How to Make a Pond

The calming sound of water can give you some peace from a hectic day. You can make a pond for your home in a few simple steps.

Before constructing your pond, go to local pet stores and look at their koi ponds for some ideas.

Depending on the size of the pond that you have in mind, you will be able to find materials in retail or garden stores. Garden and pet stores can also supply you with plants.

Go to your local plant nursery for materials as well. They also carry water plants, rock, statues, and fountain kits for ponds.

Obtain a pond "base", the "shell" that will hold the water, fish, etc.

Get rocks and plants that can stay wet all the time, because they will be planted beside your pond, and you want them to be able to hold up to the moisture.

Pick your pump. If you want running water in your pond, there are hundreds, if not millions, of different kinds of pumps and fountains. Look in your local hardware or pet store to see their selection.

Plan on purchasing fish at your local pet store or garden center. DO NOT purchase fish until you have completely set-up/installed your pond and it has had a few days for the water temp/PH to settle. You can even add frogs (but they will probably come on their own), and if you're unsure of what kind of fish to use in your pond, ask for some advice at the pet store, and they can point you in the direction of the types of fish that would suit your pond.

Decide what type of pond you want. You can have a flat pond, by setting the base directly on the ground, and surrounding it with rocks. Or, you can have a raised pond, simply by piling up dirt (not too high) and flattening the top with a shovel, then set the bottom of your base into the dirt, until it's a snug fit. Build up rocks around the mound of dirt, plant some colorful flowers near your pond, with everything that is out there these days, the possibilities are endless.

Tips

• Go on the Internet for more pond ideas. Look under landscape designers, home and garden websites or under koi ponds.
• For added appeal, place glass candle holders around your pond. They will reflect on the water at night and look stunning. This would also be great for an evening party or wedding.
• Pick a shady location. Direct sunlight will turn the pond water green and you won't be able to see the fish.
• Do remember to wait for the pond to settle (just a few days.) Not doing so will just be fast way to kill fish.
• There are many options for what kind of fish. You can use common goldfish (called feeder fish at the pet store), fancy goldfish (rounder bodies and longer, divided tails) mollies, koi. Common goldfish can live for decades with general good care.
• The size of your pond and the water quality will determine how large your fish will grow.
• Koi when they get established are known to be very fast fish and they need room to run. If they do not have sufficient space they will start jumping to try and reach a larger pond. So be careful. Protect your beautiful investment by talking with a local Koi pond owner and get their advice on these beautiful fish.
• Avoid placing the water pump at the deepest part of your pond. Should the fountain get knocked over (by, for example, a raccoon trying to catch your fish), and the water then gets ejected outside of your pond, the pond will drain to empty. If the pump is only half way to the bottom, it will leave half the water in the pond for your fish to survive in until you rectify the problem.
• Water hyacinths, when they get established, are excellent at removing the nutrients from the water that algae thrive upon and will therefore help keep the pond water clear.
• Smooth stones are better than rough stones in a pond where koi are present. Koi are less likely to get injured when they get aggressive during breeding season.
• There are countless products on the market that help with protecting pond fish from raccoons. For example, nets, motion detectors, grids and electric fences. They can be found by typing "raccoon pond" into any search engine.
• As a rule-of-thumb, digging the hole for your pond will take you about one hour for every 50 gallons of pond volume. Twice that if the soil you are digging into is hard.
• Before you start digging, decide where you will put the unwanted soil.
• You can pile the excavated dirt and rocks at one end of the pond to be the hill that supports your waterfall as in this photo of a pond created by Santa Fe Artist Charleen Touchette that utilizes a large terracotta pot filled with sand and gravel as a natural filter from which the water pours onto the waterfall basin of pond liner lined with rocks, then into the koi pond. See pics by searching Casita Placida on Photobucket.

Warnings

• When purchasing your plants, make sure they are not poisonous to your fish or your other pets.
• If you want lots of Koi fish, don't hire just any landscaper to build it. Join a Koi Club and get Koi USA Magazine.
• Understand your local laws and regulations relating to pond safety. Some regions require that a body of water that is deeper than a specified depth be fenced off.