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Pond Construction

Studying the soil type, topography, and water drainage is quite significant before constructing any pond. And that's not all; you have to consider so many other factors before taking out your tools.

The construction of a pond seems like a challenging task to take care of, well that's not in our case. We guarantee all our clients an excellent healthy pond with a natural look from winter to summer seasons. For the past decades, we have built an incredible reputation in the pond industry. We got everything you need to know to start constructing and come up with an impeccably finished pond.

How Much Does Pond Construction Cost?

The total price of pond construction ranges based on a variety of factors. Here are some figures only for example. As of 2021, a small pond project cost ranges from £5.50 to £11.50 per square foot, where if the pond project is massive, the cost range from £3.50 to £7.50 per cubic yard.

Here are a few of the factors that affect the cost of establishing a pond:

  • the type of the pond
  • the size, depth, and whether there are fish
  • the materials for use
  • the type of the liner material
  • the location and properties of soil

Smaller ponds of water are moderately shallow, between 2 to 3 feet deep. These ponds do not require as much digging as larger pond projects do. Smaller projects costs are generally quoted per square foot, while for larger pond projects per cubic yard.

How Much Does it Cost to Build a 1-Acre Pond?

The price quote for constructing a pond in acres is usually evaluated per cubic yard or square acre. These projects not only do they cover more surface area but tend to have a high depth.

How Much Does Pond Construction Cost?

How Deep Should a Pond Be?

The deeper the pond, the less possibility sunlight will reach the bottom of the pond. The minimum depth a pond should have is 8 feet deep (almost 2.5 metres). Anything less than that, you're going to have issues during winter with it freezing or in the summer when it gets too hot evaporating much water. Shallow waters also have high growth of weeds and algae.

With excess evaporation, you're going to have an absolute maintenance nightmare. If you want to construct a pond full of aquatic life, for instance, a koi pond, we recommend a depth of 10-12 feet to keep the waters cool throughout the summers.

How Deep Should a Pond Be?

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How to Get Started With the Basics of Pond Construction

Here is what to consider when getting a well-decorated pond that is likely to bring possible tranquility and beautiful scenery to your garden:

Location Choice

It is quite challenging to find the perfect location for the construction of a pond. Ensure the pond stands out noticeably from all different angles. Outline the spots either by using spray paint, laying down a garden hose or string. This perfectly sketches out the pond before you begin digging.

Here are a few tips folks should consider when drafting for a pond installation:

Nearness 

You wouldn't want the pond to be accessible to many people to keep it replenished for your guests to catch sight of. However, the construction site of the pond should be easily reachable by road or any other means of transport.

Coherency 

The pond base should integrate excellently with the surrounding features. It has to be part of the landscape or be polished off by the ground level. Overhanging trees (if present) provides a shade over the surface of the pond water and creates favorable conditions for marginal plants to grow, improving the pond life.

Range of Vision

Before we establish the pond, the point of view should be largely open. This not only improves the viewing area but brings in warm temperatures that cause weeds and algae to grow faster, improving dissolved oxygen levels. However, if we expose your pond to full sunlight, there will be much more algae growth, which will suppress or starve other conditions of the pond life.

Size and Depth Considerations

After satisfying the pond's location, determine what size and depth the pond should have before giving it a dig. If you want to start on a large scale, you will need a large and deeper pond for your increasing number of fish. However, you may want to start small and expand over the years.

An average pond measures 24 feet in length by 12 feet in width with a 4 feet depth, especially for a koi pond. Depth of the pond allows for freezing, especially during winter seasons. The pond can accommodate dozens of fish (twenty-12 inch fish or ten-24 inch fish) without overcrowding. Determine the volume of the pond you want to establish using the formula:

(Length x Width x Depth) x 7.5 = Volume of water in gallons

Drains at the Pond Bottom

Your pond covers a large area of your yard. Everything from the surroundings falls to the bottom of the pond, from leaves to other debris. This doesn't consider the droppings and fish feed that find their way at the bottom of the pond. The frequent build-up of this debris sooner or later becomes pond sludge.

Creating a bottom drain pipe draws all this debris, filters, and disposes of it. The bottom drain will considerably minimize the costs you will incur by cleaning the pond.

The Filter System

A perfectly working filter system that can handle wastes in the koi ponds guarantees good health for the ponds' life. However, if your garden pond is a mess, you will not achieve the standards of maintaining the fish inside.

For instance, we can add some gravel and bio-balls inside your filter box. Arrange them evenly at the bottom. Then on top, place a flexible fine filter. The gravels and bio-balls act as filters to absorb fish waste and debris, balancing the pond ecosystem.

Recommend a pump with at least a water flow rate of 400 gallons per hour. The ideal flow rate ranges between 500 to 750 gallons per hour. Disassemble the pump and familiarize yourself with the components, as they will need to be maintained on a seasonal basis.

For an excellent filtration system in your pond, consider the following components:

Bottom Drain

We have already covered the topic of establishing a bottom drain in the above section. Bottom drains will often have ventilation emerging from the gutter to drive the sludge down the pipework. If a pond covers a large surface area, you might need to launch another drain to increase the sludge flow rate out of the pond.

Settling Chambers

As the word suggests, this is where solid sludge settles out. The bottom drain connects itself to the settling chamber having a pump that sucks out the water and debris through biological and mechanical filtration's.

Biological Filtration

It is the chemical part of the filtration process that take-in toxic ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites. These are the by-products of the fishes that habitat the pond. Biological filtration is obliged to the breakdown of these waste materials ensuring the perpetuity of the pond.

Mechanical Filtration

It is the physical part of the filtration process that assimilates the sludge. The larger debris is sieved out by the coarse mesh part of the equipment. The next finer part of the mesh equipment sorts out the smaller debris.

Once every coarse and fine waste material is sieved out, ensure to maintain it regularly. Keeping your pond in good shape minimizes the costs incurred when cleaning it.

How to Get Started With the Basics of Pond Construction

Types of Ponds

There are two categories of ponds that is formal ponds and informal ponds. They are then divided into several types of ponds of different sizes and unique features out there. It would be best if you chose before you start establishing a pond in your garden.

Here are some of the ponds one should get acquainted with:

Concrete Ponds

Concrete ponds are the most rigid and durable ponds when constructed sensibly. They are rectangular or square in shapes and exhibit sharp edges. These features make it compelling in a formal pond setting.

However, a concrete pond has some drawbacks as they are costly during construction and time-consuming. They also pose a challenge during repair, especially when cracks develop. The concrete must be seasoned or treated before bringing in fish or pond plants. Put a cinder block to stabilize the pH variations inside the pond.

Butyl Pond

Butyl ponds are flexible to allow for the utmost freedom of size and shape. They are ideally made of butyl liner (butyl rubber), specifically convenient for a natural appearance. Butyl liner is an affordable but heavy material to launch than a Polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Butyl pond has a viability of at least 25-50 years. It is applicable in black only, which is the most acceptable and intuitive colour for a pond liner.

Koi Pond

Koi pond domesticates a fish species in East Asia, especially in Japan and Central Europe. We guarantee the health of this expensive and valuable koi fish. We must regularly maintain the koi ponds through thorough inspections.

Koi ponds are commonly constructed with a pond liner that is either vinyl or butyl. The advantage of using a pond liner is that you can save on costs. However, it takes much more effort when launching it. If you are looking for professional assistance when building a koi pond on your property, you can look to our team for help in design and support.

Swimming Pond

Swimming ponds are generally used for recreational purposes. A deeper swimming pool is ideal for adults and teenagers. However, if the pool is in a residential garden, it should be 8 feet deep.

To get a great deal of pleasure, you should determine the following during construction:

  • size of the pool
  • location for construction.
  • The position concerning the surrounding buildings and plants, and growth of roots.

Wildlife Pond

Nature is usually in control over a wildlife pond. Wildlife comprises plants and animals, including insects, frogs, and salamanders. While constructing a wildlife pond, features used to establish ideal conditions in other ponds are not included here, for example, filter box, pump, and liner.

Choose your plants carefully to make sure you have different kinds available. Make sure at the edges of the pond soft vegetation runs down them. In a few weeks, your pond will be a wildlife haven.

Types of Ponds

Pond Construction Guide

There are several ways of constructing a pond. When building a pond, begin by laying down a garden hose, then start digging out a hole of the prescribed shape. Determine what type of waterproof material to use at the ground level of the pond. The materials used in creating a pond consist of pond underlay, pond liner, flexible liner, and butyl liner.

Follow our step by step guide below, and you will be able to set up a peaceful pool in your garden:

Lay Out the Pond Shape

Before we begin digging, we outline the exact shape of the pool area using a rope. Consider the surface soil conditions of your garden are favourable for construction. Remember to avoid constructing the pond near overhanging plants. Make sure there are no utility lines and other foliage. Position the pond in direct sunlight to create good conditions for the growth of algae plants for your fish.

Start Digging

Begin to dig at the pond edge where you have marked out with a rope. Excavate the sharp stones using a shovel and wheelbarrow. Slope the sides at an angle of 45 degrees, not in a vertical manner. A 45 degrees angle makes it easier to conceal the concrete pond.

Ensure the pond volume is reasonable so that the pump does not run out of water before filling it up. For instance, for a swimming pool, a depth of 1.5 meters (5 feet) is enough for someone to jump in quickly. Remove all the sharp objects and dirt from the new pond after completing the excavations on the sides.

Create Plant Shelves

Dig out shelves for plants around the whole pond. Exclude the point where water returns to prevent the interference of water flow. The pond basket should be positioned on a marginal shelf. It should have a depth of about 30cm to avoid the risk of the plants tumbling inside the pond. We should also place the top of the pond basket around 2-3 centimetres below the water surface.

Pond Underlay Installation

Before getting ready to fill the pond with water, we lay a pond underlay. Ensure no sharp objects like sharp stones, rocks, and roots where you lay the pond liner. Consider the contours and depth of the pond to avoid the risk of the installed pond liner from falling off.

Pond underlay is not always the case, specifically in ponds that experience little to no weight on the sides. In this scenario, the longevity of the pond liner increases. Add a layer of sand, especially if the excavation area is rough. Keep in mind to have the same amount of underlay as the pond liner.

Pond Liner Installation

The process of installing a pond liner is much similar to the underlay. After wrapping up all underlay areas, coming up next is the point of laying a pond liner. Having patience at this stage pays off big time.

Make sure the pond liner lays nice and flat into the pond without disturbing the underlay. Accomplish this with a series of overlaps and creases throughout the bends. You don't want things too tight, leave a little bit of excess flexible liner. When we fill the pond with gallons of water, it is not going to tug on the liner in any way and stretch it out.

Placing Rocks Your Pond

Rocks give the pond a natural look and help protect the liner from prolonged UV light exposure. The rocks also create a healthy pond environment for fish as the beneficial organic matter colonizes their surface area. Microorganisms in the pond help break down the fish waste and other debris, keeping the pond clear.

Adding a lip of rocks right against the liner to stop the surface runoff. You don't want the water to flow from your garden into the pond as it may interfere with the pond's water level pH.

Fill the Pond With Water

Ensure an adequate 50cm overlap around the outer edge before you pump water into the pond. This is to prevent the liner ponds from moving as water pressure presses them down through any openings. Use a freshwater source that doesn't have chloramines that can kill the bacteria colonizing the pond.

After the pond reaching the water level required, leave it for some time for it to settle. Add some pond plants like water lettuce to give it a vibrant appearance. Plants also aid in oxygenating the water and act as biofilters.

Pond Construction Guide

Conclusion

Constructing a healthy pond starts with the basic techniques and methods most homeowners use. Your financial position determines the type of pond, size, filtration systems, and materials you will bring in during construction. Always filter your pond, feed your fish well, and monitor the water quality.

Suppose you are looking for an expert in pond construction. Reach out to us, and we will dispatch a team to your location. We provide professional pond construction design for our clients. We guarantee 100% customer satisfaction 24/7 hours a day.

Conclusion

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Pond Construction FAQs

How much does pond construction cost?

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How deep should a pond be?

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Do you need a permit to dig a pond?

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What do I need for an outdoor pond?

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How much does it cost to build a 1 acre pond?

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What makes a pond a pond?

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