cyenna Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Well, title asks the question: anyone have any good tips on building a pond? I was thinking of digging a big hole and then fit a gigantic rubbermaid container in it until my bf told me that would be ghetto but I think it would save me time from laying tarp and all that and maybe save me money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 You can get rubbermaid type containers at Lowes and HD that are made to be ponds. They come in differant shapes and also have ones that are made to be waterfalls. When I made mine I used the rubber liner and did not have a problem. It allows you to make alot more shapes and also depths to the pond. If you are going to have fish you need a deeper spot in there for them to hide. Also if using a liner put some carpet in the hole to act as a shield for the liner. I ended up filling mine in and going with a bubbling rock. I could not keep my 2 year old at the time from jumping in it and throwing every toy he had in there(laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 I helped build a nice creek/pond recently. We used the rubber liner and it worked excellent. There are two main types of liner, a cheaper 10 or 15 year (can't remember exactly) and a heavier more expensive twenty year. I'd use the cheap one. Not sure if it would be more or less than a large rubbermaid, I'd guess it would be less depending on size of pond. You can line the hole with newspaper or old carpet scraps if the ground is rocky and your worried about punctures. We didn't use anything, dirt was clean and mostly rock free. Put in tarp, fill with rocks to desired effect. No tarp showing through, plumbing hidden by rocks, looks good. Fairly simple and fun. With the tarp you have more freedom with the pond shape, you can dig in ledges to put rocks on around the edges, make a deep portion if you want fish, add a plant bog along a side for natural filtration, etc. etc. Possiblities endless. We found all of our info on the web. Have fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyenna Posted July 7, 2007 Author Share Posted July 7, 2007 We found all of our info on the web. Have fun!! Are there any websites in particular you found more helpful than others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modularduck Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 one thing i think its important to note is that if your going to put fish in it it must be at least 1 1/2' deep for them to survive the winter. also everyone i have ever made i first lined the hole with old used carpet like the industrial stuff and the put a couple inches of sand over that. that way you never have to worry about anything puncturing the liner. like tree roots or even gophers. just my thoughts. hope its helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Watergarden.com is good, shows all steps, wetwebmedia.com is good too lots of info. Basic constuction is fairly simple. from there we looked at lots of pictures of different stream/pond combinations, decided what we liked and didn't like and went to work. hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I used the hard pre-made pond for my last one and I will never do it again. The hard part is getting the hole to the perfect size to fit the shape. The nice thing with the heavy duty liner is you dig the hole how you want it and then add the liner. Its a lot easier, cheaper, and you can be creative on the design and size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyenna Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 uh oh. is a water pump and filter absolutely necessary? I don't really want to deal with any electricity... i had thought the plants would take care of nutrients and stuff, what with this being a freshwater project. Plus, it's supposed to be a pond, do ponds in nature have a lot of current? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defigart Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 To paraphrase an old addage, "Moving water, grows no algae" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyenna Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 is that all? My pond will be in a semi shaded area and I plan on many plants like anacharis (Sp?) and hyacinths to take up nutrients that normally promote algae growth. I was more concerned about the fish but I don't plan on having many goldfish (comets, not koi) unless they decide to spawn but in that case, I guess I wouldn't have to change anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 If you want to keep the fish alive Isuggest you put in some form of cover that they can swim under and get away from herons and raccoons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyenna Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 i got some PVC pond liner and it's not quite the right shape so I'm going to have to cut and glue. The question is, what kind of glue? Shouldn't super glue work fine? The guy I bought the liner from said specifically "PVC glue"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I would be scared to cut the liner........... but thats just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mbeef61 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 me too...dont cut...try and use a fold and paste method...in a lot of places you can let water weight hold stuff...i think some water movement would be nessicary for fish to live...they need oxygenation....plants do oxygenate the water but at night they consume o2 by respiration so plants cant do it all and hyecinths dont last all season they will die first frost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyenna Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 me too...dont cut...try and use a fold and paste method...in a lot of places you can let water weight hold stuff... Alright, so what do I use as a paste? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 My mom (in Germany) has a beautiful pond with no electricity and lots of plants. No fish, though. But she spends a lot of time on it, fishing out leaves and generally keeping it clean, pruning the plants etc. She added some snails, too, IIRC. It's her pride and joy and shows it. We tried one of those little preformed ponds a few years ago, but the raccoons completely ruined it, jumping in every night and digging out all the plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyenna Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 My mom (in Germany) has a beautiful pond with no electricity and lots of plants. No fish, though. But she spends a lot of time on it, fishing out leaves and generally keeping it clean, pruning the plants etc. She added some snails, too, IIRC. It's her pride and joy and shows it. We tried one of those little preformed ponds a few years ago, but the raccoons completely ruined it, jumping in every night and digging out all the plants. how deep was your pond? was it at least 2.5ft deep? The deepest part of my pond is 3 feet deep. It is about 6 feet in diameter and under evergreens. I plan on minimal upkeep, first, i'll toss in some anacharis (does anyone have any?) then i'll go to a local pond and scoop up some duckweed and whatever else i can find... . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 how deep was your pond? was it at least 2.5ft deep? No, our's was very small, probably only a foot and a half deep. Just big enough for a couple of raccoons to take a bath in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Racoons...a ponds biggest enemy. I started with 16 fish...and now I am down to one. I have tried to trap those little buggers, but they know the traps. I used a heavy duty liner and lined the bottom with old carpet padding before laying it down. It is 18" at the deepest...just fine for goldfish. As for it being beneth the pines...good luck on fishing out needles and branches! If you don't want fish, only a small amount of circulation should be required to keep it from becoming stagnent. All in all, mine is about 700 gallons with a waterfall and two filters...one internal and one external. They are a lot of work...but worth it. Here is a picture. Frozen...right after we put it in. Enjoy, Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdv Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 My father also had a huge problem with racoons as well, he had to put up the electric fencing also. The easiest way to protect against them is either to get a liner or build one with an immediate drop off of atleast 18" at the edge and have overhanging flat rocks, and get some deep parts around 3 feet or so, adding plants and such makes it even more difficult. Or you can do what my father does, sit in his backyard all night long with a pellet gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defigart Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Or you can do what my father does, sit in his backyard all night long with a pellet gun. I wonder how many shots I can get off before the neighbors call the police? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdv Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 I wonder how many shots I can get off before the neighbors call the police? The only noise his gun makes is the pellet hitting the fence when he's shooting at it. Can't say much for his aim, he hit it once I believe, and just stunned it. They don't actually have the velocity to do physical damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.