POLL: Which Pond Layout

[TallGrassBigSky]

Hi Folks,

I have my pond liner on order and have been waffling on my pond layout. It's going in a long and narrow side of my yard. It's going to be at least 19 feet long by 9 feet wide and 4 feet deep. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and want to make sure it's deep enough for fish to survive.

What pond layout would you chose and why? (Please see attached drawing for options.) What do you like about your pond layout?

I've attached a few pictures:

1/ Drawing of four layouts I'm considering.
2/ Picture of yard w/garden hose showing option #1. (The cardboard section is going to be a vegetable garden.)
3/ Picture of yard w/hose showing option #2.
4/ Picture of yard w/hose showing option #3.

It's not obvious, but the yard to the right of the pond layout is a native flower garden and it slopes down a lot there, which is why the pond edge ends where it does. The space is narrower than it appears, so creating bays or indents is not super easy because it's a long pond and tends to look awkward with too many "arms."

My plan is:

-At end of the pond near the house I want to build a long and wide shallow 6-inch shelf with flagstone that will act as a "beach" for people and my dogs to walk in. A narrower staircase will lead to the bottom.

-I plan for a 12-inch deep shelf all around for marginal plants.

-BUT for option #2 with the divot in the middle, I would cut that divot section straight down 2-feet as a feeding station for fish and a place where people can sit in and dangle in their legs.

-I plan for a 2-feet-deep shelf in much of the far side of the pond near the garage for water lilies because that area gets the most light. I'll also have a 2-feet-deep shelf in other sections of the pond.

-I don't know if I need a 3-feet-deep shelf or not. Can't get a good answer on whether any plants (water lilies?) need that depth.


Thanks for your input!

 

[Tula]

I don't think you listed this shape as a option, but I like kidney shaped pools and ponds. An oval will be the simplest shape to plan for, in terms of filtration / water flow. I personally prefer a little more natural shape, with some small coves.

 

[Lisak1]

Honestly, your four choices will end up looking very similar once you add rocks and plants. I would choose the shape that gives me the biggest pond I can fit in the area I have to work with! Leave yourself room to walk around the pond once you have plants growing around it and any of those would be pretty!

The only one of the four I would shy away from is #2 - unless the final shape is more kidney shaped than your drawing portrays, you could end up with some dead spots where waterflow is reduced with those curves.

A more important point is where will your waterfall and skimmer go? You want them to be as much opposite each other as possible. Where do you see yourself viewing the pond from? Can you see it from inside the house?

 

[TallGrassBigSky]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I thought about a kidney shaped pond but a few reasons I didn’t list it as an option is because it greatly reduces the size of the pond and the surface area, and I can’t get a nice rounded curve on the top edge (far right side) of the pond because that’s where the ground slopes.

The symmetrical oval/rectangle with rounded corners gives me the largest size, which is one reason I’m drawn to it.

Thank you both very much for the insights!

 

[addy1]

The symmetrical oval/rectangle with rounded corners gives me the largest size, which is one reason I’m drawn to it.

Good choice!

 

[GBBUDD]

I SACRAFICED space for design would not change a thing.

 

[JamieB]

I like the divot in the middle as a feeding/ footdangle, but do what will bebest for you.

 

[TallGrassBigSky]

I SACRAFICED space for design would not change a thing.

Thank you everyone who has shared some opinion. They really do help.

@GBBUDD: Can you post a photo of your pond here and tell me more about it’s size and why you chose your layout?

The comment by @Lisak1 about how all the shapes will look similar once the pond is planted really struck me, as it wasn’t something I had considered before.

I plan to have a large shelf of marginals on the end near the garage and along the right side of the pond in spots, which makes me think it would add asymmetry.

 

[GBBUDD]

Thank you everyone who has shared some opinion. They really do help.

@GBBUDD: Can you post a photo of your pond here and tell me more about it’s size and why you chose your layout?

at the bottom of every one of my posts there is the text in blue " hyper link" https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/going-for-it-phase-one-12-000-gallon-pond.22563/

more pics then you would like to see go to the end for almost finished photos

Size ok... 33x25 outline main of main pond one end is 11 feet wide that narrows to 6 feet where it meets the main section thats 28 feet . upper pond where waterfalls drop from is 16x6 stream is 27x5 small bog 6x9x1 and main bog is 18x9x7

 

[GBBUDD]

If you are planning this out here are some videos for ideas and dreams

Some very impressive pond builds

https://whttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TOMbsvXjX8 ww.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc36HtktJD0

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[Lisak1]

@GBBUDD your "sacrificial space" is the size of most of our ponds. haha!

 

[GBBUDD]

@GBBUDD your "sacrificial space" is the size of most of our ponds. haha!

We renamed it ,,,, And today i tried it out i made a 1/4" plywood insert 4 foot tall and the widthe of the narrowest opening being 24" and i fed the fish in that area got them over to the new area the sacraficial area as you called it and caught three fish in less then 5 minutes .....SUCCESS ..... But we renamed that area .... to the ........DEAD POOL....... lol

 

[GBBUDD]

When i heard that most people built three ponds big bigger biggest well i know myself and my fish hobby so i went for the Colossal. and didn't waste my time ripping out the smaller ponds.

 

[TallGrassBigSky]

@GBBUDD your "sacrificial space" is the size of most of our ponds. haha!

Yeah, the space you had available makes your situation very different. I’m working with a very tight and narrow space.

 

[Jhn]

.....SUCCESS ..... But we renamed that area .... to the ........DEAD POOL....... lol

Haha good one