Contemplating building an above ground pond.....

[CeeJayH]

Thank you! I will look at your showcase after work!
What should I put in/on the blocks to hold it together?

We laid a proper foundation and then cemented the blocks into place. It's proved very stable with the blocks laid flat.

I then fitted the liner and carried that up under the waterfall feature.

 

[Gemma]

We laid a proper foundation and then cemented the blocks into place. It's proved very stable with the blocks laid flat. View attachment 102178 View attachment 102179


I then fitted the liner and carried that up under the waterfall feature.
View attachment 102180

Great job on your pond!

 

[Nepen]

I have a very large deck in the back of my house and it needs a lot of maintenance (replacing boards, power washing, staining...) so we were discussing taking it down and rebuild it out of composite boards (is that what they're called?)
The cost would be tremendous, we'd have to do it in sections so we are considering many different options and after seeingpics of @Nepen 's above ground pond, we now wonder if it would be better to replace the lower deck with an above ground pond
We don't know anything about building and running an above ground pond, and I'm hoping to learn a lot in this thread so I can decide if it's something I want to do or not

First of all I would like to know if such pond can be build large enough for koi?
I live in zone 6 and some winters it gets really cold here, do I have to make it a couple of feet into the ground, and if so how do I transition from cement blocks to wood?
Do I need special pipes since PVC can (most likely) burst in extreme cold temps?

Any tips and recommendations will be appreciated!

Sorry I just saw this (was on vacation in Hawaii <3 ). As I read this I think you've already got lots of ideas.

I think it's best to do it with concrete blocks or bricks if you can. I dont think above group with just lumber will be a good way to go. I had to come back and do reinforced the side of my pond some more because it was bowing, with only about 550 gallon of water. You could use 4x4, that would help a lot.

I had an above ground brick pond at my old house though, and I would recommend that if you want a big pond for the koi.

 

[Gemma]

Sorry I just saw this (was on vacation in Hawaii <3 ). As I read this I think you've already got lots of ideas.

I think it's best to do it with concrete blocks or bricks if you can. I dont think above group with just lumber will be a good way to go. I had to come back and do reinforced the side of my pond some more because it was bowing, with only about 550 gallon of water. You could use 4x4, that would help a lot.

I had an above ground brick pond at my old house though, and I would recommend that if you want a big pond for the koi.

This isn't something that's going to happen this year, but we are definitely serious about doing it, so any suggestions and info are welcome!
Thank you so much for inspire me to go above ground!

 

[MoonShadows]

I just came across this thread here when I was searching images on Google for "above ground ponds". This member built a 16 x 8 x 3 2500 gallon plus mostly raised pond using landscape timbers and rebar. I didn't think one could be built this large out of wood.

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/pics-of-my-partial-above-below-ground-pond.13825/

Also found this one today totally raised pond made from wood...but only available in the UK. (Europe has a lot of above ground wood pond manufacturers...can't find one in the US.)

12ft Octagonal...2414 UK gallons which is just shy of 2900 US gallons

 

[qclabrat]

you may have seen my pond build which comes off my deck. It has been a step wise project to convince my wife that there was no need to have a railing on that end and that a pond off the deck would look nice. My pond is just under 2000G and is 2ft underground and 2ft above. I used a combination of concrete blocks and landscaping blocks for the curved sections. It's only been a few weeks, but is seems fine to handle the inward pressure.

As all my projects go, what was to be 2 months, is going into 4 months and will need the rest of the summer to finish. Still need to add a patio next to the pond and some additions to the deck, which fills my warm weather projects for the remainder of the year....

good luck on your project

 

[addy1]

so good luck with your "other half",

my other half wants me to build another pond, I have said no way...............10 is enough!

 

[Gemma]

I just came across this thread here when I was searching images on Google for "above ground ponds". This member built a 16 x 8 x 3 2500 gallon plus mostly raised pond using landscape timbers and rebar. I didn't think one could be built this large out of wood.

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/pics-of-my-partial-above-below-ground-pond.13825/

View attachment 102463

Also found this one today totally raised pond made from wood...but only available in the UK. (Europe has a lot of above ground wood pond manufacturers...can't find one in the US.)

12ft Octagonal...2414 UK gallons which is just shy of 2900 US gallons
View attachment 102462

I wonder why I never came across this one, with all the searches I've done!
Anyways, I saw what just a few years did to my landscaping timbers, so we are definitely going cement blocks of some sort! Looks nice though!

my other half wants me to build another pond, I have said no way...............10 is enough!

Is it the fish, or the pond itself that's so addictive?

For me it's the koi! I'd be fine with just one pond if I could fit all of my favorite koi in there!

 

[MoonShadows]

He treated his landscaping timbers with some product...I forget. If you don't they will turn ugly...but, I understand going with cement blocks.

I am thinking of 4 x 6 timbers right now.

 

[WhiteNoise]

I have two ponds in my yard. One is a below/above ground rectangle shaped pond made from wood.

We just dug down to the shape and depth wanted. concreted in 4 four by four posts in each corner, used plywood for internal walls all around the inside and then placed liner in. The deep end is 5 foot deep. It then transitions up at the half way point via two steps raising the level. Due to the amount of water (something around 1800-2000 gallons, not sure) we ended up having to concrete a single 4x4 on either side of the pond because it started to bow out. That is a bit of an eye sore but we made it work. I learned a few lessons as this was the first one I had built.

The second pond is still under construction.