starting from the beginning

[tom213]

hi guys, if you havent seen my other page ive just bought a house and would like to put a pond in the garden, what id like to know is the best way to go about this?

i'd prefer it to be above ground as it seems like it would be safer with a young niece coming round quite often.

in doing this would it be easier to use a pre-fab pond and block it up or use a liner?

im sure there will be loads more questions but i'll try to space them out.

thanks

tom

 

[CeeJayH]

Tom welcome,
There are a few of us Brits on here. I built a raised pond last year using concrete blocks and a liner. I prefer it as it brings the pond up to "comfortable sitting" level. I have a showcase album of pics on this forum showing the construction.
Chris

 

[Dave 54]

We sit above our pond looking down upon it Tom ours was a pre caste 1,000 gallon former koi dealership QT tank retro fitted for pond use then clad in a timber frame .
A tip put a bottom drain in they make life so much easier and keeps the bottom of the pond spotless apart from algea

Dave

 

[DrCase]

Raised ponds are the way to go for sure
For me a liner is a lot easier to get perfectly level ,than a molded pond

 

[Dave 54]

Raised ponds are the way to go for sure
For me a liner is a lot easier to get perfectly level ,than a molded pond

Ours is just sitting on the ground @DrCase with just the bottom drain in the ground

Dave

 

[addy1]

If you have stock tanks there, they make nice ponds. I have one that is a1000 gallons. You do need to have a good base to make it level.
The small preform ponds are a pain, I just had one crack after 4 years in the ground.

 

[mgmine]

Unless the pond was built pretty high I'm not sure how a raised pond would be safer than an in ground one. As far as the construction I would bring in a lot of fill and make a berm as high as necessary then put a liner in. That way it would be above ground and could be built to what ever shape or size you wanted,

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Unless the pond was built pretty high I'm not sure how a raised pond would be safer than an in ground one. As far as the construction I would bring in a lot of fill and make a berm as high as necessary then put a liner in. That way it would be above ground and could be built to what ever shape or size you wanted,

Even the highest raised pond wall could be scaled and fallen into, but generally even a small wall of 18" or so is enough to prevent toddlers from accidentally falling into a pond. It's natural for young children to want to stick their hands in the water to feed or touch the fish. Having a raised edge allows them to do that with much less danger of falling in to the water.

 

[tom213]

thanks for all the replies, it will definatley help whichever way i go,

maybe a daft question, but do i need to put a concrete foundation down to stop sinking or subsidence? thanks

 

[Mucky_Waters]

thanks for all the replies, it will definatley help whichever way i go,

maybe a daft question, but do i need to put a concrete foundation down to stop sinking or subsidence? thanks

For walls holding back water you'll need some sort of footing for the foundation (some people use concrete blocks), especially for anything higher then 1 ft. But you don't necessarily need a concrete foundation under the pond itself. With time you'll likely get some sinking and stretching (shrinking?) of the liner, but you should leaving some extra liner on the sides of the pond to allow for that.

 

[tom213]

For walls holding back water you'll need some sort of footing for the foundation (some people use concrete blocks), especially for anything higher then 1 ft. But you don't necessarily need a concrete foundation under the pond itself. With time you'll likely get some sinking and stretching (shrinking?) of the liner, but you should leaving some extra liner on the sides of the pond to allow for that.

is there any sort of thickness per foot height i should know about or just a couple concrete blocks'll do it fine?

 

[tom213]

do they need concreting or re-baring together or just laid on top?
sorry i probably should know this but the answer is evading me,

what im planning to do hopefully is have a 3 level pond using liner and concrete blocks.
size will probably be 2.5m by 1.5 by 1 (depending on where it goes it will probably grow)

id like to have fish in there but stocking depends on size i think.

so starting off is how to build it really as i know nothing about the construction of a pond.

thanks all

 

[DrCase]

Ours is just sitting on the ground @DrCase with just the bottom drain in the ground

Dave

I'm sure yours sits good Dave
I was thinking more of the lesser pre forums from Lowes or HomeDepo
Like the one I bought

 

[tom213]

dont have lowes or home depo over here, my local garden centre is having a sale on pre-formed's

 

[DrCase]

dont have lowes or home depo over here, my local garden centre is having a sale on pre-formed's

If it had a flat bottom it would be easy to deal with