Pond liners allow flexibility in pond design and are usually the most economic method of pond construction. If the ground is stony a protective underlay is needed. Polythene is one of the cheapest materials, but is easily punctured and can be degraded by sunlight .A thick gauge is needed for ponds 1000 or 1500 gauge .PVC liners are more expensive, but are much stronger .Thicker grades 0.5-0.75mm/0.02-0.03 inches usually have a guarantee for up to 10 years . Be sure to buy PVC for pond use, as some may be toxic to fish .Butyl is considered to be the best quality pond lining material. Be sure to check your local laws for digging a pond, you may need a permit. Call the power, gas company to make sure there are no gas pipes ,power lines or sewer lines. Dig a test hole as deep as you want your pond to test the water level. If it fills up with water and it hasn't rained, the water table is too high.
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Preformed ponds are much easier to install than concrete ponds. Preformed ponds are made from reinforced plastic such as glassfibre, ABS, HDP and other forms of polythene .
video on how to install a preformed pond
Concrete Ponds
Concrete ponds are very sturdy and resistant to damage. concrete does not flex and is prone to frost damage, to overcome this the walls must be made thick
To provide the minimum flow required for a waterfall a pump that recircultes half of the pond's water volume is needed. Most pumps are rated in gallons per hour at differing heights above the water surface. This is known as the pump's lift or head.The amount pumped decreases with an increase in height .To play it on the safe side, make sure the max pump head height is above the total height for what you need .The closer the pump is to the waterfall or stream, the more efficient it will be. There are submersible and external pumps. Most garden ponds use a submersible pump, with the more expensive external pumps used for large waterfalls . Check the regulations in your state and city, a licensed electrician may have to do the wiring .
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Fountains come in two basic styles: spray or statuary.
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Bamboo pipe fountains deer-scarer type-shishi odoshi
How to make your own shishi odoshi
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Statuary Fountains
pond fountains on eBay
Wall Fountains
Be certain to place the wall fountain no higher above the catch basin than the diameter of the basin
Current filters for sale on eBay.
How to make fake rocks with concrete
Current waterfalls for sale on eBay.
video on how to build a waterfall
Popular Floating Plants
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water hyacinth |
water lettuce |
duckweed |
fairy moss
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Popular Marginal Plants |
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Houttuynia An East Asian herb,at home in shallow water. the chameleon is spectacular cannot be doubted, with there kaleidescope of creamy yellow, pink and red leaves. They grow to a foot or so in hight. In a sunny location they will produce more vibrant foliage, in shady locations the foliage fades to yellows and pinks.
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Pennywort You can pot themin under 5 inches of water. They are a vigorous growing plant . They get almost a foot in height and the leaves are 1-2 inches in diameter. |
Water Forget-me-not This beautiful shallow water plant produces wands of sky-blue flowers with yellow centers. Flowers May through September. Pinch plants for fuller growing habit or they grow quite long. This hardy plant will also grow in slow moving streams. |
Water Iris Very popular in ponds for its beauty and easiness to grow.
cattail Should be potted in lined ponds.
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Hibiscus coccineus Has brillant red flowers, hardy to USDA zone 6 and grow best in full sun to part shade, and they will tolerate regular garden soil conditions to wetland moisture levels. |
pontederia - pickeral rush Has blue,lavender,pink or white flowers, grows to 1 to 4 feet in height . |
horsetail Common horsetail will grow in dry or wet gardens. We recommend keeping it contained in pots in the pond or in container gardens because it can spread agressively. One of the few evergreen pond plants!
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Canna Most canna will grow in the water |
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water lilies Water lilies produce dramatic flowers and provide shade and cover for fish |
Lotus Produces large, fragant flowers. It is a tuber forming plant.Runners can grow 20 to 60 feet a year and should be contained. |
Pitcher plants Carnivorous plants for the bog garden that are easy to grow. |
Anacharis oxygenating underwater plant Anacharis is a great oxygenating plant. If you have enough, it will keep your pond clear. |
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video on using plants as a filter
Goldfish
Selective breeding starting in China 1,500 years ago has resulted in more than 100 vareities, from one inch to 16 inches long. Goldfish will grow to a size to suit your pond . Some goldfish ( Common,Comets, Shubunkins ) can overwinter in a pond, others such as fancy goldfish ( Oranda, Black Moor, Lionhead, Bubble eyes, Pompoms and Celestials ) need to be placed indoors in cold weather and also have eyesight problems and are more prone to disease .
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common goldfish, can grow larger than 12 inches and live up to 10 years |
The comet goldfish can be distinguished from the common goldfish by its long, single and deeply forked tail fin. Can grow up to 12 inches and live 7 to 10 years. Can live with koi. Usually more active than other goldfish. |
Shubunkin, nicknamed "Poor Mans Koi" with black,red and orange mottling on a bluish mother of pearl background. |
A veiltail fancy goldfish.They are not good swimmers but can be kept with other fancy goldfish. Veiltails will not accept temperatures below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.They have difficulty competing for food with more active goldfish. |
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Koi
Koi is from the Japanese nishikigoi 'colored carp.'Avaiable in a wide range of colors and varieties of pattern. A sociable fish, voracious eater and fast grower and become tame enough to eat from the hand. Koi can live 20 to 30 years with some living hundreds of years, the oldest ever recorded was 226 years old. They tend to root around at the bottom of ponds and are best kept in a plant free pond. A koi pond should be at least 2,000 gallons in volume and a minimum of 3 to 4 feet deep and can tolerate winters temps to just above freezing. Koi are compatible with other fish but will outcompete smaller fish at feeding time.Since goldfish and koi were developed from different species of carp, even though they can interbreed, their offspring are sterile. Two of the most popular are ghost koi and butterfly koi.
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Other Popular Pond Fish
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The three-spined stickleback grows to about 4 inches,the male builds a nest on the pond bottom
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tench is a bottom feeding fish and won't pose a threat to other fish like catfish.. There is also the ornamental golden tench. It needs some sinking food
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A fast moving orfe. Usually surface dwelling, will jump to try to catch insects A fast growing fish and can grow to 24 inches long and weight 6 pounds
A sterlet, a close relative of the sturgeon. Quiet and peaceful,they prefer medium sized and large ponds. Can grow up to 4 feet long, weigh 35 pounds and live 22-25 years. Care should be taken that they get enough food if there are other fish.
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mosquitofish These fish are native to the watershed of the Gulf of Mexico, where it has long been known that they feed readily on the aquatic larval and pupal stages of mosquitoes. Females reach 2.5 inches and males 1.5 inches |
Crayfish
Also known as crawfish and crawdads. They will try to capture goldfish and fry with their claws.They come in many colors, brown,white,black,orange and blue.
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Shrimp
Interesting to watch if you have a small pond, larger fish will try to eat them.
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To keep fish healthy and happy your pond needs certain temperatures, oxygen, pH levels and ammonia and nitrate control depending on your fish and a dechlorinating fluid if you add water from a water supply with chloramine or chlorine dioxide.An aerator may be needed to supply extra oxygen for your fish at night or hot weather. You can help aerate your pond by spraying it with a hose or stirring it. UV filters can be used for algae control. Fish may need rock salt to maintain their slippy mucus layer.
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Freshwater clams "Filter" feed on suspended algae and any other suspended
nutrients they filter out of the water such as fish waste. One large clamwill naturally filter as much as 0.5 to 1.25 gallons of water per hour helping your water stay crystal clear naturally. These are great for Koi ponds or aquariums and are very temperature hardy. They like to bury
themselves at least 50% into the substrate with their shell sticking out in a near vertical position. If your setup is bare bottom or without gravel they will be just fine and will adjust to their environment.
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Pond Snails
Popular pond snails are the ram's horn snail that graze the hard surfaces without damaging the foliage of submerged plants and grow to a size of a nickle,sometimes a quarter. Trapdoor snails also eat algea and uneaten fish food and grow to one inch to golf ball size and also do not eat plants and are winter hardy.
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Pond bridges on eBay
Lighting can make a dramatic enhancement to your pond area and increase safety. You can see your fish illuminated from below and color lenses can be added.
Fiber optic lighting offers many benefits over conventional lighting,allowing many fixtures, no electricity in the pond and do not generate heat. It makes them very safe for fish such as Koi. They can be placed in and around plants, flowers, and other potentially heat-sensitive objects without the risk of damage to them.If the light goes out you don't have to wade into the pond, retrieve the light, figure out how to open the fixture, change the light, and reseal the gasket: All you have to do is change a single low-cost bulb inside the illuminator (located on dry land). Colorwheel technology means colors can be changed with a remote control. A ground fault interrupter is required with underwater lighting.
Pond lights for sale on eBay
Fiber optic pond lights on eBay.
pond liners
RainBarrels
How to make rain barrels
Ortho All About Building Waterfalls, Ponds, And Streams
Design Your Own Pond and Water Garden
