Koi Pool Close Down

[Sean Regan]

We've decided to close down our koi pool.

We've had it since 1986. It was a choice of getting a new liner or filling it in as it's developed a bit of a leak. I wasn't too bothered about it going, I've had it for a long time and I have lots of other interests. Just concerned for the welfare of the fish.

To fit a new liner, all the permiter rocks and the "bridge" which is over the filter return would have to be removed as they trap the edges of the liner against the pool collar. It would be easier to fill it in and pave it to the level and contours of the water. It won't look that different from the French windows, as everything else will stay. I've already moved a couple of plants in the narrow bed at this end of the pool. We'll have a gap there, so we can step down onto the new paving. Some of my wife's roses in their fifteen ceramic pots on the patio will go on the new paving and we'll be able to have a couple of chairs on the patio.

Fortunately a neighbour two doors away with a koi pool is having the fish. I'm happy with that, as they didn't have far to go.

He said "You can come and see them any time you like." I thought that quite charming...and funny.

I had this big poly tub on wheels so we were able to wheel them round in three trips with it half full of pond water.

Two of these are about two feet or more in length.

We did that Saturday morning.

Next job. Losing 3000 gallons of water.

No problem, The pump sump drain pump took it down to here. The water goes through a 1.5" pipe set in the pool collar and under the patio to a drain outside the kitchen window. But it can only drain to the bottom of the sump.

I then removed the pump from the sump, stuck a length of pipe on it , connected it to the pool overflow outlet, which goes to the same drain and lowered the pump into the pool. It left me with this.

Took about 2 hours as it's only a little Otter fountain type pump, normally only used to pump out 40 gallons from the sump after purging.
That was on Sunday.

This afternoon after playing golf in the morning, (got to get your priorities right) I got rid of the water that the pump couldn't shift as it was too shallow. Just a case of sticking the lance of my wet n' dry vac down the four inch pipe which connects the sump to the bottom drain. The white pipe on the right was the valved connection from the filter pump bypass to the waterfall.

Then with my trusty decades old Wolf drill (it must be trusty, thinking about it, I hadn't used it for twenty years!) I drilled six holes through the pool's concrete base screed, including one through the bottom drain, despite there probably being quite a bit of concrete under it. I've replaced the dome, (they made them of substantial thick polythene thirty-odd years ago) so when the rubble goes in it won't get blocked. Necessary to get rid of any water on the new paving.

I've left the power cables to the sump pump, in suitu that run through the collar from the garage in a 1" pipe. We're thinking about putting a self contained water feature here,(well..my wife is). She'll be able to turn it on from one of the several switches connected to a multi-core cable that runs from the house to the garage under the patio.


I cemented over the ends of the four 1.5" pipes of the filter return under the "bridge."

The pool overflow is redundant, it'll end up under the paving.

The waterfall, which we only ran in the summer, it's connected to the filter pump via a valved pipe, will become three small beds for the extra flox I've ordered.

I need to make some dyed fine concrete and mortar lips to contain the soil. Hopefully the flox will "cascade." W'll be keeping the frog pond." There's several clumps of spawn in it already.

I can't put the dome back over the bottom drain until a little frog who's hiding in the 4" pipe under the pool, uses that bit of wood to get out. I netted a couple stranded ones yesterday.

My contractor should hopfully be starting the "fill in " on Monday of next week. Three quarters of it will be filled with rubble, then hardcore. The paving will be similar in colour to the York stone patio and paths.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I for one am sad to see it go. I have enjoyed the many pictures of the pond you have posted. Especially the summer pics, it is such a nice area. I hope you told anyone noticing you trundling your fish along that you were talking them out for a walk!

 

[alp]

I for one am sad to see it go. I have enjoyed the many pictures of the pond you have posted. Especially the summer pics, it is such a nice area. I hope you told anyone noticing you trundling your fish along that you were talking them out for a walk!

Same here! But can understand the trauma! Such beautiful Kois! Next door's renter was complaining, asking me "There is a problem with the Kois! Have you seen the size of them?" No, but judging by the sounds they made when they flipped over, they must have been huge!

You've got such a lovely garden, anything you have a go at will be good. No shoddy work from you! LOL!

 

[Sean Regan]

Change of plan, start date brought forward to today, Thursday.

This (part load) and three blokes arrived at 9.00 am. this morning and started filling it in.

When did you get that sort of service?

They're using the ramp I made ten years ago, to get my vinyl jukeboxes into our tea-house, to barrow the stuff into the pool.

At least it's started.

 

[Sean Regan]

They got this far by noon. About a third full. Then ran out of hardcore, so went to lunch.

Very tidy workers, "all it needs is a cup of tea."

That's sand in the photo one of a couple of bags to go on top of the hardcore when it's all filled.

Had to hang around until 3.30pm. before the second load arrived, started filling again before it all had been unloaded.

 

[Sean Regan]

Another load arrived at 4.00pm. They'd cleared it by 5.00pm.

It's needing more than was estimated. A total of 22 tonnes. The rest is coming tomorrow.

It's costing a lot more than was estimated, based on what they thought it needed to fill. I accept that. Hard to guess what's needed when you're looking through four and a half feet of water. It's still costing much less than I expected. After all I dug it out! I was lucky to find a firm willing to tackle it. Most didn't want to know.
They'd never done anything like it before. It's a young man's fairly new company, (I checked his work history, photos of completed projects over the last year and feed-back) who is being helped by his father, who was in the construction business, plus two of his mates. Those three all must be well over fifty, but work non-stop.

 

[Sean Regan]

The job's finished.
Two and a half days.

Very pleased with the result and what it cost. The paving's a bit bright at the moment, but it'll weather in a bit. I've damped it down and spread in a bit more sand in the joints. I'll wait until it's rained and brush in some more.

Ten of my wife's roses are now in position. They're on pot movers so we can ring the changes,
This leaves just six roses in ceramic pots on the patio with a load of other stuff on the steps.

One of the three men filling it with twenty tonnes of hardcore etc. wanted to know how it was excavated.
"By me, at the age of forty-six, on my own, with a spade!"

I think he was suitably impressed.

 

[Pittsburghphil81]

We've decided to close down our koi pool.

View attachment 51449


We've had it since 1986. It was a choice of getting a new liner or filling it in as it's developed a bit of a leak. I wasn't too bothered about it going, I've had it for a long time and I have lots of other interests. Just concerned for the welfare of the fish.

To fit a new liner, all the permiter rocks and the "bridge" which is over the filter return would have to be removed as they trap the edges of the liner against the pool collar. It would be easier to fill it in and pave it to the level and contours of the water. It won't look that different from the French windows, as everything else will stay. I've already moved a couple of plants in the narrow bed at this end of the pool. We'll have a gap there, so we can step down onto the new paving. Some of my wife's roses in their fifteen ceramic pots on the patio will go on the new paving and we'll be able to have a couple of chairs on the patio.

Fortunately a neighbour two doors away with a koi pool is having the fish. I'm happy with that, as they didn't have far to go.

He said "You can come and see them any time you like." I thought that quite charming...and funny.

I had this big poly tub on wheels so we were able to wheel them round in three trips with it half full of pond water.

View attachment 51450


Two of these are about two feet or more in length.

View attachment 51451

We did that Saturday morning.

Next job. Losing 3000 gallons of water.

No problem, The pump sump drain pump took it down to here. The water goes through a 1.5" pipe set in the pool collar and under the patio to a drain outside the kitchen window. But it can only drain to the bottom of the sump.

View attachment 51452

I then removed the pump from the sump, stuck a length of pipe on it , connected it to the pool overflow outlet, which goes to the same drain and lowered the pump into the pool. It left me with this.

View attachment 51453


Took about 2 hours as it's only a little Otter fountain type pump, normally only used to pump out 40 gallons from the sump after purging.
That was on Sunday.

This afternoon after playing golf in the morning, (got to get your priorities right) I got rid of the water that the pump couldn't shift as it was too shallow. Just a case of sticking the lance of my wet n' dry vac down the four inch pipe which connects the sump to the bottom drain. The white pipe on the right was the valved connection from the filter pump bypass to the waterfall.

View attachment 51454



Then with my trusty decades old Wolf drill (it must be trusty, thinking about it, I hadn't used it for twenty years!) I drilled six holes through the pool's concrete base screed, including one through the bottom drain, despite there probably being quite a bit of concrete under it. I've replaced the dome, (they made them of substantial thick polythene thirty-odd years ago) so when the rubble goes in it won't get blocked. Necessary to get rid of any water on the new paving.

View attachment 51455

I've left the power cables to the sump pump, in suitu that run through the collar from the garage in a 1" pipe. We're thinking about putting a self contained water feature here,(well..my wife is). She'll be able to turn it on from one of the several switches connected to a multi-core cable that runs from the house to the garage under the patio.


I cemented over the ends of the four 1.5" pipes of the filter return under the "bridge."

The pool overflow is redundant, it'll end up under the paving.

View attachment 51456

The waterfall, which we only ran in the summer, it's connected to the filter pump via a valved pipe, will become three small beds for the extra flox I've ordered.

I need to make some dyed fine concrete and mortar lips to contain the soil. Hopefully the flox will "cascade." W'll be keeping the frog pond." There's several clumps of spawn in it already.

View attachment 51457

I can't put the dome back over the bottom drain until a little frog who's hiding in the 4" pipe under the pool, uses that bit of wood to get out. I netted a couple stranded ones yesterday.

View attachment 51458

My contractor should hopfully be starting the "fill in " on Monday of next week. Three quarters of it will be filled with rubble, then hardcore. The paving will be similar in colour to the York stone patio and paths.

Dats one beautiful koi pond and sad u gettin rid of it. You betta double check your neighbors cus they probably havin themselves a koi fish dinner.

 

[Sean Regan]

I did a bit more yesterday.
Cemented up the front of the imitation "bridge" that covered the filter return, it went about a foot back and my wife was concerned that it might become home to mice or whatever. The parapet I made by cementing some granite "sets" to the "bridge," when I built the pool. I coloured them a bit with a cement "wash" with yellow dye, so they looked older.

I had to find a couple of rocks to form the ends of what was a long narrow bed and is now two beds at the front end of of what was the pool.This is to give easy access to the paved area. I "aged" the mortar I used to fix them in place, by rubbing a bit of soil into it before it went off.

We've settled on a fountain which will sit on top of what was the filter pump sump.

It's only 2ft high, it's in cast stone. At that height it won't obscure the rest of the garden from the view out of our French windows. It won't be available until the end of the month.

I'll replace this rubber cover with a circular stepping-stone, for the fountain to stand on. I'll drill a hole through it to pass the mains cable through it. There's waterproof mains power connectors just underneath it which were for the two pumps that were in there. I can connect it to one of the four switches behind the lounge curtains, which are connected to an armoured cable which passes under the patio to the garage.

I've found a couple of rocks to put on the old waterfall, I'm waiting for som phlox like that on the rockery to plant here, to hopefully disguise its original function a bit.

I've still the filters and the 300 gall quarantine tank in the filter room in the back of the garage, to take down and dispose of. But that can wait til next week. There'll be the Masters golf to watch on TV later this week.

 

[Sean Regan]

Played golf in the morning and started dismantling the pool and quarantine tank filters this afternoon. Finished at 7.00pm.
As both the filters and the quarantine tank have valved drain pipes. I had to also remove the pipe work and blank off where they joined the pipe that goes to a house drain. So now there's just the waste for the sink in that room.
I've the five 40 gallon tanks and a lot of polypipe to take down the tip tomorrow. It'll be about five or six trips.

I sometimes find one job brings another. The quarantine tank filter was powered by a central heating pump. I've saved that and might use it to power my lawn sprinklers. United Utilities are enjoying a lot of revenue from new builds, but haven't increased the water pressure to compensate for higher usage locally. So my sprinklers don't spread as far as they did when I put them in.
Tomorrow, I've the quarantine tank to take down. It's just a big wooden box with a preformed liner. I'll have enough timber from it to make a base for the extra decking I'll need for the areas previously taken up by the filters and quarantine tank. I'll have a measure up tomorrow to see how much decking I'll need.

I'll give this room a coat of emulsion. When we had the house redecorated about five years ago, my wife chose a specific colour for the two reception rooms, hall and landing, but after the decorator had painted one wall in one room, she decided she didn't like it and chose a different colour. So we've three five litre cans of Dulux, a sort of off white, which cost an arm and a leg, which was never used.

Yesterday I went on line to look at the fountain I ordered. There was a "pop up" telling me if I ordered a fountain today, I'd get a 5% reduction.
I e-mailed the supplier and told them I didn't see the pop up when I placed the order the day before, What's the chance of having a 5% refund? I got the "just this once" response and it might take a few days. But it didn't, I got a £25 refund in my Paypal account this afternoon.

Checked the assembly instructions for the fountain, they have them for dozens of their fountains on-line which you can download as a pdf.
Bit miffed, as the transformer is one of those that sits on the back of a 13amp plug.
So I'll have to lean into the sump to fix an outdoor 13amp socket to the side of the sump just under the rim. Not as bad as when I built the pool. The socket for the standpipe at the bottom of the sump is secured by a big plastic nut, about five or six inches in diameter. I had to make a plywood spanner to fit it and dive down into the sump to secure it.

 

[Sean Regan]

This is where I was up to with clearing the former filter room by 7.00pm last night.

Early start this morning 10.00 am. It took me five trips to the tip to dispose of the tanks and filter medium.

Then I started on tearing down this. It was substantially built as 300 gallons weighs 3000 lbs.

By 6.00pm I was down to this.

I re-arranged the decking squares and parts thereof, from the "dog-leg" around the filter and quarantine tank to all against one wall. I'm going to make two large decking squares using all the 2" X 1" I've salvaged from the tank cover, to fill the hole. I've enough 3" X 2" and bricks to support the frame below it.

Gave myself a break half way through and installed my new Hoselock reel.

I had to cut up all the Stirlingboard side panels and base of the tank with a jig saw to get it in my car when I take it to the tip tomorrow.

I'll give the walls a good brush down and vac tomorrow after removing pipe clips etc., and give them and the ceiling a coat of emulsion. I've to measure up how much decking I need to complete the floor. I bought an external 13amp socket today, to fix to the inside wall of the old pump sump, to power the fountain when it arrives.

 

[DrCase]

It really came out good . Looks great

 

[Sean Regan]

Getting nearer the finish.

Got on with sorting out the floor, ready gor the decking, early start (for me) this morning 10.00 am.
Took all the Stirling board from the quarantine tank and more unwanted stuff down the tip. Couldn't get all of it in my car so I'll take that on Tuesday.Then went on to B & Q.

They didn't have the decking I saw on the website but settled for this. £3.75 a length. Good enough as it won't be outside. The chances of getting something similar to what I bought over thirty years ago, was unlikely. It's slightly thinner but wider than the other, but I'm happy with it. I'm butting up each piece, I don't need to take it up at any time. The pipework for the sink can be accessed by pulling up any of the squares.
Just cut it to size and loose laid it. One bit is a bit damp but it'll dry out. I've got the levels right!

Several redundant double 13a sockets. Two banks of four on opposite walls. But they can stay.

Having hot and cold water, a baisin, a draining board, a germicidal soap dispenser and a paper towel holder, are handy things to have when I'm gardening.

I've given the walls and the ceiling a good brush down with a vacuum cleaner and washed anything that needed it. Finished at 6.00pm but I did have a half hour lunch break and watched a bit of the Masters on TV.

Tomorrow after golf I'll emulsion the walls and ceiling and on Tuesday screw down the decking.

 

[Sean Regan]

"The Room" is now complete.

Video of the finished project.