Hi, I was just wondering if anybody knew anything about building a DIY in-ground pond. I searched and I found a bunch of above ground ponds
... any help would be appreciated, thanks.
... any help would be appreciated, thanks.DIY inground pond
- Thread starter Davey_8313
- Start date
The soil's good around here. Would I just line it w/ like a pool liner or some other thick plastic material? Heating is the other thing I was wondering, how would I do it?
what shape are you looking for .
a sloped pond can be lined but one with vertical sides will need to be built up out of blocks .
check out the diy section on large tanks and search google on koi ponds .
heating can be a gas boiler system (cheapest to run )
or electrical .
building a greenhouse over it will also help store heat .
a sloped pond can be lined but one with vertical sides will need to be built up out of blocks .
check out the diy section on large tanks and search google on koi ponds .
heating can be a gas boiler system (cheapest to run )
or electrical .
building a greenhouse over it will also help store heat .
it's not horribly difficult...find (or level) a piece of flat ground...lay out the size and shape that youd like. (a hose works well for this) Keep in mind you need access to power for the pump and water. Check your utilities and make sure that none of then run through the part of your yard your planning on digging up. Once everythings clear...then start digging.
Once you have a hole in the ground it's decision time...Liner...(rubber sheet)...Clay...(natural packed material but not always available)...or cement...(reinforced with either rebar....chain link...or a combination of the two. (chicken wire and the like breaks down very quickly so is basicly useless for reinforcement.
Once all of the plumbing is done and the pond is lined then it's time to put in the border. (river rock...flagstone...gravil...or a combination) This hides the edge and smooths the transition into the rest of the yard. Normally it's a good idea to leave one planned low spot as an overflow on the side of the pond.
Add planters and/or substrait as desired and fill with water. (Note: IMO 'fishless' cycling is almost worthless in a pond. I use feeders. (before you start flaming me about cruelty you should know that in the last 6 ponds I built this way I lost a grand total of 3 fish....remember these came from the feeder bins... antway thats not a bad record at all.
Once the ponds established...(personally I recomend waiting at least a month) run a last series of water quality tests...and add fish. (NOTE: A pond is NOT an aquarium. do NOT overstock it!!!!)
Once you have a hole in the ground it's decision time...Liner...(rubber sheet)...Clay...(natural packed material but not always available)...or cement...(reinforced with either rebar....chain link...or a combination of the two. (chicken wire and the like breaks down very quickly so is basicly useless for reinforcement.
Once all of the plumbing is done and the pond is lined then it's time to put in the border. (river rock...flagstone...gravil...or a combination) This hides the edge and smooths the transition into the rest of the yard. Normally it's a good idea to leave one planned low spot as an overflow on the side of the pond.
Add planters and/or substrait as desired and fill with water. (Note: IMO 'fishless' cycling is almost worthless in a pond. I use feeders. (before you start flaming me about cruelty you should know that in the last 6 ponds I built this way I lost a grand total of 3 fish....remember these came from the feeder bins... antway thats not a bad record at all.
Once the ponds established...(personally I recomend waiting at least a month) run a last series of water quality tests...and add fish. (NOTE: A pond is NOT an aquarium. do NOT overstock it!!!!)
Thanks guys. Is their a certain depth that I should make it at least? Just buy regular feeder goldfish to put in it to help cycle?
what are you going for in the pond ?
here in the uk they say at least 2 feet but if you goin for tropics then get it as deep as possible as a larger volume of water will hold its heat better
here in the uk they say at least 2 feet but if you goin for tropics then get it as deep as possible as a larger volume of water will hold its heat better
Probably just gonna do some goldfish or koi, but I might go tropics. At least 3-4" probably if I'm gonna do tropics or deeper than that? It'd be nice to do a piranha pond, lol... but definitely not.