Pond Solver Articles | Choosing A Garden Pond Important Considerations

Type And Location Of Pond Is Important

Only you can choose but we can help you make a wise choice! Essentially there are two types of ponds: above ground and in-ground.

The aboveground pond is by far the easiest if a pre-formed design is selected. On the other hand aboveground ponds can be difficult to build from scratch without good bricklaying skills.

In-ground ponds need a hole to be dug that then has to be lined using a Flexible Liner, a preformed design or a concrete/fiberglass shell installation.

Since the pond is the starting point of the project. It should be sited correctly with the following points uppermost in your mind. The pond installation if it is to be dug into the ground is the most cumbersome and therefore the most difficult part of the total project so do your best to get this right. Seek help if you do not feel comfortable with doing the job yourself.

Most important do not rush it - take your time, get it to fit well into the hole, create good back fill and edging support where necessary and get the pond level in its hole if it is a pre-formed unit.

Pre-formed ponds are best for volumes less than 500 litres because they are ready to install and in the case of the glassfibre features come complete with surround built in so once the pond has been installed there is no further work required to give a finished effect ... Installing A Preformed Pond Liner

Remember an in-ground pond will always appear significantly smaller once installed than it looks out of the ground. Be aware of this when you are looking around the garden centre or you might be disappointed when you finish the job.

For a pre-formed pond installation do TAKE trouble to get the pond level. If you do not the pond will certainly appear lopsided once filled with water. Use a spirit level.

To assist in this task and before you fill the pond to the top check that the water is level after filling with only a few centimeters of water – then if not level it will be easy to remove the pond water and do a bit more excavating and leveling.

EPDM, PVC, Polyethylene or Butyl Rubber Liner Ponds

For larger ponds use black plastic liner designed for pond building. You have the choice between PVC, Polyethylene, Butyl rubber or EPDM rubber. Butyl or EPDM rubber is probably the best but also the most expensive.

The ideal liner thickness for most ponds is 500 micron (0.5mm) but go thicker if you think you need to; it just gets more difficult to handle the liner and of course more expensive. In virtually all aspects of pond keeping bigger is better.

Do NOT use a liner if your animals like to swim in the pond. They will damage it in a short space of time with their sharp claws and your pond will leak and you will tear your hair out.

However do not be scared of using liner - many smaller dams are made with this material. An important point with liner is to ensure that the exposed liner above the pond surface is protected from continuous direct sunlight by creating an edging that will shade the exposed liner surface. Plastics and rubbers tend to suffer from UV attack especially under strong sunlight conditions.

Click for further information and how to Create A Flexible Pond Liner Pond in your backyard or garden.

Using A Liner … initial considerations

It is important to measure your liner properly before ordering. Use the method outlined below to decide what size liner you need to buy to fit your desired pond dimensions (all liner comes in square or rectangular form).

First of all the width of the liner:

… you need to know the width of the final pond at its widest point and add at the very least 60 cm for edging. You must then also add the depth and the depth again.

For example if you want a pond 2 metres wide and 1 meter deep the width of liner will be 2+1+1+0.6 (for edging) = 4.6 metres.

For the length repeat this process. For example if you want the above pond to be 3 metres long then the length of the liner must be 3+1+1+0.6 (for edging) = 5.6 metres.

The complete specification for the liner must be 5.6 metres by 4.6 metres. Do not forget to allow for the edging.

All liner ponds will have folds or pleats of liner within them as you can see in the next picture. Do not let this bother you because after a while you will not notice the folds which will become even more disguised as beneficial algae will build up on the sides of the pond.

Garden Pond Depth

You will often be told that a pond should be at least 1 meter or more deep. This is quite simply wrong for many garden situations. Unless you want a large pond and you have a particular interest in wanting to grow large fish then a depth of between 35 cm and 60 cm is perfectly adequate for a basic garden pond.

On the other hand there is nothing wrong with deeper ponds and there are some advantages such as less temperature fluctuation, greater protection from birds and so on.

There is one condition where a deeper pond is a definite pre-requisite even for small ponds and that is where winters are long and cold. In these circumstances even deep ponds can freeze to a level, which makes it impossible for fish to survive the winter.

In colder climates be aware that a shallow pond will tend to freeze more easily than a larger one.

300 litres (75 gallons) of water per square meter (10 sq feet) of pond surface should be around the minimum consideration when designing your pond’s size. This means not less than a 30cm (12 inches) depth for a pond 1 meter by 1 meter in area (3 feet by 3 feet).

Avoid building overly complex shapes. Keep the pond simple and use plants to create form and shape. For smaller ponds do consider buying a pond with the edging already built into it. You will be pleased with the result and it will save an enormous amount of effort.

Black is an excellent color for a pond since it creates contrast for the fish and plants and also gives an illusion of greater depth. Sooner or later however all surfaces will become a rich green color as there is a natural and desirable algae build up. Your fish will forage in this ”field”.

If you are going to build a liner pond then before placing the liner in the excavated hole it is important to line the hole with old carpet, carpet underlay, specially designed underlay, newspapers, fine sand or something like this to prevent possibly sharp stones finding their way to the interface with the liner and possibly puncturing the liner.

Do Not Forget The Shelves

Whatever type of pond you install ensure that you create a couple of shelves at different levels to accommodate later planting of aquatic plants. Some plants prefer a deeper planting than others. Water lilies for example do best in deeper water say 40 cm. Others prefer to be just submerged, and bog plants like to have their “feet” wet most of the time.

While on the subject of water lilies these plants do not like water that moves too much - they will not tolerate splashing for example and therefore should not be close to a waterfall or running water.

Select Your Site Carefully

Try to avoid putting your pond in a fully shaded area. Once plants are established these will provide shade for the fish. Few aquatic plants will grow well in shade.

Do not put the pond close to deciduous trees if you can avoid it because of falling leaves in autumn. Avoid the hassles but if you really have to put your pond close to deciduous trees then you can always buy a lightweight net to overcome the problem of leaves falling into the water.

The final choice is simple – put your pond where you can enjoy it most.… But don’t put it outside the bedroom window unless you like the sound of running water to get you to sleep. For the same reason give consideration to your neighbor's needs also.

Your pond needs running water 24 hours a day and the gurgling and splashing sound from a waterfall might just annoy you as you lie in your bed. You might just be tempted to switch the pump off and this could be bad for your fish.

Don’t despair if you really do want your pond outside the bedroom window. The answer that will still allow you to get a good night’s sleep is revealed it involves using 2 pumps instead of a single one.

Believe it or not Running 2 Pond Pumps can be considerably cheaper and better than one.

In terms of being more specific the ideal location for a northern hemisphere pond would be an area in the garden facing towards the South and West somewhat. In the Southern hemisphere an area facing North and West would be a preferred location. In both cases an area exposed to sun for about 5 or 6 hours would be ideal.

Click here to see how to install a Flexible Liner Garden Pond the right way...

Installing A Preformed Pond

Here is a beautiful example of a small pre-formed pond installed. It is all fibreglass including the built-in edging which made installation a piece of cake.

Click here to see how to install a Preformed Pond Liner to save hassle and time...

Installing A Concrete Pond

You will notice I have not talked about concrete ponds. I mentioned earlier that concrete is quite simply the wrong material of construction for small garden ponds.

However if circumstances insist upon concrete being used as the shell for the pond then seek specialist advice. If you do go to the extent of using concrete and building a large and deep pond then make provision for installing a bottom drain in the pond. This allows the accumulating debris at the bottom of the pond to be continuously drained. Bottom drains and the piping design required add a further degree of complexity to your project.

By far the best information I have ever come across in the building of concrete ponds can be obtained by reading the series of articles published in “Nishikigoi International” magazine published in the UK by Nishikigoi International Ltd.

This company has an excellent koi dedicated web site at www.koimag.com... There is no other publication anywhere that covers koi keeping in the depths that this company does. Highly recommended.

Many people convert unwanted swimming pools into ponds. The result is normally a problem pond because such ponds are too deep to keep clean – they do not have bottom drains. My advice would be fill in the pool and start from scratch with your pond.

A bottom drain is a desirable feature of a pond but should be considered a “nice to have” and far from essential in smaller ponds. It is unnecessary in ponds less than about 5,000 litres.

For further information take a look at Large Concrete Fish Ponds...

Know your Garden pond volume

Ideally a pond’s volume should be measured accurately at the time of filling the first time. If not then the slide rule or something more modern must come out. Many countries allow the house owner to read the water meter. This is the ideal way to measure your pond’s volume. Just don’t let the kids use the bathroom while you are doing it.

When you fill your pond for the first time record how much water your pond holds - you will need this information to specify a number of products and also for future reference. Store the information safely unless you can recalculate the volume yourself. You are looking not for absolute accuracy but a good close approximation to the final system volume.

Click here to learn how to Measure Your Garden Pond Volume...

Pond Lighting - See Your Pond At Night

For superb nighttime effects consider installing Pond Lighting in the pond. Underwater lights are safe since they use low voltage (12V) systems. They are quite low in cost also. You can have floating globes, underwater spotlights, in ground spotlights, colored lenses and so on.

Pond Pumps An Important Garden Pond Consideration

The reason to have a pump in the pond is to allow water to be circulated so that its life giving properties are shared with fish, plants and biofilters. A secondary reason is to prevent stagnation of the water that can easily lead to pathogenic bacteria situations with resultant damage to fish in particular.

Click here to read about How To Reduce Fish Parasite Infections and Fish Disease Problems...

Even in a pond with no fish and just plants there should be a pond pump … in this case it could be a smallish pump just to assist natural circulation that is often restricted in a small pond. In this way nutrients are shared out between the plants better.

The reason circulating water is so important for fish and biofilters is that water dissolves oxygen. The fish and biofilter bacteria like you and I need oxygen to live. Without it they die.

The oxygen comes from the surfaces of water in contact with air … such as the pond surface, droplets from fountains and streams or waterfalls where flow is broken up into smaller sections.

In general the greater the surface area between air and water in contact with each other then the more oxygen can be dissolved.

It is therefore an excellent idea to have a waterfall and/or a fountain in any pond.

Another few important points about oxygen in water...

• The higher the water temperature then the less oxygen can the water hold. For this reason trout cannot live in warm water. Also for this reason fishing can be more difficult on warm still days.
• All plants release oxygen during the daytime. At night they take in oxygen and deplete the concentration in the water. This is often the reason fish are found dead early in the morning in badly kept ponds … ie those without a biofilter and with lots of algae.
• It is almost impossible to get too much oxygen into pond water. Using Air Blowers (Pond Aerators) is very beneficial in larger ponds and most serious koi keepers blow massive quantities of air into their circulating water systems and not just the pond itself.

Why A Waterfall Is Good For Your Garden Pond

It is a good idea to have a waterfall for the following reasons...

• To hear running water
• To add character to your pond feature
• To add oxygen to the water for the benefit of the fish and the biofilter
• To use the soil that came out of the ground when you installed the pond

A neat trick if you have an inadequate pump and the waterfall flow is a bit weak is to place stones or pebbles close to the edge of the waterfall. This essentially separates the water flow into more than one waterfall and improves the appearance.

Building a waterfall from liner and rocks can be a difficult and very difficult task. It is also often difficult to prevent leaks (and find them later).

So unless you are a real DIY enthusiast with some extra skill go and buy a preformed natural looking rock waterfall made from fiberglass.

Pond Fountains Create Popular Effects

A fountain is a very pleasant feature within a pond. Many pond owners prefer this to a waterfall as a means of creating interest and also adding oxygen to the water. A fountain is also much simpler to install than a waterfall.

Most good pumps of small and medium capacity are supplied with a range of fountain jets as standard equipment. These are good value because when bought separately to the pump these units can be expensive and sometimes it is difficult to match the fittings of the pump to the fountainhead creating frustration. It is also a fact that the pump might not be suitable for the head you bought.

Installing a fountain is not enough to keep water clean even though it does add oxygen back into the water. If there are fish in the pond then an absolute requirement is a Biological Filter as well as a means of introducing oxygen to the water.

The use of a fountain is also often appropriate in a self-standing system such as a concrete above ground water feature set on a patio or up against a wall for example.

All fountain jets are designed to protrude above the water surface. If the pond is relatively deep distance pieces (sometimes telescopic in nature) are needed to achieve this. Remember however not to put your pump on the bottom of the pond where silt accumulates. It should be raised to minimize the possibility of dirt clogging up the jets and spoiling the effect.

Do make sure that the height to which a jet is pushing water is not too high that a great deal of water is lost due to the wind blowing the spray into the garden.

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