Garden Pond Building Ideas

Right Site

• Building a pond requires the ability to maneuver freely around the site. This will not change once the pond is created. You may have to change the pond's water, prune plants or perform other pond-related activities requiring accessibility. Sunlight also will affect the choice of site, as ponds containing fish and plants need at least six hours of sunlight each day. The more sunlight, the healthier plants will be. Other considerations regarding site needs include having a good drainage area, as well as screens against high winds. (Some wind is needed for air circulation.) Things to avoid include overhanging trees and messy plants.

Building Basics

• Ponds are created with concrete, PVC and butyl rubber unless you buy ready-made models. An advantage of pre-molded ponds is they can be removed and taken with you if you move to another home. A pre-molded pond, made of Polyethylene, comes in a variety of sizes as well as shapes, and is fast and easy to install. Ponds built with concrete don't offer this type of ease and flexibility, and they need to cure for about eight hours before being filled with water. Ponds built with concrete and PVC built may leak or crack, creating additional problems.

Balance

• A pond needs balance or too much algae will grow, turning the pond murky green or brown. Ponds require several natural items to avoid this problem such as water lilies, oxygenated grass, snails and fish. Ponds formed by nature automatically have these items, but gardeners can add these items to ponds they create. Balanced ponds need a medium to large water lily, two fish (4 to 5 inches long), two bunches of oxygenated grasses (such as anacharis or sagittaria sinensis, and 12 water snails for every square yard of surface area, according to "Water Gardening Basics."