So it sounds like mixed rocks and mortar and spreading this on the liner? How does it not crack?
I put some mortar onto the liner and then push softball to head size river rock into the the mortar until it stops at the liner. After you do an area you can smooth the mortar between the rocks with a sponge, and clean the rocks.
It totally cracks, but that's OK. On the floor everything is locked in place even with cracks. The liner beneath holds the water. The only purposes the rock has is to provide a look many people prefer to bare liner wrinkles, and to protect the liner from people and animals feet. And when needed, helps hold down the liner.
Clean off the rocks a bit so the mortar can bond, but not really needed. Pretty much impossible to do wrong.
Going up the sides is kind of the same. As long as the sides slope out even a little gravity keeps it all together. Actual vertical sides are rare, and in those cases more care is needed.
How it looks:
And then with water...the texture of rock shows through. Bigger rocks show better.
Any hard rock works. Depends on the look you want and budget, Rocks can be skipped of course and just be mortar or concrete or stucco.
We were trying to make a natural small pond for frogs and a few goldfish. So we went with in ground as a way for backyard wildlife to find it. Seems I have no choice but to raise the sides a little to create more water above ground level. My thought is a level row of center bricks one inch higher than the high side. And slop the mud against them with the extra liner tucked between. Any idea if this would work? Sadly it will change the way we were going to landscape with some plants against the liner. We have no large rocks, can't find a source.
You can also make rocks. Fun. I normally prefer real, but the smaller the pond the easier I can scale rock by making them myself.
Not sure I'm following how you might make the sides. Ways are endless so whatever works. Such a minimum height most anything should work. This is how I do sides:
I set a "bond beam block", common at Home Depot, etc.. It helps me get a nice level top. They protect the soft edge from people walking, standing on the edge. The liner can be tucked inside and then covered with soil. That leaves 1-2" of exposed liner. Now plants can be grown really close and will hide the liner, although I always rock over the liner for protection.
No necklace and plants are cheap and good looking. Even turf can grow over the liner and into the pond where it rots resulting in a very trimmed look without any trimming. I personally still like some rocks though.
If you rock up and over it's better to leave a little air gap. Not totally needed, just reduces water wicking out of the pond.
If you prefer pond type plants you can make a bed inside the pond which gets you away from the necklace and need for rocks. Lots of ways to build, but here's one. Instead of wood you can use bender board or just form with concrete.
But we were hoping to avoid the necklace look. And why we are trying in ground, above ground always seem more formal to me.
Going up 2-4" will not seemed raised at all. Soil from the dig can be used to raise the surround ground which will keep ground surface water away while not looking like a berm. Only a small area has to be a little low for water to escape. That area can be planted and you won't see the ground at all. Tricks of the eye.
Wildlife will find its way no matter what. They do this for a living.
Do u have an idea for a filter for such a small pond? That may do better. I should add, my husband is not helping. Lol, my last pond brought bad luck afterall. So it's just my 13 year old and me. That does limit some of our ideas. Also in the end, we are just wanting a little pond, I know many on here have beautiful ponds that are beautifully designed. We know ours will not be at this level.
First, a filter isn't needed. But for this type pond I like waterfalls and streams which are "filters" and better than Skippy which is a really old design. If no waterfall or stream then I like a Trickle Tower (TT) which is just a pile of rocks above the water surface and water from pump flows over the rocks. For bio filters these have been tested and proven to be about 10 times better than Skippy...when Skippy is clean...which isn't always the case. The TT almost never needs cleaning.
A TT is really little more than a kind of waterfall, or vertical stream. Because it is 10x better it can be 10x smaller than a Skippy and in small ponds that's a big deal. One way people have made TT filters for small pond is by filling a strawberry pot with rocks and running pump hose up to the top. The pot can be on the pond edge with liner beneath or set on some blocks inside the pond. It's a great filter, super easy fun build, can be placed anywhere and lots of pot choices.
Here's some examples...fountain is optional but people seem to like it. You get more sound.
There's also the stack of pot dishes, a bit more work. I don't like the look as much generally, but still nice.
There's the "screw it, I'll make my own darn holes". Not as good as a filter though imo...holes too small. Good for bio, not so good for growing algae.
The industrial look using plastic crates.
Can't leave out the TT of the guy that turned me onto TT way, way back in the day. He did a lot of the early testing back when Skippy was popular and he was crucified in pond forums for years trying to convince people of TT being better than Skippy. His love of the hobby kept him going and slowly the forum "experts" had no choice to convert without of course any apology. Pond forums were a lot of fun back then.
Lot's of options.
