Rockwood Aquatics
A Pond for Me!
By: Allyson Handson
So, you’ve decided you want a pond. Good for you! Trust me when I say that you’ve embarked upon an adventure that will be both fascinating and wonderful. Welcome to the wonderful world of Pond Nerds!
There are only 3 Rules that you need to remember when designing and installing a water garden:
1) You need something to hold water;
2) You need something to move the water (ie.pump);
3) All of the water that moves out of the “something” must return
exclusively back into the “something” that holds the water.
Beyond these Rules, almost anything is possible.
A pond design will include many elements beyond rock, liner, and water. Remember, as much as you are building something where fish and plants may live, you are also building a picture, and should plan for that picture as you would with the rest of a landscape design. For instance, instead of the “traditional” pond (surrounded by rocks, gravel beaches, drift wood, untreated log posts, antique brickwork, etc.) several other objects can be used to create a unique custom look. Remember also, that most good pond designs will incorporate some sort of surrounding foliage in the form of trees, shrubs or terrestrial plants (eg. Hostas). In addition, low growing evergreens can soften the edges of a pond, and also create winter interest to the area. Spreading evergreens can also provide shade and cover from predators for fish.
A well-designed, well-planned and well-built pond will mostly care for itself. The key to a successful water garden is RESEARCH and PLANNING. Look at books, get information from the internet, speak with pond specialists who are experienced in the field, and don’t be afraid to ask questions! A pond specialist should be a major part of your support team throughout design and construction to help you along with all of your questions and problem solving decisions. Just because someone can sell you a pond, doesn’t mean that that someone knows how to install it properly.
If you haven’t already done so, consider these important design elements:
a) location of the pond
b) size of water surface area
c) do you want to over-winter fish and water lilies outside
d) minimum depth requirement (for predator control)
e) overall size (height, width, length) of water feature e.g. waterfall, stream if any
f) budget (if it is a concern)
(See the attached Design Parameter Guide for help in
designing your pond)
Choosing a location for your pond should be simple. There may be an area in your yard that is just “screaming” for a water feature, BUT you may want to consider these ideas before you commit to a final decision. Is there a window in your house that you look out of regularly? Would positioning the pond within view of the window increase the amount of time you could enjoy your pond? Positioning a pond within view of a routinely used window can increase your pond viewing season to include the months of the year where sitting outside is not as comfortable as sitting inside.
Choose a location where you are going to get a lot of sun especially if you plan on having water lilies. All water lilies love sunlight although there are a few hardy varieties that can tolerate as little as 3 hours of direct sunlight per day. It’s also a good idea to place your pond away from large deciduous trees unless you plan to use pond netting in the fall to prevent leaves from getting into the pond and corrupting good water quality.
Avoid situating a pond in low swampy areas; runoff is often a problem and ground that is super-saturated with water may lift the liner.
All ponds should be dug to a minimum depth of 1.5’, why? Predator control. Raccoons, who love to fish, do not like to swim, so catching fish in water that they can not stand in is problematic for them. To over-winter plants and fish, a pond should be a minimum of 3’ deep (deeper in some areas depending on your geographical location). Also, the bigger the fish, and with higher volumes of fish, ponds should be deeper, and over-wintering space larger. Remember to limit the number and size of fish to the volume of pond that is available in the winter, including the space taken up by over-wintering plant material.
Size and design of water features such as waterfalls and streams will affect pump size (referring to pumping capacities). It is important to know how wide and how high a waterfall will be, what kind of stone will be used, and what shape the waterfall will be (up right, stepped, etc.), and what kind of flow is desired in order to choose the right size of pump. For streams, length, height, width, depth, and stream substrate (stuff at the bottom) will play a part in determining the right pump for the job.
(See the attached Design Parameter Guide for help in designing your pond).
Budget may be a concern for some pond owners. As ponds get bigger, the volume of water needed to be filtered increases quickly. While filters for smaller ponds can be quite economical, larger volumes require larger pumps and larger external filters, and this can become a monetary concern. So before you dig a big hole, know your budget and make adjustments where necessary. If there is one thing that is true about pond-hole digging, it’s that it is difficult to un-dig the hole to make the diameter smaller. You can make it shallower but you will sacrifice over-wintering capabilities.
If all of this seems a little overwhelming, relax. These guidelines are important to know, and will save you a lot of time and frustration later with a few key decisions made now. Also consider that for having read this narrative, you may have come up with an idea that is not described….Be assured that no matter the project, no matter the design, where there is a will, there is almost invariably a way to make your project happen….just remember the 3 Rules, and speak to a pond specialist (preferably me), and your dreams can come true.