Construction of Outdoor Fish Pond

[Cacatuoides]

Hi folks,

My friend is planning to dig and construct a small fish pond in his garden....
Its about 10ft by 1.5ft with depth of 1.5ft.....

After the digging, what are the steps that follows which?? As he wants to do it himself and have some fun with his family in the process....He will not engage a professional to do it Can he use cement and tiles? Any other suggestions, comments and links are most welcome!! Thanks!!!

[bossteck]

Hi,

Better warn your friend to make sure there're no power lines, gas pipes etc before digging.

I suppose placing several layers of plastic sheets before pouring the final layer of cement would be necessary. Google for 'pond liner'.

Also, it would be good to think about filteration while constructing the pond, perhaps a small area could be sectioned off (with bricks and cement), so that wool can be placed in there, or if your friend prefers something more natural, the section can be heavily planted). Need to get a submersible pump as well.

Wished I had a garden...

Cheers!

[XnSdVd]

I don't mind helping him dig.. haha sounds like fun
But if he's going to use cement, it's best he asks a professional what to line it with. Since cement is basically CaCO3. Which would cause massive kH spikes in the range of kH8 - kH9.

Then of course comes the biotope(should come FIRST) and his budget. He can actually rig a very cheap, effective sponge filter if he can find a powerful enough air pump.

[wks]

Besides watching out for buried services, your friend has to work out a lot of things like deciding how large a filter (usually a concrete sump filter) is needed for his pond and he has to provide an overflow system as well. Perhaps he also want a mini waterfall?
Eman, tell your friend to get a landscape contractor to do the job. At least the professional is able to calculate for him the size of concrete sump filter required for his pond. They should be able to advise him on the choice of plants and positions of rocks around the pond.
One more thing to note, it is not easy to waterproof the pond without expert help. I have read some stories about foreign hobbyists doing it DIY and pondwater ends up being drained away due to leakage.

[Cacatuoides]

Maybe its a good suggestion to have a partition for the filtration part....
I still need more infomation on the lining, waterproofing and of course the construction process....

[bryan]

Does he intend to keep Koi or other Monsterfish? Would 1.5FT be deep enough for them?

[blim]

The narrow 1.5ft width pond looks more like a waterway to me. Good enough for small Koi, gold fish, tropical fish and water plants. For a project like this, I would use heavy duty plastic sheet to overlay on the pond. It is neat, no need cement and the pond could be done within a day if the soil is not too difficult to dig. Put some pebbles along the edges and the pond can look very nice. An above ground DIY filter made of plastic pails will do. And if he is tired of the pond later, he can easily pull out the plastic sheet and fill the pond with sand. I think the lady of the house will love this idea.

[cwtan12]

You will need reinforcement in the concrete. In this case, BRC is enough. The steel reinforcement of 120kg/m3 of concrete should be sufficient for tensile strength. Can just use cement additive but you have to cast the concrete (base and 4 walls) at 1 time casting only without joints if you dont want to use waterstop for construction joints. If you want to be kiasu, just add another layer of liquid applied waterproofing and use cement mortar to plaster or other desired finishing.


Otherwise, you will need to consider preventing leakages at the construction joints. For bigger pools, you can't cast all at a time because you will need to consider the concrete expansion.

I think the best way is to dig a hole and place a fibre glass tank inside the hole since 10x1.5x1.5ft isn't really big. No need to worry about the waterproofing to concrete.

[Justikanz]

Pond construction articles are often seen in Practical Fishkeeping (PFK) magazines. You might want to search their websites for some information.

Basically, after making sure that the place to dig does not have any buried gas and water pipes, electrical line etc, he would need to ensure that there are no sharp objects that might puncture the liner when the pond is filled. Then he might have to smooth and even out the surface. He would need at least 1 piece of large pond liner. Need to be much bigger as it would have to cover the whole pond wall/floor and then have enough over the top for folding and leak prevention. Also, check for crevices and folds when placing the liner. Tuck the excess at the edge with some cement slabs. The water pressure, when filling the tank will pull on the liner and any uneven/sharp surfaces/objects will puncture the liner.

You friend would have to think about the filtration system to use and might have to construct the pond to suit the filter and not the other way around.

[bryan]

Some LFS sell simple pond filters like RENA, they come with flow ratings. Just couple it with a similar rated pump. They also sell acessories like underwater lights.

[Cacatuoides]

Wow!! Thanks guys!! I'll get him to speak to a professional landscape contracter and also read up on the net too!!!

Such a huge and risky project, better plan properly!!

[cwtan12]

Basically, after making sure that the place to dig does not have any buried gas and water pipes, electrical line

His is only 45cm deep and if including the base, the most is 60-70cm deep. Digging that shallow doesnt require any machinery. The common excavation method used is by hoe and shovel. As long as care is taken, these tools won't damage any underground services. We have been instructing the workers to do this way for trial excavation. Even if it is done by pond builders, I doubt they will carry or cable detection because considering the cost of the whole pond, this is not viable.

[Justikanz]

Thanks, cwtan, one point to note is that if any such lines run through the garden, you never know when they are required to be dug out for maintenance/removal etc... So, still better to check...

[XnSdVd]

oh!! caca! i have an idea... ever seen those tanks that simulate flowing rivers? instead of a "pond" he could dig a trench... inlets on one end and the outlets on another. Then he just needs to cover the outlet area with rocks to make it look natural. And with a waterfall on the inlet side it could look like there's a constant stream of water from nowhere, flowing into nowhere.

Am i making sense?

[Cacatuoides]

oh yes yes.....I get what you mean...sounds cool

After some research, he could dig the pond, put a layer of soft sand, then lay a pond liner for waterproofing....thats for the basics

[conwired]

Just my 2 cents.
Is Fibreglass any good? i've heard of people premaking their ponds to order and just burying them.

[hwchoy]

after construction, lay a 6-inch deep soil and cover with gravel and pebble, then just plant marsh plants and waterlilies and keep native fishes (no kois and avoid big carps) then he will have a nice natural pond, and no need for ffiltration.

[Happy Camper]

After the hole is dug (you need to go deeper than 1.5 feet) as in Singapore I bet it gets just as hot if not hotter than here in Africa. You need about a 3 - 4 foot depth at it's deepest end. You can plant some lillies in troughs at this side, it will give the fish some well needed shade.

Cover the hole (line it) with old blankets or pieces of carpet felt, this will cushion your Final Liner from sharp stones and twigs etc. Lay the liner stretched out over the hole and slowly fill with water, all the while stretching and pushing the liner into the form of the pond.

Add loads of plants (in pots as it's easier to remove them to prune the following season). I would let the pond run for about a week or so before adding plants or fish.

Good luck with it, please post pics when the job is done.

PS, wear gloves when digging as you'll get some wicked blisters And don't forget the sunblock

Regards
Cameron

[aqualover]

perhaps you may want to observe how koi pond is set up and you'll get some idea. Providing some shade will be good if the pond is getting direct sun all day