Building better ponds: five easy steps for turning a rubber or concrete pond installation into a work of art—rather than a master disaster - Quarterly Market Report

Pool & Spa News, March 27, 2004 by Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn

4 Secure the ground.

Once you've finished digging the hole, clear the soil of rocks, roots and other debris. Then line the pond with concrete or rubber. If you're using a rubber liner, cover the area with a synthetic matting, or underlayment, which can be purchased from a water-garden supply business. The typical underlayment comes in a 5-by-15-inch roll and weighs about 8 ounces. It protects the liner from objects hidden in the soil and prevents puncturing.

Next, place the liner into the center of the pond and unroll it along the inside. Make sure the sides can be unrolled over the edges. Weigh down the outer edges of the liner with rocks. It helps create a natural look, while also holding the liner in place as you smooth out any wrinkles inside the pond. Keep the edges of the liner above the surrounding soil to prevent the dirt from washing into the pond.

Fold the excess liner underneath the edge of the pond and hide it with a rock or plant. You can then backfill it with soil to protect the liner from exposure to the sun, says Cla Allgood, president of Wakoola Water Gardens in Cumming, Ga. You can opt to trim the excess liner, but Allgood recommends keeping it. That way, if the ground shifts or you want to enlarge the pond later, you can pull up the extra liner as needed.

Add rocks or small boulders to the bottom of the liner to prevent it from floating. Gravel can be used, but it traps more debris over time and ultimately requires more hands-on maintenance. Use a rock or paving edge, though trailing plants, logs or moss also can be used to soften the look.

5 Add the final touches.

When installing plumbing and filters, consult with a professional pond retailer to determine what will best suit your needs. "You will get into big trouble if you stay with swimming pool logic when working with plumbing and filters," cautions Allgood, who also is secretary of the National Association of Pond Professionals. "A fan filter for a swimming pool, for example, won't work on a pond. Now you can buy something that looks like a fan filter, but it has media especially designed for ponds."

In addition, a pond box skimmer filters more trash and works differently than a box skimmer used for a swimming pool. A submersible pump can be placed into the skimmer--it not only provides pre-pump filtration, but also gives you a place to hide the pump.

Mechanical filtration systems suck out leaves, debris and other kinds of physical matter. Chemical solutions also are available and filter out the biochemical matter. Submersible plants can assist in biochemical filtration and will prevent algae from growing. For a water garden with plants and fish, filters might not be necessary.

Once all your plumbing devices are hooked up and the plants have been installed, fill the hole with water. The pond is good to go.

RELATED ARTICLE: The truth about liners and fish.

It's no secret that the greatest lessons often are learned the hard way. But when it came to choosing fish-safe pond liners, Rob Dietter was twice a student at the school of hard knocks.