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concrete, ph, in living pond
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Posted by botanicalbuzz (My Page) on Tue, Jun 17, 08 at 20:48
| Hi guys, it has been years since I have been here. Remodeling pond and wanted to ask a question. I have the pond level very low, for construction/remodeling. I wanted to add an area of beach, and will have to concrete pebbles in as the large turtles move all of the stuff I put in and it always looks unfinished. I had thought about putting a layer of pebble liner, but I can not find it anywhere in the states. So I wanted to put some concrete and pebbles in that part of the pond, just a screed ( spelling) of concrete with pebbles mixed in.
PROBLEM, you guessed it, I don't want that lime to leek into the pond. I thought I could probably keep the level of the pond below this repair work, The turtles have already gone to the upper pond during construction, there are fish in the lower pond. Then I would put the concrete in with the pebbles and scrub it with vinegar, vacuuming up the excess before it goes into the stream bed and then into the lower pond. I was unsure if this would work, or how many times I should do it before filling it in with water, ( I only hope it does not rain until I do this. ) IS there someting I can add to teh pond afterword to bring down the PH? Just to be sure?
It might help to describe the pond. it is rather large for a backyard pond here is a picture
http://www.creativesculpture.com/IMAGES/pond_garden/tillysdomain.jpg
upper pond which is at the top of the screen here is a close up is about 4 x 4 x 3 http://www.creativesculpture.com/IMAGES/pond_garden/pond03.jpg
The second little pond is 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 3 and is seen in this picture http://www.creativesculpture.com/IMAGES/pond_garden/pond04a.jpg the stream runs under the bridge about 10 feet and empties into the big pond the lower end just by the bridge is the area that I am working in. In this picture there is has gravel there, but it quickly is lost and that area that I want to work on is about 3-4 feet wide and 2 feet long. Hey maybe I should take a picture of the project where it is, let me get my camera. by the way the lower pond is about 8 x 10 here it is. http://www.creativesculpture.com/blog/uploaded_images/pondremodel_c-770897.jpg Thanks for all of your help in advance. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: concrete, ph, in living pond
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| Here is a direct link. to the new construction |
Here is a link that might be useful: pond reconstruction
RE: concrete, ph, in living pond
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| I wish someone had some thoughts about this. I am too afraid to continue with concrete. I could not stand the thought of hurting my turtles or fish. Please feel free to respond. |
RE: concrete, ph, in living pond
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| I know nothing about it. I just wanted to say that you have such a pretty pond. |
RE: concrete, ph, in living pond
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| Hi Buzz, Don't really understand exactly what you mean and probably can be no help at all. But I hate for someone not to have their posts responded to. I've worked a little bit with concrete pond and I wouldn't feel safe leaving my fish in there. Can you net them out and keep them somewhere temporarily? Otherwise I would try to keep a very dry mix and do what you said with the vinegar. Don't know of anything else. Hopefully a pond expert will respond in a day or two. Good luck. I like your pond. |
RE: concrete, ph, in living pond
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Darn! I managed to lose my first draft so I will have to start over. I think you don't have a problem except for inexperience in working with concrete. Yes, some lime will be lost over time due to leaching but the pond should be alkaline to begin with so this is not really a problem. Put the vinegar in your salad instead of the concrete. It will just cause pits on the surface.
The slab you want to add will cure better if it is under water or kept wet for a couple of weeks. The longer the slab is kept wet the stronger it will be. The concrete you need to use is Portland Cement which is a hydraulic cement that is commonly sold alongside other concrete products. Those other concrete products contain Portland Cement in combination with other materials which can reduce the hydraulic effect of the Portland Cement. The exposed stones you want to add should be scattered enough to prevent retaining mulm and dirt that can cause unpleasant odor and appearance. Since the rock will be affected by freezing temperatures differently and expansion and contraction can cause cracks keep the stones fairly small. Round stones will not catch debris as quickly as crushed stones. You can add color to the Portland Cement to avoid a too white base.
I am going to put a recommendation for a couple of books in a separate post since I lost the last post at that point. Ask all the questions you need. If I can't give you an answer from my own experience, I can direct you to something that will give you good advice. Working with cement is fun! Sandy |
RE: concrete in living pond
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I'm back again. These two books by Sherri Warner Hunter are probably the best books on using and making concrete projects I have ever read. I haven't been looking for others for a while but I can't imagine any one else coming close to the quality of these books. I got the first one at the library before buying both of them. If you do a lot of artist projects you really should get them for your own use. The first one had a name change so if you are buying second hand you should be aware of that.
The first book is Making Concrete Garden Ornaments and the second is Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden: making pots, planters, bird baths, sculpture & more. Both are by Sherri Warner Hunter and can be found at Amazon.com. The cost is well worth it. I have been able to make my own designs as well as some of the ones in the books because the details of the materials and what they do are well explained. Sandy |
Here is a link that might be useful: Concrete art. books
RE: concrete, ph, in living pond
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| Wow! I just looked at the Amazon.com prices on the books I recommended and I am horrified. I didn't pay anywhere near that much. Check your local library first then go to Borders or other local book dealers. They must have better prices and will order if they don't carry it. Sandy |
RE: concrete, ph, in living pond
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| I would think that you could do this. It sounds like you are working on a relatively small area with a small amount of concrete and can isolate that area. If this pond's water doesn't reach any fish in any other pond then there shouldn't be any problems making your pebble beach. Let it set for a few days (keeping it wet, with the size of the beach just a wet towel would suffice). Once it's firm you can add water back into the pond, covering the beach. This will help cure the concrete by keeping it wet, and diffuse the lime. Now you let the full pond sit for a while until the ph has returned to normal. You could put in some tadpoles or feeder fish or one of your many floating plants. If they die, you know your pond isn't ready. Also if there are floating white flakes I think that is limish buildup, and could be pumped out. You may have better results with mortar than with concrete. I just finished my concrete pond, and a pebble beach was not in the original plan. Now my mom wants a pebble beach :) So I will be making one with mortar. All my fish are in an old pond, but I put some stuff from the local creek into my new pond to help acclimate it. Being so new, they didn't like the ph or chlorine at first. I saw a few wormy things trying to crawl out. But I think they will survive; nothing is floating so far. Or maybe I'll come back tomorrow and everything will be dead, in which case I'll let you know. As to what you could add to your pond to balance the ph - well I have a story about that. The ph of lemon juice is something like 2.3. Limewater is 12.0. Exact opposites of one another... see where I'm going? I took a lemon from my lemon tree and squeezed it onto fresh concrete, and watched it fizz. Now I'm not saying you should add lemonade to your pond, nor try to change the ph without knowing what it's at with a test first, but the principle is there, counteract that lime with an acid |
RE: concrete, ph, in living pond
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| Concrete making books are available at reasonable prices on Ebay. Making Concrete Garden Ornaments is from $8 to $17 Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden is from $12 to $19 Creating with Concrete is from $5 - $9 They all look interesting and the last one gets rave reviews on Amazon.com Anne |
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