Building your Pond

Marking it out 

Once you have decided on your pond design it is time to start the actual building work. Either with a hosepipe, similar item or however you want, mark out roughly the edge of you pond.

 

Digging

It is now time to start digging, remembering where you have decided to have shelves and how deep you are going to dig. One other point to remember is that the top of the pond must be level all the way round otherwise when one side is full, liner will be showing on the higher side. 

 

Sand

A layer of soft sand could now be placed in the pond to help protect the liner/underlay from small stones or sharp objects. Obviously what can be covered by sand depends on the shape of you pond and if it has vertical sides it will be impossible to cover with sand, so just cover what you can. The bottom is the main area that may need extra protection. Please remember this step is not essential but will provide an extra level of protection for the line and also help level out the pond floor.

 

Filling Up

This bit is fairly straight forward but be prepared to get a bit wet (and maybe cold depending on time of year), as from my experience the best way to make sure the liner is positioned correctly is to get in (without shoes) while you are adding the water.  First of all get the liner into you hole roughly ensuring that enough liner is available all the way around the pond edge. Now start to add the water and as the water rises a few inches get in and make sure the liner is positioned correctly, making sure it is firmly pressed into all corners/areas of the pond, making folds as required. 

 

Edging

Edge your pond hold and cover up the pond liner. Add pump, filter and UV to keep the water clear.  

 

Plants

You can now add your plants straight away remembering that different plants perform different job. The first essential type that must be added if you are keeping fish are oxygenating plants. Many other varieties of  plants can be added to make your master piece more attractive. Although I have not used it yet one website I have recently found which seems to offer a wide variety of plants at reasonable prices is http://www.bromfieldaquatics.co.uk.