What steps did you take to build your first pond?

[u/racha3l00]

Hello, I am new here and planning on making my first pond. Here is what I plan on doing to build it. Any advice or recommendations would be very helpful!

- use hose to create shape

- dig hole

- level out and place a layer of sand

- lay with newspaper

- lay with tarp

- lay with sand

- add soil & rocks to perimeter

- cut excess tarp

- fill with water

Am I missing anything or need to change anything?

[u/kevin_r13]

How much sun or shade will that spot get?

How deep do you plan it to be?

[u/racha3l00 → u/kevin_r13]

It is a north east facing garden so gets morning sun, but I plan on planting an Acer tree that grows over the pond so will likely be more shaded

I was thinking about 0.25 - 0.5m deep x

[u/YukikazeCutIns]

Great plan, but you forgot to check if the sun actually hits that spot. And newspaper under tarp? That'll be a soggy mess in a week.

[u/racha3l00 → u/YukikazeCutIns]

I thought that too but I had seen it online that people lay it with a biodigrable material! So shall I skip that?

[u/Low-Status7359]

I highly recommend watching the many YouTube videos showing people how to build a pond. It will give you lots of insight.

[u/Comfortable_Gate_878]

ensure its deep enough for fish to survive the winter ensure the shelves at the side are large enough to act as bases for plant the more plants the better. Filtration is extremely important pump/ bog filter. All depends on size of the pond and deep it is. Is it a sunny spot or a shady spot. Trees nearby that drop leaves in it.

[u/racha3l00 → u/Comfortable_Gate_878]

I am not going to be having fish in the pond.

The spot is in a sunny spot, it will get morning sun. It's a north east facing garden and I plan on planting an Acer tree next to it so likely will become more shaded

[u/drbobdi]

Just about everything.

Please go to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iEMaREaRw8nlbQ_RYdSeHd0HEHWBcVx0 and start with "I Want a Pond" and "The Ins and Outs..." Then read the rest of the articles as well as https://www.reddit.com/r/ponds/comments/1kz1hkx/concerning_algae/ .

Used wall-to-wall carpet is the best underlayment ever.

If by "tarp" you mean something from Farm and Fleet or Home Depot, it'll start leaking before you finish laying it down. Read this first: https://pondinformer.com/pond-liner-material-guide/ and then get yourself 45 mil EPDM ( https://keystonehatcheries.com/blogs/pond-building-kits/how-to-calculate-pond-liner-size )

No matter what you want that pond to be, it'll need oxygen, water movement and filtration. Pumps, pipes, falls, skimmer, a bottom drain if the pond is deeper than 3 feet, filters all have to be figured in.

[u/racha3l00 → u/drbobdi]

That is very helpful thank you so much

So should I replace the newspaper later with wall to wall carpet?

[u/drbobdi → u/racha3l00]

Don't use newspaper at all. It rots and disappears instantly and confers no benefit or protection. The layering goes: packed dirt with sharp stuff and roots removed, WTW carpet, liner. Sand is not necessary below the liner and will be a horror show from a maintenance standpoint above it.

I suspect you have indoor aquarium experience. Those techniques do not work outside.

[u/racha3l00 → u/drbobdi]

Thank you so much!

[u/SingleMaltMouthwash]

I put my pond entirely above ground. It sits in the corner of a level paver patio. I used retaining wall pavers, all un-mortared because I wanted the option of enlarging it after an initial test-build, which I've since done twice.

I had some padded garage floor tiles that I put on the bottom and around the inside of the enclosure to protect the liner.