How to Set Up a Water Garden or Preformed Pond

The installation of a prefabricated pond is a popular do-it-yourself job today. They facilitate the installation of ponds in any garden.

These days, premade pond kits may be found with relative ease. A readily available stock of pond supplies is available at most home improvement and hardware stores today. Most homeowners need a few hundred gallons, and you can find kits at places like Walmart that have that much storage space.

It’s essential to think through not only the pond’s layout but also whether or not it will house fish before selecting a pond kit. If fish are in your future, it’s usually best to have a slightly larger gallon size to give them some breathing room. The number of fish that can be kept in a pond safely depends on several factors, including the pond’s gallon capacity (a larger pond can house more fish) and the filtration system that will be used.

Many smaller ponds use mechanical filters, which work OK for most situations but can’t maintain a good enough water quality when a pond is overstocked with fish. Fish need a biological filter because problems like ammonia surges can kill them.

Now that the fundamentals are taken care of and the layout and placement are just as you envisioned them, it is time to shop. You might be shocked to learn that a wide variety of formats exist. Due to the lack of individualization in prefabricated ponds, this is an essential step. You get to choose the form and dimensions. You might want to look at a rubber liner instead if you need or enjoy more options. These can be molded to fit ponds of varying sizes and shapes.

Since we’re talking about prefabricated ponds, you should realize they’re much more complicated to puncture than rubber. Like any plastic, they pose a threat of cracking in freezing temperatures. The water in a tiny pond like this should be drained, and the pond should be covered until the spring.

A tiny pond installation is excellent for a do-it-yourself job. Finding a pond kit that includes the liner or shell and the mechanical components like the filter and pump will simplify the process. Most of these are well-designed, meaning the machinery can easily accommodate the pond’s volume. This eliminates unnecessary guesswork and guarantees a solid foundation upon which to build.

The digging required to create a pond is, by far, the most labor-intensive component of the process. Unless, of course, your idea of fun is to dig. You’ll need to level off a space that’s the right size and depth for the pond liner. Take care not to slack off. Fill in any gaps between the earth and the shell and ensure the dig closely matches the shape. This guarantees that it will have sound underpinnings.

After the prefabricated pond shell has been set in place and secured, and the mechanicals have been installed, water can be added. Put enough water to cover the pond’s bottom by a few inches and then wait a day. Because of this, any chlorine is neutralized. At this time, you can also supplement the water with beneficial microorganisms if you like. You can also put in some aquatic plants like lilies if you want the look. The final step is to stock the pond with goldfish or koi.

The final stages of a do-it-yourself job like this may be just as exciting as the installation itself. You may make a prefabricated pond look like it was put there by nature by landscaping around it and concealing the pond’s edging with rocks or slate.

Mark Washburn provides valuable guidance on pond-related issues, especially prefabricated ponds, in his works. Visit us at PondTalk.com to read more of his pond maintenance articles.

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