1) How much should the water volume of the pond turn over in one hour?

Embarrassingly...I don't know. LOL

2) Is a UV clarifier/sterilizer absolutely needed now? If budget is short, can one be added later without major problems?

Needed? No. I've not used one for 5 years and don't know if I ever will. It's more of a luxury than a necessity. Yes, it can be added later. :)

3) When digging the sides, should they be straight up and down or have a slight angle?

Straight.

4) What about the plant shelves, should they angle in slightly toward the walls of pond to help stablize rocks?

If you mean rocks on the plant shelves...line the edge w/ large rocks - melon sized - that will act as a wall to hold in smaller rock. Don't put rocks on the bottom of the pond (!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I learned the hard way. Oi-vey!

5) In collecting own rocks, are there any particular kinds that you would avoid, such as sandstone or (I don't exactly know rocks well)?

I've heard limestone can affect the pH. Sandstone erodes (that is what I have) but sure is pretty and erosion is slow.

6) When planting with different plants, for different levels, which would you absolutely recommend or avoid, especially in Oklahoma (zone 7)? Want to avoid the invasive, but want best ones that do job of cleaning and oxygenating water.

DUnno.
:)

Andrea

I would say the sides should be about a 10% back slope. Just enough to keep the top edge from eroding and falling into the hole.
Once you have your liner in and filled with water, that is a very heavy load that is pulling down on the top of the pond sides.
Depending on the consistency of the soil, in some cases, where the soil is light or sandy, a concrete rim/collar is poured or rail road ties are installed to stop the sides from caving.

Rock.Sandstone is okay to use. Slate also if you have a source. Avoid limestone or any rock that has calcium content.

Most water plants are invasive by nature. In Zone 7 you should be able to grow most water plants, hardy and tender, without a problem.
Google pond plants.
"Horton"

Thanks for replies. Back later, off to work.

General rule of thumb for pond turn over rate is twice per hour for "small" ponds - say under 1000 gallons and you can get by with once per hour for larger ponds. Also depends on whether or not you plan to have a waterfall since that may set your flowrate (usually higher) for a full-blown flow. Realize that you can also have a wall where water trickles down over it rather than a roaring torrent. I would avoid cattails since they will definitely try to take over your pond but that's probably just me. I also might not put in any plant shelf but rather count on using plastic milk crate or similar thing to bring plants up to desired depth. The plant shelf can act as a heron sushi bar! To add an additional comment to Horton's suggestions: look into using synthetic wood around the edge of your pond in which the liner goes right over the top of the board (the board is installed on edge in the ground). I've done that in some areas of a pond to good effect. For one thing you can kerf it and thereby put a curve in the board so that you won't have too many straight lines.

---David

Forgot to say that I don't know how things freeze in the winter there but I would go 3' (we have to here anyway, to allow stuff to stay alive during the winter).

For my pond, I went with the slight 10% or so slope that Horton mentioned. It's just enough to keep things stable. My soil is hard clay, difficult to dig but it holds up the sides well. Not sure what you have down in your area. My folks are from Bokoshe, and I know the soil there is rather rocky. I would not layer shelves around my pond -- they're perfect for predators to step right down to your fish. I have no shelves at all in my pond. Instead, I carved bog pockets in the corners where there is extra liner and put my marginals there. Also, I have some in the stream.

My water turns over a little more than twice per hour.

UV sterilizer can be added at any time, and many people don't use them at all. Depends on how much shade your pond gets and how many nutrients are in the water. My pond is in full sun, so for a month or so, I connect a small pump to the UV and run it back to the pond through a spitter.

In Oklahoma, I would avoid Parrots feather. They're interesting plants and many people love them, but mine overwinter here, multiplying like crazy, and they sink their roots into everything from the gravel in the stream to marginal pots. I'm still digging out parrots feather from two years ago.

You will probably want some water lilies, hardies are the easiest but the tropicals are the prettiest, in my opinion. Most plants are easier to control if they're kept in pots. You can pull the pots in the spring to divide if they start "jumping the pot". I have some cattails, which can be highly invasive, but they're captured in a pot which I divide when necessary. A little maintenance is all it takes to control your plants. Almost any plant you like will grow here.

Rocks, hmm. I wouldn't put rocks in my pond for several reasons. Although they're pleasing to the eye, they trap fish waste and other muck which can greatly affect the quality of your water. Another reason, one I found out from personal experience, is that when fish spawn, the eggs go everywhere -- including into the crevices between the rocks, which provides the perfect sheltered place for them to incubate. Fish tend to eat their own eggs, nature's own birth control I suppose, but if you have rocks, you will likely see a huge population explosion because many of the eggs will go between the rocks where the fish cannot reach.

"Avoid limestone or any rock that has calcium content."
How do I know if it has calcium content?

My pond will have shade up until about 11 am and full sun until around 5pm if that helps.
I do have very heavy clay after digging down about a foot. Above that it is more loamy.

So, instead of building shelves out into the pond, do you dig back a little for the pockets a few inches out and deep? Like a small recess in the main wall of the pond?

Thanks again. Well, I owe, I owe, off to work again, I go. LOL. I'm getting excited, now if only rain will go AWAY.

Vickie

Hi,
I have a plant shelf 3/4 of the way around the pond, I really like the look of it, I have not had any issues with it getting messy but I also do have a pump on the shelf that tends to draw the muck to a sponge filter. I live in the city and I have not had problems with critters invading the pond except for a pair of mallards last spring who were quickly chased off by the dogs. I did have problems with heron and coons when I lived on the west coast but I think if they want in they will get in.
I would look out for rocks that crumble easily or have soft deposits, they will break down and get messy. Also any rocks that fizz or foam when you rinse/immerse them in water, the deposits could leach and affect the water. Last thing I watch out for are rocks that look like they have rust, a mineral deposit can cause the rock to look rusted and affect the water as well.
For plants I always have water iris and water cress. When I was researching those were the 2 plants most highly recomended for helping to keep the water clean. Iris should be hardy for you and cress is cheap and easy to grow so you can buy a bunch in the spring and watch it go. Enjoy your pond

Take a small bottle/vial of vinegar. Put a few drops on the stone. If it foams then it is a carbonate-based stone and you may not want too many of those in your pond.
---David

Thanks for that Prof.
I forgot to mention that you can use commercial grade, landscaping edging, supported by stakes driven into the ground around your pond. It can be formed around bends and corners.
"Horton"

I know some of my questions seem so simple, so thanks for answering, all of you. This is the largest garden project I have ever tackled and want things to go well. If ever it stops raining, and the digging begins I will keep you posted as you are my experts. I shall post pictures if I ever learn how. (That's where my kids will come in.)

My bog pockets are about 12 inches deep and adjacent to the pond. The rim is just a few inches lower than the water level, so that the plant is always moist. I place rocks on the rim to conceal it.

Sometimes a visual is better than a description. Here's a picture of my black magic taro in a bog pocket.

{{gwi:197023}}

1 - Minimum of once per hour. More with fish, and even more with Koi.
2 - UVs are never 'necessary', but they are great when needed, especially early in the year before the plants are established. Savio skimmers come pre-fitted for a UV and can be dropped in at any time. Actually a 'more expensive' Savio is cheaper than a lesser skimmer with additional UV unit and pump.
3 - A slight angle is good, but if there are land predators, such as racoons, steeper the better.
4 - Depends on type of rock. If angular and easily stacked, this is not a big issue. If you are using round-ish rocks stacking is an issue. I often put in a secondary rock shelf so the rock can be stable.
5 - Similar to above, stacking and appearance are main concerns. Limestone is often considered a type to not use since they can mess with the pH of a pond, but that is largely overstated. Especially if they have been exposed to the elements and most has already leached out.
6 - Check local databases, Hyacinth and other floaters are illegal in multiple southern states. Filtration plants are big, pickerel, hyacinth, thalia, lots of your stream or creeping plants, etc... These can often be put in mesh pots with only pea gravel to increase exposed surface area. Oxygenators are a bit of a misnomer, they should be called 'submerged' not oxygenators because in the evening they take in oxygen like most other plants. Anachris, mare's tail and others are good, just don't go overboard.

Nancy-Thanks for the picture.

I sloped my pond edge 10% which has worked fine. I also sloped bottom of pond from shallow to deep and did a "bowl" effect recommended by bd people. I have a retrofit bd due to freezig challenges. Wouldn't do that again as plant pots don't sit well on bowled edges. Another thing I wish I had done and have started to redo on my pond is make a narrow 6" deep shelf all around the rim of the pond to hold a coping edge. That way the rocks will just sit in the water so that no pond liner shows. If you use flat rocks on the coping edge you can stack round or flat on top and make planting pockets behind the edge for all kinds of plants. I made a 12" deep plant shelf around my pond then stacked rocks against the liner to hide the edge. In some places I have flat rocks overhanging this. The problem with doing this is that there is about 12" of rock immersed in the water along the edge that collects alot of stuff. It's a pain to clean and required alot of rock! If I built a pond again I wouldn't have a plant shelf all around the pond--maybe just in some areas or use black milk crates for plants. Most ponds you see in nature don't have plants all around the edges and I like a more natural look. If you have racoons or herons in your area plant shelves are a great place for them to go fishing. (Or so I hear never had a heron at my pond and racoons too cold here for them!) When selecting a pump for your pond I like external pumps over submersible--easier to clean and more energy efficient even though they usually cost more in the beginning. Make sure when calculating size of pump that you account for the flow on your waterfall if you have one. It's easier to valve down the flow on a pump than to have too small a pump for your pond. Can't recommend plants for your Zone. I live in the frozen north--feels that way today as snowed! Good luck. Patti

Hi Vicky, just a few things I want to add.
- You say the upper layer of your soil is loamy - we have loamy/rocky/sandy subsoil, it seemed plenty stiff when we dug the pond, five (six?) years ago, and we slightly angled the sides and made the various levels level. Since then we have had major rain issues twice. Even though we ourselves are not in a flood prone location, the ground got so waterlogged that the water pressure outside the pond pretty much equaled the water pressure inside the pond. And the loam/rock/sand shifted. All surfaces are now sloping in, nothing is level, it's slippery and in-the-pond maintenance is fun, but a little dangerous. I lost my brand new cell phone last year when I lost my footing and slid in face first... couldn't get a grip to get out right away... green in my hair etc etc... we laugh about it now but it was pretty frustrating, especially when the phone never recovered.
So, when we put in a settling chamber along the side of the pond two years ago, we invested in concrete blocks, and build straight walls with them. They are hollow, you know them, two squarish opening in a rectangular concrete block, and we put soil and rocks back in those openings. Rebar through them from top to bottom. And we slid back every row an inch or so, so there ends up being a slight back angle of sorts.
This construction has held perfectly since. Wasn't too expensive, and easier for laymen like ourselves than a concrete collar.

- I also recommend a bd (bottom drain) on an external pump. Much easier to maintain than a submerged pump and filter box.

- I think planting pockets are the way to go. Make them different depths so you have multiple options. In the corners is a great idea, there are liner folds there, and a plant pocket is a great way to put that to good use. We have a 2-inch plant shelf and it usually has a potted hosta and a potted daylily on it, they love always having water available. And one of our froggies calls that shelf home. Our other plant shelves are so slanted now that we have to hunt for a place to put the pots with them not sliding down... But, we manage. It looks very rustic.

- For the heron, Ms. Slomo likes to stop by here and stare into the pond, so we have a fish line strung a foot above ground around the pond. This trip line confuses her enough that she doesn't actually go fishing. The dog also does her best to chase her off.
The dog, of course, really is a bit scared of a bird that large, and merely looks like a threat, but Ms. Slomo is long gone before she finds out. Heehee.

:) Mary