I have an area earmarked in my backyard for a fish pond/waterfall. The area is 11x16 feet. I’d like the pond itself to be, say, 8x10 inside this area - the rest decorative rocks/plants, etc.
I went to two local pond equipment dealers - each sells competing vendors’ supplies. Each, not surprisingly, contradicts each other. One offers a boxed kit which includes the liner sheet, pumps, filters, a waterfall weir, bacteria - everything (he says) to get an 8x10 pond installed. The kit is $1200. The other says, no, no - the pump in those kits is way to small and I’d have to replace it later. He’ll sell me each item separately - but the total is $900-ish. My general impression is the first guy appears more knowledgeable.
The first guy sells ProPond Ecosystem products. The second sells Laguna products. How do I decide which way to go, kit, individual - what items, etc? Any advice?
I have a concrete 8’ x 8’ x 4’ pool and a liner 7’ x 7’ x 2’. I Dug the 4’ and poured the concrete. I had help digging the liner pool.
The liner is edged with stone. When I next build a liner pool, I will use a lot more rock and cover the sides of the liner; it isn’t exactly square and you can see a couple of inches on one side.
I don’t use any pumps. I have a very light fish load.
Water lilies, lotus, water iris, lizard tail. Some water hawthorne that blooms in the Winter as long as the surface doesn’t freeze over. I’m in Zone 7.
I’d probably be of more help if you ask questions.
From your location it looks like you will have to deal with winter. This means your pond should be at least 3 ft deep. In general the top of the pond should be higher than the surrounding area. Ponds are best situated in sunny areas and away from trees. EDPM rubber wicth is used for roofing and swimming pool liners works better than plastic liners. Have about 1 foot of extra liner beyond the edge of the pond and cover this with rocks. If you have soil by the edge of your pond worms will fall in and drown. Dead worms smell horrible! Other than that select your plants and fish carefully and try to cover about 70% of your ponds surface with plants. Koi are pretty but they stir up the bottom and cause alge growth. Tillapia are showy and know how to avoid preditors (cats). They are tropical though so you will have to winter them inside or buy new ones every spring.
I’m pretty much sold on the ProPond Ecosystem kit - based solely on my impression of the saleman’s expertise. He does installations too (unlike the Laguna salesman) and he showed me photos of installations using nothing more than that kit. Does anyone have experience or cautions on that product (or similar competitive kits)?
We’re going to line the perimeter with mostly flagstone. What should I put on the liner itself, in the water I mean. I’ve seen some ponds that use smallish rocks (or large-ish gravel) from edge to edge to cover the liner. I don’t like the look of that. Is it necessary to cover the liner? Aside from cosmetics, is there any reason the liner should be covered?
I built a flagstone patio, a shed, and for a while had a 16’ above ground swimming pool. Despite these three attempts, I absolutely suck at leveling/grading. What gotchas am I in for here? Any tips?
Catch all question: what sites/books do you recommend?
We have a pond in our neighborhood. My advice to you is “less is more.” This guy has too many smallish rocks and it just looks cluttered. I think he did it himself; it sounds like you’re working with a professional so you’re a step ahead already.
Also, I hate to be a party pooper, but I hope you have a fence. Those ponds are so damn attractive to keeblers. I’d hate to see your summer ruined by a floater.
It may degrade with sunlight. Check it out.
Covering the liner protects it from puncture if it is stepped on. I think flat stones 2" x 8" x 8" or so look good for the job.
I can’t recall what kit we bought when we were doing ours, but I’d suggest going with the all-included kit you mentioned. Since everything’s already been selected you’re not at too much risk of having something overlooked/in the wrong ratio. If a salesman who doesn’t seem that knowledgeable is helping you select each individual item, there’s too much risk of him being wrong about something and wasting your time and money.
Covering the liner in some way is generally a good idea. In our pond, we used some nice flat stones for the bottom to help protect the liner. It also made good spots for putting plants, which we kept in pots so that they could be easily removed. My cousin used small decorative pebbles, which covered the liner and protected it from being degraded by the sun but weren’t any good for providing a flat surface or a safe place to step. Personally, I’d recommend going with the flat stones for the most part, with smaller stones to fill in the gaps. I felt like it worked a lot better. From what I’ve seen, the gravelly type stuff turns into a “sludge catcher” and can get really disgusting.
Only Kalhoun would be afraid of the keeblers…you better keep your doors shut K…ya never knwo when one of those Keeblers could sneek in and loot your Bartles and James.
Noooooo! I’m not afraid of them…I’m afraid for them! It’s waaay too easy for a kid to wander into your yard and fall into a pond. Easier than a pool because I don’t think most communities have fence laws in place for ponds like they do for pools.
AHH Ok…gotcha. Actually, I never thought of that. We have a “decorative pond” in our unfenced backyard. Incidentally, we used ProPond ecosystem for our little pond. We have goldfish and 1 Koi. We bought the prefab infinity pond.
I never thought of someone coming in an drowning in it. And I usually over think everything. Hmmmm… Well it’s not very inviting, unless they are looking to catch frogs, or swim in the algae.
Ok, I just checked out the Urban Dictionary. They certainly don’t use the word the way we do around here! Guess I’ll have to make a contribution to the Dictionary, huh?
But the whole midget blow-job thing sure is conjuring up an image.
I do not have a pond, but wish to install on one day, and I have several large planted aquaria. I also have no specific knowledge of the vendors or products you mention. But when has abject ignorance stopped me from offering my opinion?
Whether or not you want to go with the kit depends on a number of factors, most related to how involved you want to be in the design of this project, and what your plans are for it. A couple of general observations (that may not apply to this particular kit):
-IME most all-inclusive kits are prepared for some hypothetical “average” consumer. If ANY aspect of your plans differ from this average, you are likely to be unsatisfied with one or more aspects of the kit.
-Spend plenty of time researching, and buying the proper products the first time. Components are too pricey to have to replace simply because you are dissatisfied with them, and original installation is generally easier than replacement.
-IME kits generally are priced at a premium, compared with what you will pay for individual components possibly from various vendors. The internet makes comparison shopping for such products far easier than in the past.
-When dealing with water, filtration/pump capacity is VERY important. I have never heard of an aquarist complain that he/she has too much filtration/circulation, but I have heard countless folk make costly upgrades to replace inadequate pumps.
-If you mainly just want a low maintenance attractive water feature, the kit may be the way to go. Especially if you prefer the vendor and trust his service and guarantees. We have a small container with a spitter on our patio which is unspectacular but pleasant nevertheless. But if you want to do anything creative or unusual with your pond, you may prefer the customization possible thru components.
If I dig through the muck in my brain, I seem to remember driving my mother bananas with tadpoles, and frogs and turtles brought home from the neighborhood pond. Plus my wife always calles me a kid in a 220 pound adult body.
And Kalhoun my male biological clock is ticking…Can’t wait to have a brood.
You won’t beLIEVE the weird shit you start worrying about. It’s like aliens have taken over your brain. Nothing pointy, rough, hard, wet, under the sink, in the garage, below waist height, no plastic bags…Sheesh! It’s a major change.
Plus my wife always calles me a kid in a 220 pound adult body.