Koi Pool Close Down

We've decided that the koi pool is to go. It's been under consideration for some time. We've had it for thirty-odd years and eventually in our old age, it'll become a bit of a chore. I've plenty of other interests. It will shortly need the liner replacing, which would be as much work as filling it in, as all the perimiter rocks and the immitation bridge, would have to be removed as the liner finishes under them.

What is going to happen is that we'll have it paved at the present level of the water.

So this view won't look much different. Today, I removed a couple of plants from the narrow bed at the front of the pool. A few of these big rocks will be taken away, so there'll be a gap of about a couple of feet, so it will be easy to step down onto the new paved area. I've a ramp I made ten years ago to get my two vinyl jukeboxes up into the tea-house (or out again if need be). Necessary as they weigh 300lb each. The contractor can use this to barrow the rubble in over where the plants were, access otherwise would have been difficult.
We'll relocate some of my wife's roses in their fifteen ceramic pots on the patio, onto the new paved area.




I've a neighbour who is taking the fish. I helped him design his koi pool a few years ago. He has a very sophisticated filtration system, so "I know they will be going to a good home." I could sell them on eBay, but moving them any distance can cause a lot of stress without them being anesthasised. I wouldn't wish that on them. I've a big poly tub on wheels we can use to move them, they're only going about fifty yards.
The fish will be moved tomorrow and then I'll drain the pool down.

"The big fill in," hopefully all starts on Monday week, or so I've been promised.
My friend said, "I can come and see the fish anytime I like," I found that thoughtful...and funny.

 

It’s a big decision to make, but I can see you’ve thought it all through, and most importantly, your scaled friends are sorted....

 

I made the same decision with my pond a number of years ago, it had become a chore so I thought it best to fill it in, to be honest not many regrets about doing it.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

I always wonder about those who have built up pools, if they get out of the hobby what have they left? I've seen all sorts of pools on a koi messageboard. Some are really nice and a lot of thought has gone into the landscaping. But many are little more than "a tank in the yard," with no effort made with the rest of the garden.
The only difference with mine as far as the overall "ambience" will be the absence of water..and fish.

 

Fish moving day.
This heavy duty poly tub I've had for thirty years presently used to store plastic plant pots came in handy. I gave it a good scrub, disinfected it and rinsed it out. You cant be too careful with fish. I then half filled it with pond water. We made two trips, gently wheeling it down the road but but it was only about forty yards. They quickly settled into their new home. I'll take a photo tomorrow.





Next job was getting rid of 3000 gallons of water.
Now when I built this pool 33 years ago, I laid an over flow pipe from a top corner of the pool to the drain under the kitchen window. It's encased in the concrete pool collar. There's another pipe from the pump sump which joins this same pipe. This was to empty the pump sump after purging. It also meant I could trickle change either "bottom water" through the body of the pump, (it didn't have to be on) or surface water from the overflow, depending how high I had the overflow which was on a swivel. Lifting it a couple of inches mean't water would trickle out through the pump instead of the overflow.
So it was just a question of turning on the sump drain pump which sat on the bottom.



The pump would only pump down to the bottom of the sump.

I then had to disconnect the pump and plug the outlet into the overflow socket and drop the pump to the bottom of the pool.




What's left I can get out with my wet n' dry vac. It has an adjustable lance and hose. That'll have to wait until tomorrow. But I did net out a couple of frogs which were stranded at the bottom.

This only took sbout 2 hours. It's only a little Otter fountain pump. Nothing like the 15,000 ltrs per hour filter pump.

While this was going on I was able to get on with another job.
Ripping all this old felt off the shed roof. It's more like a patchwork quilt, having been repaired in the past with odd bits of felt. However it hadn't leaked.

This took for ever as there were a lot of clout nails to remove and the whole roof had to be scraped to to remove bits of felt that were stuck to the adhesive. This stuff melts when it's warm. I had to go to B & Q to get some edge sealant and some flashing.






Tomorrow I'll put the new felt on. I bought a quality non-tear felt. I'll put it on tomorrow.

 

My brother in law had my koi so I new they had a good home, fish, birds, cats, dogs, snakes, spiders, we love what we love and we're happy when we know they're happy.

 

Good to know. They are so often "the innocent bystanders."
So many people get into this hobby without doing their homework.

I built my "filter room," the back 8ft of our garage behind a partition with a door in it. The floor of decking squares over a lot of pipe work and a 300 gallon quarantine tank with its own filter. I put in a sink and hot water supply and a "shed load of power points." I built the pool and the filters...Then I bought some fish.

There must be many..
Who come home late from work...
They sit down for their evening meal...
Their wife casually says, "I think there's something wrong with one of your fish..."
It's dark..
It's raining..
and all they've got is a bucket and a torch..

 

When we built our 30x18 pond we made sure it looked natural and stocked it with Orfe. Very little maintenance, no filters etc just a small waterfall and fountain.
Couldnt be bothered with the hassle of keeping Koi plus they would be too damned expensive for the Heron to lunch on .

 

Not a very good photo, but this was after we filled in, well over 10 years ago, there's decking over it now.

 

Did a bit more today..Well..after lunch, played golf in the morning. Got to get your priorities right don't you?

Drained the last of the water out of the pool, just by putting the hose and lance of my wet n' dry vac down the 4" pipe connecting the bottom drain to the pump sump.



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.




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.




My contractor should be starting the "fill in " on Monday of next week..

 

There was a change of plan. The start date was brought forward to Thursday and expected to finish on Saturday.

At 9.00 am. Today, Thursday, this arrived, (part load) and three blokes to start filling the pool. When did you get that sort of service?



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

 

Looks like it’s all go @Doghouse Riley !

You’ve made me think about getting rid of ours now. We inherited it and the fish when we bought the house. The poor things were in a right state....a huge pile of dead oxygenating weed in it and full of green algae and the fish weren’t being fed decent food.

It took us a lot of time to get it all balanced right-lots of “pond bombs”, filter cleaning, fresh water de chlorinated etc etc. We eventually had a chap come and empty it all and scrub it and sort it. We’ve now managed to get it right and my god how the fish have grown since providing them with quality food. It’s not a cheap hobby with the amount that needs to be spent on decent equipment.

And I can’t help feeling sorry for the fish-seems such a sad existence living in a pond that I wish was bigger for them. I’m tempted to suggest we give them to our neighbour who have a massive pond.

Hmm-you’ve really got me thinking now!

 

It's all happening.

This arrived with three guys at 9.00am this morning. How often does that happen?



They got this far by noon, about a quarter full. No rubbish proper hardcore.
But they're gonna need a lot more.





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

That last bag is sand, one of those which will be needed to go under the flags once the pool is filled.





Then went to lunch as they'd used it all. They've been hanging around until 3.30pm waiting for the next load which has just arrived.
They're already filling the pool and the wagon is still unloading.

 

It's taking 22 tonnes to fill it.
Just to think I must have shifted the same amount with a spade thirty-odd years ago when I dug it out.
I can remember my wife saying at the time.


"When are you going to put down that spade and come in for your dinner?"