If you're about to take the leap into the pond world, this series of articles should give you some valuable insight and hopefully help you avoid costly mistakes in your design.
We'll talk about planning and basic construction methods for ponds.
During the planning phases, you'll need to decide what type of pond you'll be building.
By that I mean, will it just be a water feature or will it house fish and plants?The difference being a water feature without any fish or plants can be designed to use chlorinated water, which will keep the feature pretty clean.
A pond that is sued to house fish or plants cannot have any chlorine in it because that chemical will kill both plants and fish.
In that case, you'll need a filter system that will accommodate the reduction in fish waste produced on a daily basis.
Using a UV filter will also help keep algae growth down in a pond too.
Salt levels can be kept higher, if you're not going to have any plants in the pond or water feature.
The extra salt will aid in the fish's protection against various parasites.
That much salt will harm plant life so it's best to know your direction up front.
Once you know what direction you plan to take with your pond, you'll have to evaluate the surrounding in which you plan to place the pond.
This is a crucial step, because not only will you need a place to put the pond, you'll need a place to house any equipment that will run the pond.
It is also advisable to check with your City's planning department and acquire the necessary permits to install the pond, especially if there is digging involved.
Your local utilizes department may also have various pipes and such running through your yard that you'll need to research.
Once the proper permits have been researched and you ensured that there is nothing in your way of digging, you can begin the process of deciding how all of your pond components will lay out.
Now is the time to consider the actual nature of the pond itself.
Have you considered what the pond or water feature will look like?Will it be a natural setting or something more formal?Will there be running water from a waterfall, for instance?How about a stream?Do you plan to landscape lightly or more heavily around the pond? If you're going to build a more natural looking pond, this can be accomplished with either the use of a structured material like concrete (that is waterproofed later with something like a non toxic epoxy, for instance), a sprayed in liner system (like Polyurea), or a rubber/plastic liner.
If you live in a rural area, you may find a natural pond setting actually fits in with the current ambience of your yard and its surroundings.
A more formal pond might consist mainly of a structured material like concrete and stone.
In some cases, you may even decide to use a variety of tile in your construction.
This can help tie the pond's aesthetics in with the look and feel of your home.
Finally, you'll have to think about the equipment and materials that you'll need for the project.
This is definitely not the time to skimp on cost.
What you purchase now should be high quality and be something that will last your years.
Good quality equipment and materials will also mean less maintenance too.
Research and ask a lot of questions.
A good supplier or manufacturer should know their product inside and out.
They should also be able to do a reasonable comparison between their product and competitors products.
You are the buyer; you deserve to know all of the facts about what you plan to purchase.