
Today though I will concentrate on hooking up the pipe to the filter to set up a circulation and figure out a temporary situation for the pump controller.
edit: btw the pumps are both Jecod 20,000L/hr varieties. I am hoping (and calculated) that they are oversized so I can run them at 50-75% most of the time.
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #electronics

initial pump testing has been successful!
Filled the filter and pump bay to an approriate level via garden hose. ✅
turned pump on for the first time and fixed any overflows in the system on low flow ✅
turned the garden hose off and allowed pump to circulate for awhile ✅
I brought the pump up to 100% power (180W) and confirmed inlet standpipe did not overflow indicating good distribution flow on the bottom of the filter. ✅
identified/fixed more overflowing low points with pump at high flow. ✅
tested the breather pipe by turning off the pump and making sure the water was not siphoned from the filter the pump bay ✅
I let the top water from the filter drain into the bay until the bay was full (starting to overflow into the main pond) ✅
Used the small pump to empty the pump bay of some of the dirty water... watering the blueberries and flowers in the process. ✅
tiny red bum friend? ✅ 🕷️
A successful day!!
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #electronics

*tenting fingers*
Excellent.
#freepipe #diy #itPaysToKnowPeople #poolpond #BackyardProject #portAlberni

flowing!!! 🎉 💧
Ill stop filling soon for the night but this is a huge milestone! HAPPY DAY
#poolpond #BackyardProject #diy #portalberni #watergarden

the plumbing for the bog/wetland filter is nearly complete.
The last item I needed was some 6" PVC pipe for a cleanout. It'll go down through the milk crate so I can send a vaccuum hose down there.
It isn't easy to find this size at stores, but a friend of a friend came through with some free cutoffs. They'll work perfectly. Probably $50 worth of pipe! I only had to buy the plug ($40).
Befriend a tradesperson! 😀
#freepipe #diy #itPaysToKnowPeople #poolpond #BackyardProject #portAlberni

ooohh! The water is at the top! Now we'll see where it chooses to go!
Looks like I will actually be taking some pebble *out* if I want to plant in an inch or so of water.
#poolpond #BackyardProject #diy #portalberni #watergarden

The kind man in the giant front loader at the gravel pit "gently dribbled" 820kg/1800lbs of river rock into the trailer. EV mileage not great. 😂
Was hoping for more rocks on the larger size, but it will all be useful for the #poolpond and #pandemicpond
And the price is right! $40
#diy #backyardproject #poolproject

Time for the first fill and empty cycle. Not sure how many times I'll do this probably a bunch lol. We will see how long it takes to fill it. The hazelnut tree will get lots of water today.
While, it's doing that, I will keep working on the rock liner of the intake pump bay. If I can get that done today, then I can try to direct the overflow from the filter into the pump and set up a circulation.
#poolpond #BackyardProject #diy #portalberni #watergarden

we are now on Stage 3 water restrictions! No fill *or* topping up of ponds or pools! So that definitely captures the #poolpond ;)
I'm going to go get an adapter for my little pond pump hose so it can hook up to a regular garden hose and we'll use all the #pool water for watering the gardens over the next few weeks until the rains truly return.
#Fire #PortAlberni #UnderwoodFire #Water #ClimateChange #Drought #DIY #BackyardProject
https://socialbc.ca/@alberniweather/115036554816818531

And a quick update on the big project.
The main pond is drying out! I'll let it dry today and then put the liner over tomorrow morning and start working on the plumbing asap so I can get the pebble in there to weigh it all down!
Note little dig marks in the filter pebble where I stole some for the pandemic pond.
#pandemicpond #poolpond #backyardproject #diy #ponds #gardening #watergarden #bloomscrolling #goldfish

A #pandemicpond post.
The bog-barrels that I added last summer have done an absolutely incredible job at keeping the water crystal clear and almost completely algae free this summer.
Only the much warmer stream between the ponds has more algae than I really like.
I also added the bigger pump at the same time which likely helped a little but the added flow also raised the level of the top pond just above the liner in some spots. So yesterday when I topped it up, I took away the flat border stones to inspect where it was leaking. It turns out, almost everywhere!
So I added some handfuls of pebble taken from the #poolpond filter since I know there is extra there..: and stuck it under the liner to raise it an inch or two all the way around.
Here is a before and after. The first pic with the purple lilly
pads is last year with the algae that was common in the summer before the big filters. The second pic is a few weeks ago when the pond was full, clear, but overflowing, notice the water overtop the flat stones. The last two pics are today after raising the liner a little under the stones.
And a pic of the happy dual-barrel bogs (which are just small versions of the giant filter I just finished in the backyard). The marsh marigolds have not bloomed in the bog barrels. Not sure if they will this year. It is quite shady for them.
Oh and a lilly is about to bloom!The fish are also very active and happy.
#backyardproject #diy #ponds #gardening #watergarden #bloomscrolling #goldfish