i have a question , is it possible to use conrete at the bottom of a pond instead of a liner? i want to concrete some of the rock in the edges too.. i am wondering how this will effect the plants though? or is there some type of additive i can put in the pond to cut down on the lime? any info would be helpful!(= thanx
chrissy
concrete bottom pond?
Let me know if you decide to cement. I too have been wanting an answer to this. I'm not sure how I feel about a black liner since we are in a hot climate and the last thing I will need is more heat in a pond. Maybe if we coated the pond with some type of paint that would be safe????? I have been told there is a safe paint that people use here for painting the inside of their cistern and is water drinkable.
hello.. well the only thing i found bad about a concrete pond and/or stream is that IF u let it dry out , the fact that it would go from wet to dry would be that the concrete would crack.. but i dont intend to let it dry up if i can help it.. so i am going with the concrete,... i bought a pond, waterfall and stream book , and they show u how its done.. they also give u the thickness depending on ur cold and heat climate.. i will look it up and post it here for ya... (: i also live in a hot climate but i just dont want to deal with the possibility of ripping the liner... and the expense.. plus i wont have to hide the liner either.. (: anyway i will look that up and post the info ... (:
chrissy
Thanks Chrissy, I have no way of ordering the book till sometime in May. But May is not that far away. I thank you for your help and look forward to your next posting. Trisha
islandgrower, i am looking for the book i need .. i bought two.. and of course i cant find the one with the climate specs... sigh.. but i will keep on alooken..lol.. i need it anyway... plus i just bought it.. i hate when that happens!!!! (= anyway are gonna put in a pond or a stream and pond? and are u gonna have fish and lilypads in ur pond? i at first may not have anything in mine..i want to make small pools trailing off to streams to other small pools then back into a stream.. eventually i want to have a stream going from one side of our rock waterfall pool (once its built) alllllllll the way around the front of our property ( 633 ft) going up and around and back to the other side of the pool... i know sounds like alllllot of work but i dont mind .. i love working outside.. and hubby is excited too... when the stream is done i want to put stream fish in it and them maybe he can go fishing...lol.. anyway gonna get back to looking for that book... but i wanted to suggest that when u go to buy ur pump for ur pond , hubby has some contractors catalog that has a TON of pumps for alot less money.. i;ll look for that too although i think i know where that big catalog is... and get u the name , maybe u can shop online or request a catalog for urself.. i bet there are things in there ur hubby will enjoy looking at too... (:
chrissy
Our goal is to dig a pond and waterfall this spring. It will be nothing compared to your goal. But, hope it will satisfy us with wanting to have it close to the house and work around the septic system. With living in zone 4 I think we will be using a liner. But, the catalog for pumps for less money sounds intriguing. Hopefully this company has a website that you can share with us all. Thanks!!
ok guys.. i found the book .. cats must have knocked it off the arm of my chair...anyway i took pics of the pictures they show on how to do the concrete pond... the info on the concrete with fish and plants is that the concrete will put off alot of lime.. so they say : after the pond has been curing overnight , fill the pond with water, add 1 gallon of distilled white vinegar per 100 gallons , and allow the mixture to stand for one week. ( the vinegar serves to neutralize the lime leaching from the cement.) Drain pond; rinse it thoroughly; then refill the pond with fresh water. test the ph before adding fish or plants. If water is still too alkaline, repeat the vinegar treatment.
now the other book says u can buy a paint to coat the conrete to keep the lime from leaching thru the concrete... as far as the thickness goes... it says that for warm climates it should be 4" minimum, and for cold climates it should be 6" minimum, .. i may go with a 2" depth then place the rocks where i want them for the stream and put another in or two to hold them in place.. hubby will know how i will need when the time comes.. unless i dont wait for him and just do it myself.. anyway here are the pics..
another pic
last pic.. also i dont see a website on the catalog.. its a rather thick catalog (3000 pages) ... but they have a phne number maybe u can reguest a catalog over the phone.. now i know hubby has sometimes had to pay for catalogs, like 10 to 15.00 but i dontknow if they sent this one free or not.. and some catalogs are available to contractors only.. again i dont know if this is one of them.. but u guys can try... the name of the company is "McMaster-Carr supply company" out of Los Angeles, CA...ph# for sales desk and customer service is (562) 692-5911 also i dont know if they have a bunch of different catalogs but this is catalog #103 i will check later on google to see if maybe they have a website.. hope this helps... anyway here is the last pic..
chrissy
Chrissy, This look good but I need to have some "steps" for my potted plants. I did this in MT and it was great for getting that "Layered Look". I will roll this around and see if I could place some shelves in the cement side before it cures???? Oh the fun begins!!!
Thanks for the pump information!
I'm planning on that pond/stream idea too!
Imma use concrete as well. :D
You can buy a sealant for it, and it seems to be recommended. (Sealant)
Can't wait to see yours!
epazota
ur welcome and let me know if ur able to get the catalog...
islandgrower, i think they do have something in here about steps.. , i'll have to look again to see if i can take a pic of that...
crimsontsavo
i wonder if the sealent is the same as the "paint" they were refering to??? hmmmm maybe there is something u can mix with the cement like u would for a swimming pool.. i dont like the idea of "painting' itwith anything.. i would hate for it to start to yellow or chip .. hmmm.. we are getting our foundation for our house poured finally after 3 years of me waiting.. and after that hubby is taken a break from working around here to make money for the framing.. then i will get the tractor while he is gone... muhahhahaha... right now he has it most of the time and i am lucky to get it off of him to dig the holes for my new roses.. after using the backhoe i will never hand dig in this hardpan soil again.. but after saturday (foundation day)... i will dig out my stream... then get the concrete from home depot... unlesssss..... i get it dug before sat. and if they have any concrete left over from the pourthey can put it in my stream.. hmmmm... i will have to look into that!!! (:
chrissy
I called for a catalog. The person I talked to was very nice. But, advised me that I could not order a catalog as I do not have a company. But, she said anyone can go to their website: www.mcmaster.com and browse their catalog on line. Anyone can order online.
Thanks for the tip!
oh thats wonderful about the site and thanx for tha addy... let me know what u think of their pump selection.. (:
chrissy
Chrissy, The paint that I mentioned before that is safe for us to drink must be OK for the fish and plants too. I have been told that another thing would be to pick a color and have your pond stucco after it has been poured. I was thinking of the paint only because service also for a water proof seal . Where do you get your energy??? I just finished raking up leaves and I'm dead on my feet! We have had a really dry spell here and the trees have lost all of their leaves so it is like fall. No rain since December so the sound of moving water would be wonderful!
hi islandgrower...i wasnt worried about the toxicity (sp?) .. i figured if it was made for ponds it would be safe, i was more concerned with it looky icky if it started to chip off.. but then again if its made for ponds and such so i doubt it would chip.. as far as my energy.. i dont know where i get it from...lol.. i have always had high energy , although digging with a shovel in this hard pan does cut the energy and drive down pretty quick..lol.. i am up at 5 to 5:30am pretty much every morning and outside by 7 then back in to have coffee with my hubby when he gets up , then back outside all day..pretty much everyday.. hubby always says, 'u are non stop'... i even dream gardening..lol... when i'm not gardening i am either at a round up , a roping, shoppy for more flowers and such, or helping my sister with her garden...i do get worn out while i am gardening then i take a ciggy break and am back in the dirt... lol.. plus i think the sun energizes me... (= we have had unexpected rain the past two days )= and it has been unseasonably cold.. if it were a warm rain it wouldnt bother me.. i just hate the cold... and dont forget i have been sitting idle for 3 years with no gardens only two trees to watch for the first two years and one year watching 24 trees grow.. and now i have lost count... last year in june i rooted a bunch of weeping willow trees and planted my weeping willow driveway.. that was fun for me... then starting oct i made a raised bulb bed (for fear of the gophers) and planted something like 300 spring bulbs in there.. then another 100 or so in a horse troth, and another 75 each in 3 whiskey barrels then another 400 to 500 summer bulbs in a big garden bed i made.. that took me to the end of dec. come end of jan and begining of feb. i planted some annuals (panseys, snapdraggons, ect...) and i just havent stopped since.. i guess i had 3 years of pent up garden energy..... i never really had to rake up leaves... we get some pretty strong winds in nov thru feb and they blow them all away, never to be seen again...lol.. its the weeding that gets out of hand... but i have a plan for the general area... once i am done with the rose garden i need to either make another garden near it or put some type of ground cover leading to the other gardens... (it will prob be another garden or and extension of the rose garden since there are soooooo many roses i HAVE to have) its easier to keep a garden weeded then just dry bare dirt..... have u seen a lambrum walk? its beautiful.. i posted a pic below.. its going to be wonderful to walk thru only to exit to a rose garden... anyway gonna go for now... my posts are always too long.. i guess i am long winded..lol...check out the pic below though and let me know what u think.. k...
chrissy
Beautiful. *stares in awe*
I wanted to do something Like that- But never had the right trees/shrubs. Maybe next year! hehe.
I'm getting really excited about your pond!
And yea that sealant is in paint form.
Chrissy, We were in Europe last year and they really know how to garden there. I did see a walk like this at one of the many castles we went to. I fell in love with all of the areas we were in. I love it here too but gardeing is really the pits!! No soil, high salty winds, no real rainfall and then down pours, and bugs that will out live me!!!! I'm pulling out all of the tomatoes tomorrow since they are done. I think we shorten their lives with an overdose of fertilizer but live and learn. Time to try again with the corn. I'm going to get it yet. I miss my flowers but do have a lot of container plants so can't complain to much. When I get tired I just sit back and watch the blue water and waves and remember how lucky I am. Keep on working!! it all pays off in the end. T
IG-
Can you build a green house?
Just set it up as a garden instead of a growout shed. Add a pretty fountain- make some beds- plant some trees (keep them trimmed)- you can do alot in a small space.