2013 New Kameya Pond (a major and serious upgrade)

Status
Not open for further replies.

kameya

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
282
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, California
When I moved to my new house last year, I didn't have enough time and resource to setup the proper habitat for most of my water turtles, so I placed some of them in various tanks at the time.
kameya-pond-2013-01_zpsb19065be.jpg

Here is the old thread of the 2012 setup... http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-51509.html

Now fast-forward to 2013, I had been planning to revamp the area in the photo below and wanting turn it into a water turtles/koi pond. I had used this area to keep my box turtles and some others, but it was very hard to maintain and the rain season in the winter had made the plants and weeds grew all over the place. Now it's the time to clean everything out to make the room for the New Kameya Pond...
kameya-pond-2013-02_zps408f60b8.jpg


It took my wife and I several days to clean the area up to this the point, and we will left the rest up to the professionals...
kameya-pond-2013-03_zpsdcd81003.jpg


We also painted the wall to Bonsai green to go with the pond and also added a couple weatherproof outlet boxes for the pond equipments...
kameya-pond-2013-04_zps691d603a.jpg


So this is where I am right now, and will post more photos in next couple days... ^_^
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,660
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Looking great. How exciting. Can't wait to see the finished project too. Going to be nice.
 

kameya

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
282
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, California
Pond Construction - Day 1

The pond builder, Ken, brought two of his men to start digging in the morning...
kameya-pond-2013-05_zps3cb33176.jpg


Jackhammer was also used to remove some old hard concrete slabs...
kameya-pond-2013-06_zps112f2242.jpg


Just kept digging and digging...the depth of the pond will be roughly about 18" deep...
kameya-pond-2013-07_zpsce8fbec8.jpg


You could see the rough shape of the new pond. The U-shaped platform on the side is going to be the underwater turtle cave area... :tort: :tort: :tort:
kameya-pond-2013-08_zps16afaff2.jpg


Digging from sunrise to sunset, the digging part was finally completed, and no doubt it was all hard work... :(
kameya-pond-2013-09_zpsc02ecbd0.jpg


They also poured the concrete around the perimeter of the pond to set the foundation for the brick wall...but that's tomorrow's job...time to call it a day... :D
kameya-pond-2013-10_zps402bbbe4.jpg
 

kameya

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
282
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, California
Pond Construction - Day 2

The mission for today was to build the brick wall fence around the pond, I chose to use the 16"x4"x8"H cinder block for it's stability and affordability...
kameya-pond-2013-11_zpsaa6b7f55.jpg


I had also asked the brick man to leave a small opening on one side of the fence, and you will see the reason in the next slide...
kameya-pond-2013-13_zps2cc06d37.jpg


Since the pond is going to take up most of the space, there is not much LAND area for the turtles to hide and nest. I had asked the brick man to add an extension outside the pond wall so there is an extra land area for the turtles to venture, and the small opening is where the turtles can enter the extension... :tort: :tort:
kameya-pond-2013-14_zps76367a6b.jpg


Rebar is also added around the brick wall for added strength...
kameya-pond-2013-15_zpsd4115f30.jpg


Lastly, 6" caps were placed on top of the brick wall, and I asked the brick man to leave the 2" overhang on the inside of the wall to make it difficult for the turtles to climb out...
kameya-pond-2013-17_zps5afd259c.jpg


The full view of the pond wall and the extension...
kameya-pond-2013-18_zps47d2f68b.jpg


Turtles' excursion area...
kameya-pond-2013-19_zps008eb167.jpg


Today's mission was accomplished, many thanks to the brick man...and you've got it right, it is brick man not brick men...this guy did a wonderful job all by himself...now the pond guy will return tomorrow to finish up the pond job...hooray... :D
 

kameya

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
282
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, California
Pond Construction - Day 3

Now, ready for the final day of the pond construction, the pond guy, Ken, is taking final measurement of the pond enclosure...
kameya-pond-2013-20_zps5fa645a5.jpg


He is also about to setup the hoses for the waterfall feature...
kameya-pond-2013-21_zps4dd52b47.jpg


The reserved waterfall hose opening underneath the block wall...
kameya-pond-2013-22_zps933bbd05.jpg


The is the canister filtration system will be used for the pond...
kameya-pond-2013-23_zpse376e916.jpg


It can be buried under the ground level to save space...
kameya-pond-2013-24_zps3592d8f1.jpg


kameya-pond-2013-25_zps7d6d0487.jpg


Connecting the waterfall hoses...
kameya-pond-2013-26_zps71d9fb4e.jpg


Ken is always smiling on the job... :D
kameya-pond-2013-27_zpsf9715ec1.jpg


The highland on the other side of the pond is where the 2-tiered waterfall will be right on...
kameya-pond-2013-16_zps30bcb288.jpg


Ken is setting the foundation for the waterfall...
kameya-pond-2013-28_zpsa63ccb6b.jpg


He makes the job looks so easy with his 1,200+ pond building experience...
kameya-pond-2013-29_zpsa2f88a0f.jpg


Here is the foundation for the 2-tiered waterfall...
kameya-pond-2013-30_zps858c3965.jpg


Now we are done with the pond foundation, the workers are laying down the felt liner before they apply the pond liner...
kameya-pond-2013-31_zps29fdf6b9.jpg


Applying the vinyl pond liner...
kameya-pond-2013-32_zps3d56a174.jpg


After applying the pond liner, two pieces of flat stones are placed on top of the U-shaped platform to create the underwater turtle cave...
kameya-pond-2013-33_zps058a94fe.jpg


This is the underwater pump...has a pretty powerful flow rate...
kameya-pond-2013-34_zps69938a27.jpg


This is the external skimmer...safe for fish and adult-sized turtles...
kameya-pond-2013-37_zpsde15ec86.jpg


Connecting the pump and the skimmer...
kameya-pond-2013-38_zpsbd67ce89.jpg


kameya-pond-2013-40_zps42142e72.jpg


Workers start to place big and small rocks and boulders around the border of the pond...
kameya-pond-2013-41_zpsb5657419.jpg


I think there are more than 100 rocks of different sizes that have been used here...
kameya-pond-2013-42_zpsf1af8353.jpg


Ken is working on setting stones and rocks around the waterfall feature...
kameya-pond-2013-43_zps8380e222.jpg


Adding water to the pond...:hug:
kameya-pond-2013-45_zpsf49abbab.jpg


Now the new Kameya Pond is officially up and running... :)
kameya-pond-2013-46_zps23520311.jpg


A super-sized boulder is added to the center of the pond as a turtle island...
kameya-pond-2013-47_zps5b07cec2.jpg


The 2-tiered Kameya Fall looks pretty impressive...
kameya-pond-2013-48_zps565f4a88.jpg


There are also some land areas with existing plants nested right next to the waterfall for the turtles to use...
kameya-pond-2013-49_zpse32df4cd.jpg


A side view of the Kameya Pond......
kameya-pond-2013-52_zps8aeb02b9.jpg


The other side of the pond, and the small entrance opening that leads to the land extension...
kameya-pond-2013-53_zpsfa088be5.jpg


The one-leveled land extension...
kameya-pond-2013-54_zpsbed169b8.jpg



I have always wanted to do a natural outdoor pond since I started raising water turtles, and this is a big giant step I took to achieve my goal. Now I will continue to work with the pond by adding some additional lightings and some natural elements like logs and plants when I get to it. Now I will relax a bit and sit down by the pond to enjoy the pond, and hopefully the turtles will enjoy it too... ^_^
 

luvpetz27

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2012
Messages
2,841
Location (City and/or State)
Ohio USA
AMAZING!! THAT LOOKS GREAT!! :) :)
Your turtles are going to be so happy!
Wow! I love it!!
 

terryo

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
8,975
Location (City and/or State)
Staten Island, New York
What a great thread!!! I enjoyed watching this pond being built from beginning to end, and the result is just beautiful! I love this thread and I love your pond. Where are the turtles? Can you post pictures of them in the pond...please? How many gallons is it? I hope you keep posting updates as you put the turtles in and anything else you do.
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,660
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I love it. I know how hard they worked. I dug mine myself. Four feet deep in the deep end and approx. 18feet long. That was quite a while ago. Since, I have made it small in length. I must say though, it didn't look as good as yours. Enjoy:D
 

terryo

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
8,975
Location (City and/or State)
Staten Island, New York
After seeing this thread I'm missing my pond now. Mine was 22' x 6' and it held 1,000 gallons. I had a floating land area in the middle for the turtles. It just became too much work for me, and now it's my Box turtle garden. But looking at your beautiful pond, I really miss mine.
 

kameya

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
282
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, California
terryo said:
After seeing this thread I'm missing my pond now. Mine was 22' x 6' and it held 1,000 gallons. I had a floating land area in the middle for the turtles. It just became too much work for me, and now it's my Box turtle garden. But looking at your beautiful pond, I really miss mine.

Hi Terry, thank you for the compliment. I like to know what do you mean by too much work? Is it too time consuming to maintain the the pond? Since this is going to be a new experience owning a 400 gallon pond (~10'x4'x18"Deep), I like to learn from other pond owner about their experience on having a turtle pond...thank you... ^_^


wellington said:
I love it. I know how hard they worked. I dug mine myself. Four feet deep in the deep end and approx. 18feet long. That was quite a while ago. Since, I have made it small in length. I must say though, it didn't look as good as yours. Enjoy:D

That's why I hired the professional to do the pond. I built most of my own turtles habitats, but with a job at this scale, I basically didn't have the time and energy to do this on my own. And hiring the guy who knows how to do it can get the job done right on the first time and not too worry about issues like leaking or waterfall feature not working properly.

With that being said, I do admire people like you who can actually take on the job themselves. But now I have watched the whole process of how to build a pond, I can probably do a smaller pond by myself next time around... ^_^
 

DesertGrandma

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Messages
2,131
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
Very nice. Will you need to use any chemicals to keep the algae down, and if so, what kind? I know exactly nothing about ponds.
 

lynnedit

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
5,730
Location (City and/or State)
Southwest Washington
What an amazing sequence of pictures. I, too, hope you post some with your turtles in it.
Your filtration system looks very good; hopefully this will help with maintenance.
 

kameya

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
282
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, California
DesertGrandma said:
Very nice. Will you need to use any chemicals to keep the algae down, and if so, what kind? I know exactly nothing about ponds.

This filter recommended by the pond guy came with a built-in UV light which will eliminate algae to keep the pond water clear...
kameya-pond-2013-24_zps3592d8f1.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

New Posts

Top