Pond Building

Pond building, some tips

Pond building, there are a few things to do when building a pond, but the First thing is think, design & plan

THINK

What types of pond are there?

Wild life pond

Usually a wild life pond has a "beach"  and no pumps filters etc, since it relies on the natural ecosystem to keep everything "working". the shape is informal. The beach is as it sounds, an area covered in stones that runs into the water at a gentle angle, this allows for the easy entry of wildlife, but also the easy exit should any wildlife fall in, such as a hedgehog (yes hedgehogs can swim, but not not for ever and they can't climb very well, so a beach is very useful)

Natural Pond

Similar to a wildlife pond but no beach, and is of irregular shape, it is made with the intention of looking natural, and that it has always been there, it is not always easy to do as it must blend in with its surroundings

Formal pond

Formal pond has specific lines, i.e its a circle, square or oblong, it has no beach, often it has pumps and filters to keep the water clear

Informal pond

Similar to formal pond except for the shape, it has no strait lines, often similar in shape to a figure 8

Water feature

A water feature has no plants or wildlife and has water running from or over an object, most common being a stone or drilled rock, it can have either exposed or non exposed water

Fountain

A fountain is none of the above, it is a pool with water jet or nozzle as the main feature, often it will have lights for night time illumination all the water will be exposed (you can see all the water)

DESIGN

Now you have decided which type of pond you are going to have where is it going to go?

Since thinking is cheaper than doing, it is a wise decision to make a plan, and even draw it on paper.  First of all you need to decide where to build it, it may look nice under that tree, but what about Autumn when the leaves fall? the leaves will land in the pond and start to decay creating a "poisonous" atmosphere for any wild life / fish, not to mention the trees roots, because if it is made from  a flexible liner they will sooner rather than later puncture it. How much sun will it get? Will you want a fountain or waterfall, or will you want it lit at night. The reason being is there an electricity supply near by. 

CONSTRUCTION

Now that its position has been decided what do you want to make it out of? You basically have three main choices. Flexible liner, Preformed liner, concrete. Each has its own pro's and cons.  (There is also "puddled clay" but as it is very specialised, expensive and rarely works well we will not mention it any more)

FLEXIBLE LINER

Shape and depth is up to you, there are several types but basically you get what you pay for. Ie the more you pay the longer the guarantee. Should it get punctured in general they are easy to repair. When designing your shape try to avoid tight corners since water will stay here and stagnate.

PREFORMED LINER

Obviously you are limited to the designers choice on every thing here, but again you get what you pay for. A word of warning. Pre formed ponds "shrink" when buried in the ground. (They don't really its just that that big pond isn't so big when you are looking at it in the ground, so i would advise you choose carefully.) It depends on the material it is made from as to how if at all it can be repaired successfully.

CONCRETE

This is what ponds can be made from, it is not easy and usually has to be about six inches thick even for a small pond so that it will not move and crack. Very hard to repair since they have to be drained completely to repair properly.

HARD GRAFT

Now that you have decided what you are going to make your pond from, lets get digging. It is always best to mark the ground first. You can use a hose, string or dried sand put in a bottle and used like "paint" Once you are happy with the position YOU can start digging. If you are using a preformed liner then i suggest you make it at least 2 inches deeper than required.

NOTE: If you have clay or really heavy soil its a good idea to dig a "pit" in the bottom at least 1 cubed foot, fill this with gravel or rubble. The reason is if you have a heavy down pour rain water will lift your pond liner (or pre made pool) out of the hole. It really can. The pit will act as a soak away.

HOLE DUG?

Continue reading for preformed liner  or  Click here for flexible liner

Now that your hole is dug try the liner for size. Make any alterations to the hole so that there is about a two inch gap all around. If you are sure that it fits and is level you need to put in  a "pre-liner" first. The best i have found is sand. If you use any thing like carpet or old newspaper it will rot and give no support, however there are some special materials available for the job. The idea of the pre-liner is to prevent the liner it self from being punctured by any sharp stones, also you can use it to ensure that your pond is level when finished. 

Now you can start filling with water, I can not stress enough to keep checking the level as it fills because once its full if it isn't level it will "stick out like a sore thumb" As it fills put the soil or sand in the gap between the liner and the hole. Do not rush this part as it gives support to the liner, pack it in but no higher than the water level. As it fills pack it in more until all is finished, and keep checking that it is level. If you find it is not level i am sorry but you will have to pump it out and start again.

All Done?

Well now that it is full it is recommended that you leave it for at least a day to give the liner a chance to finish "settling in" 

You can now decorate the edges with what ever material you have chosen. Choosing a pump? click here

A few words of caution.

If you are adding fish either leave the pond for at least a week or add a dechlorinator. If you are adding a fountain follow the manufactures instructions carefully and please use an R.C.D.

Get a nice deck chair sit back and enjoy.

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