The plan is to join preformed ponds together

[guitarman023]

Hi, I'm new to this forum, and I was just curious if anyone here had ever taken several preformed ponds and modified them to tie them together to make a larger pond. The only reason I ask is I was recently given 7 different preformed ponds of various sizes, the largest being 300 gallons. I setup two of them using the 300 gallon one for four five month old koi, however, this will not be a happy place for them as they grow. I would like to use the preformed ponds, simply because I have them and I like the shape of them. My current plan is to cut sections out of them, and join them all together using a liner, for a pond of about 1000 gallons roughly. Just curious if there was anyone with some better options? I'll get pics of my current setup as soon as I'm able.

 

[guitarman023]

a couple pics
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2172-pond-as-of-6272012/
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2173-extra-ponds-for-future-development/

 

[ididntdoit99]

There are people that have done it. I have always wondered about large corrugated tubing split in half so its just a u shaped channel, and then plastic welded together.

 

[Waterbug]

Very difficult. Depends on the material the pond shells are made of. Many are thin and brittle plastic. If the liner is to be used to join the shells the liner really should be bolted to the shell, exactly like liner is joined to a Savio skimmer. You can just use goops of course... I wish you luck.

If your plan is to cut these up and then lay a single liner over the whole lot that would be water tight. Not sure why you'd do that though.

Tip on cutting plastic..better to melt plastic to cut it than to use a saw or shears. Less likely to crack later. A soldering iron works well but in a pinch, for small jobs, you can heat a nail with a torch and use that.

I've been thinking about using performs recently because they're so cheap. Craig's List always seems to have a ton of them as people give up on keeping a pond. I'd only use them as bog planters.

 

[guitarman023]

i plan on using a single liner, and in the middle increasing the depth to four or five feet. I just like the shapes of the preforms, and since I already have them, my layout is predesigned which is nice. 3 of 7 of them, have cracks anyways, and from what I've heard, no amount of sealant or welding will keep them from leaking because of the type of plastic it is, so a liner is my only option.

 

[ididntdoit99]

oh if you are going that deep my idea wouldnt work anyway, i just figured if you wanted small channels going from pond to pond like a stream, that would work.

Waterbug, Aren't those preformed ponds usually made of HDPE? As long as you use HDPE tubing it should be easy to do and should hold great.

 

[guitarman023]

the info I've read so far is that the liner remains flexible, but the welds don't, and they crack over time. I was actually thinking about the channel idea, but I've read that it creates circulation problems unless you have a pump in each pond. But yeah, if the welding idea has been done before, that would be great, liners are expensive.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Done by farmers anf manufactureres all the time,,, but thats on thicker plastic.... I've never even put my hands on a preformed liner, so I have no idea what they are made of or how thick they are. Jst always wondered about it when I saw people ask about connecting multiple ones.

 

[ididntdoit99]

As far as the circulation problems... I would think it would work geat for connecting one to the other with a bottom drain or something, making a second pond a settlement chamber or bog. Of course then fish couldn't swim between ponds, would just be connected underground with 3 inch pipe or something.

 

[guitarman023]

yeah, the whole idea is to get my current 300 gallon pond connected to the 700 gallons worth of other preformed pond I have sitting in the garage. I have four koi that won't be happy in such a small pond for much longer

 

[buckry]

You're going to spend weeks working on this, probably hundreds of dollars, and there is a very good chance it won't work. If you like the shapes of the preformed ponds flip them upside down, spray paint around them and then put in a flexible liner. This path you're heading down seems like it's going to be a total nightmare, there is no way it will be worth it. A liner that holds 1000 gallons is one of those $79 liners they carry at Home Depot. So all of this effort is just to save $79. Just turn away from this idea and slowly walk away.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Well I can tell you right now, your not to far away from me, our weather is failry similar, even if you find a way to connect them all, koi won't be happy in them for long anyway. Preforms aren't deep enough, they will fry in the summer heat, or freeze in the winter cold. If you really want to keep koi (even goldfish really, unless you plan on keeping them side all winter or running a lot of heat to your pond in the winter) you might as well sell those preforms, and hopefully msake enough money to buy a liner so you can go 4 feet deep minimum.

It really is a cool idea, and would work awesome for a water garden, but if you intent is to keep koi, you might as well sell those for $30-50 a piece on craigslist, and buy yourself a liner.

 

[rebelangel_3733]

well I think where there is a will...there is a way...just don't know the way lol good luck!

 

[ididntdoit99]

Oh yeah, there is a way, as waterbug said some people just glue it, I would run bolts through it to hold the liner to the preform.

Im just saying if the point of all of this is to keep koi, even when you accomlish this, its still not a great koi pond.

 

[don't ask]

ididntdoit...i thought the same thing at first and just make holes and use large diameter piping to join (would be like tunnels from one to the other

guitarman, if you really like the shape perhaps i'd do something along the lines of what buck said ...turn upside down and spray paint the perimeter and then use liner and did a hole...or possibly what you said and dig the main pond using liner so it's deep enough and use the preforms as elevated ponds connected to each other with piping, as long as you can get a good seal between them all, that way you have you the best of both worlds and it would be pretty unique i think