My husband and I are going to put in a pond but we are clueless on how to start..we did get our pond liner and thats it..we havent dug anything and hoped to get some good info from this forum..any info would be appreciated....Judy
How do I start a pond?
well first you have to locate a spot you want it. I like to use an extension cord to lay out a pattern. You can move it around and such til you have a shape you like. Full sun or at least partial sun is needed for most pond plants like water lilies. Avoid locating too close to trees what will throw off too much shade, shed leaves in the pond, or have roots too near the pond.
You have to decide what kind of plants/fish you want in the pond and wether or not you want a water fall, this will all determine how big you make it.
Next you have to decide how deep and allow for 'shelves' or different levels of depth as you dig. Shallow areas are needed for setting potted water plants.
You will need to decide what kind of water features, filter, fountain, discharge ect that you want and where you are going to locate your electric.
You will need an underlayment of some kind.
Choose a type of rock for the edging of the pond.
And you will need to decide what happens to the dirt you dig out. Will you use it somewhere else, or haul it off, or use it to mold the waterfall?
how big is your liner?
You will need to keep the size of your liner in mind when you put your extension cord or hose down as Frilly mentioned. You don't want to go beyond the size of the liner.
Juttz has a preformed pond, the same type I have. I would suggest when you are ready to start digging to put the pond on top of the ground and mark with chalk, or dig pieces out around the perimeter of the pond. Dig down a couple of feet and set it in. You can make adjustments then, and either take out more dirt or add alittle bit back.
We hid the black top of the pond with flat slate. You can inspect it in detail when you come Labor Day Weekend!
Theresa
Very nice. Wondering what kind of fish you have?
LOL Carolyn, I have the fake kind. I sometimes have real ones but not this year.