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- Jan 31, 2018
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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.
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.
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