Need ideas for raised bed ponds

[Gralston]

I’m getting these two ponds and the waterfall. Originally I had just ordered the one with the ledge which is 145 gallons, but I found the other two at a junk shop and they were a great deal so I got them too. I was planning to make a raised bed to put the original pond in, but now I’m wondering if there’s a way to connect all three pieces, maybe at varying levels. The pond without the ledge is 100 gallons, so I’m thinking it would be the top level, then the streamlet would connect the two, flowing down into the second pond. Does anyone have ideas for layouts, or other suggestions for how to make this? I’m a pretty visual person, so it’s hard for me to envision the details. The last picture is what I originally planned. Thanks for your help!

 

[mgmine]

If I were doing that I would have a few loads of dirt brought in and set the ponds in the dirt. You can sculpt the dirt the way you want the ponds to look and function.

 

[GBBUDD]

Welcome to the forum
Sorry not preforms aren't my strong suite

 

[mrsclem]

I would go with the plan on the last photo and make multiple raised beds at different levels to get the cascading effect. Raised bed waterfall!

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome to the GPF!

What if the top level was in the raised bed and the waterfall cascaded down to the bottom level, which was in the ground? You'd need to cut the cascade in to one side of the raised bed, but you'll be doing a little customizing anyway. I think the cascade is meant to be the top level so you'll need to figure out how to get the water from the small pond into the waterfall as well.

Just one word of warning about these pre-form ponds - they need to be extremely stable and level or they are prone to cracking. In zone 6A you may have some issues with heaving during frost, especially in a raised bed. Lots of sand is the way I would go.

 

[mgmine]

Don't forget that in order to have a raised bed it has to be raised. If it is going to be cascading that means long legs on a square shallow box. If you don't put a bottom on the box then the pond will just fall through. How strong does the bottom have to be in order to hold a pond full of water? I would think that in order to do something like this you would need to bring in a lot of dirt or buy a lot of wood to build the legs. Then you still need to buy dirt to fill in around the ponds. I go back to my original suggestion and just bring in a pile of dirt and set the ponds in the dirt. If for whatever reason you want to make it look like raised beds then buy a hundred dollars worth of pressure-treated lumber and build the boxes.

 

[Gralston]

Welcome to the GPF!

What if the top level was in the raised bed and the waterfall cascaded down to the bottom level, which was in the ground? You'd need to cut the cascade in to one side of the raised bed, but you'll be doing a little customizing anyway. I think the cascade is meant to be the top level so you'll need to figure out how to get the water from the small pond into the waterfall as well.

Just one word of warning about these pre-form ponds - they need to be extremely stable and level or they are prone to cracking. In zone 6A you may have some issues with heaving during frost, especially in a raised bed. Lots of sand is the way I would go.

Thanks for the reply! I’ve been thinking about how to configure the ponds and I think I’ve decided to leave off the little cascade. The suggestion about the sand is helpful, I hadn’t really thought about that. The larger pond has a deeper section, and I am planning to have that part buried, which I figure is about 9”, then have the remaining 9” above ground. I was playing around with some layouts and this is what I came up with. I saw on another post where someone had cut out a section of the lip of the pond and added a spillway, so I might do that To the smaller, more amorphous pond. Obviously it would sit slightly higher than the other pond. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks again for your help!

 

[Gralston]

Don't forget that in order to have a raised bed it has to be raised. If it is going to be cascading that means long legs on a square shallow box. If you don't put a bottom on the box then the pond will just fall through. How strong does the bottom have to be in order to hold a pond full of water? I would think that in order to do something like this you would need to bring in a lot of dirt or buy a lot of wood to build the legs. Then you still need to buy dirt to fill in around the ponds. I go back to my original suggestion and just bring in a pile of dirt and set the ponds in the dirt. If for whatever reason you want to make it look like raised beds then buy a hundred dollars worth of pressure-treated lumber and build the boxes.

I wasn’t really planning on having the raised beds be that tall. I’ve decided to bury the deeper section of the larger pond (first picture), which would leave about 9” above ground. I posted some more information about what I’m thinking in a previous response. Thanks!

 

[HARO]

For what it's worth, it is rather difficult to add a spillway to a pre-form. I know of no reliable glue that will stick to the plastic. You would have to shape one out of something like stainless steel, then rivet or bolt it to the side of the form, with some sort of sealant in between.
John