Need Help - Before I start Digging for my dream pond

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Hey Folks,

So, I got a used pond liner and some pump/rocks from CL for cheap and want to start putting pond which I have been so excited about. I wanted to know how to start right. I have following as of now:

- Liner
- pump
- rocks
- waterfall

What I want to do:

- Have fountain in the pond
- Have fishes in the pond
- Have waterfall and lights in the pond
- put a net for safety around kids
- Have some nice plants

please help on what should do during digging, before putting the liner and rocks and after liner and rocks and water. Do I need to get a filter?

Much appreciate your help. I am in NJ. How deep should I go, considering the safety around kids and also freezing of water factor?

Thank you so much for the help.
 

sissy

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first what size is the liner and how deep do you want to go .I am from NJ so that depends on where in the state .I lived in Edison but grew up in Franklin Township .You will need a way to keep a hole open in the ice come winter and you will need an API liquid test kit and you may have to think about predators .With safety for children you could do half raised half in ground
 
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Can you take photos of what you have? A lot of waterfalls and combination waterfalls and filters already.
 
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I live in NJ. My pond is 32 inches deep and hasn't frozen solid. I keep a fountain pump running near the surface in the winter to keep a hole open and it's been no problem.
 
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@Eric - I have nothing to take pic of yet. I haven't started digging yet, which am planning to do over this weekend. @sissy, @HomerJay - thanks for the tip. I will add a fountain to keep it from freezing. I am near Edison area only.

I am thinking to keep pond 2 feet deep on average on one two spot, 3 feet deep. Will it be ok? What plumbing do I need and how about electricity? how did you guys run electricity?
 
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I would think that would be fine for our zone. Plumbing is up to you and your budget. I did mine on the cheap so I built my own filter, plus I have a inline pressure filter with UV. I don't have a skimmer or water fall at the moment, so my plumbing is just a pump, some hose and a bit of PVC. I had my GFCI electric in place already as I took down a above ground pool and used the same electric. GFCI is a MUST.
 

sissy

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I lived on Old Post Rd near the Edison Ford Plant .My son did my electrical and he now moved back up to NJ and lives in Woodbridge .If I was you I would invest in a pond heater it is safer than super cooling the water with a pump
 
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Ah, when you said you "have the following" you meant it was on your list of things to buy.

How big is your used liner? Before you start digging, I'd really suggest you watch the set of YouTube videos by "The Pond Digger". They really are excellent and will keep you from making some mistakes.

I'lll tell you one mistakeI made. I have deep plant shelves in my pond that I think I will hardly be using. It would have been better to have wider shallow shelves.
 
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@Eric, @sissy, thanks for the reply. I will look into the heater idea. not sure about exact liner dimension but the person sold was having 6X9 pond with some area deeper than 3 feet... 2 feet on average... Yes, pond digger is an excellent source of information, but the problem is he is a pro and I am a novice :).. his plumbing on his ponds are out of even my dreams :).. Another question - where do u get large rocks(if free?) What plants are best for water and fish and aesthetics?
 

sissy

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I am a novice also but the question and answer segments he did provide a lot of info .I used sump pump hose for my plumbing and first pond just had the rubber hose I bought from lowes .Find energy efficient pump was easy these days .Make sure the pump you have still works because seals can dry out .I find free rocks in streams and stuff but when I lived there I used to get my rocks from a garden center on Cranberry road off route 1 .They even used to sell big glass rocks for decoration .Traprock was a good source when they used to sell decorative rocks but I think they stopped that
 
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I didn't really follow his plumbing stuff because the plumbing for my system (skimmer and waterfall) was a whole lot simpler. The rest of his videos I found really informative.

If you are going to dig it yourself, I'd first follow his advice that you should dig like a reverse wedding cake. Dig the whole footprint of the pond to one depth. Then dig the next layer down, then dig the deepest part.

Once you've got the whole thing dug, you can fill it with a garden hose and measure the true volume and then you can get everything sized correctly (pump, filters etc). Get a meter for your hose or just figure 500 gallons/hour from your hose.
 

addy1

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Welcome to our group! Was the used liner in use? or has it been sitting around. IE will it leak?

Don't dig as big as you think it might cover, dig smaller than slowly dig bigger until the liner size fits. It is easy to over dig the hole, then you have to back fill or buy a bigger liner ;):)
 

sissy

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I dug my hole bigger but the liner was bigger than I thought so just raised the sides on the pond to make it more above ground
 
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Ah, when you said you "have the following" you meant it was on your list of things to buy.

How big is your used liner? Before you start digging, I'd really suggest you watch the set of YouTube videos by "The Pond Digger". They really are excellent and will keep you from making some mistakes.

I'lll tell you one mistakeI made. I have deep plant shelves in my pond that I think I will hardly be using. It would have been better to have wider shallow shelves.
EricV -- Watching Pond Digger videos -- great advice!!!!!!
I learned literally EVERYTHING from watching them -- combined, of course, with great advice from this forum!
 
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The Pond Digger is a great resource! He's so generous with his information and advice. And his videos are top notch. Very watchable - I like how he breaks them up into segments so you can watch all of it or just the part you need.
 

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