New pond and not sure where to start

[Erin Sterling]

Hi Everyone,

I bought a house with my boyfriend about a year ago that has a pond out front. Unfortunately, it needs an overhaul and I am not sure where to start. I've spent some time talking to the pond guys at the garden shops and I've tried to research online too. There seem to be a lot of choices but I'm having trouble sorting through them and narrowing down the options.

The pond is not typical for starters. It's large, free-standing and sits right in the front courtyard of our house. It's painted concrete (an awful blue!) with no liner and has no filter or pump at the moment either. The area gets a lot of sun, which means there is lots of algae and is frequently visited by deer and some smaller-size predatory animals too.

If money was no object, I would probably rip it out and install raised beds around the edges of the courtyard and reinstall a smaller pond in the corner with a gate to keep the deer out. Unfortunately that's not an option. I'm also not interested in filling it with dirt and making a garden of it. The deer would eat it all anyway and I'm looking forward to having a nice pond.

I know I'm going to need to buy a liner. It was suggested that we spread the liner out and then recap the edges of the pond walls with more stone. I think that's probably the best option for that.

I've been thinking of putting an urn in the center and hiding the pump in there. My vision is to have it set up as one part pond, one part fountain if that makes any sense at all.

I'm worried about how to control the algae.. I will try to water plants to block the sun but I'm concerned the deer will eat them. Does anyone have any experience with the following:

- Alarms that make an ultrasonic sound to repel deer
- UV lights for algae control

Any other suggestions?

Also my boyfriend is very concerned to have a filter showing in plain view. Any suggestions for effective but smaller size filters that are easy to hide?

Thanks very much everyone. I'm looking forward to tackling this project!

Erin

 

[taherrmann4]

Welcome to the forum Erin!

I am assuming that your avatar pic is you standing in the pond. It's hard to tell how deep it is? There are lots of filter options out there some DIY ones that are inexpensive to build. Are you going to have fish? If so you will need to make sure it is deep enough when it freezes so your fish can survive the winters.

If you can post some pics of your setup that would help.

 

[Erin Sterling]

Hi there

thanks for your replyl Yes my avatar pic is of me in my pond. I would say it's about 15 feet across and 3 feet in the center. When we moved into the house there were already goldfish and they survived the winter with no problem at all. The pond even froze about 5 inches over and they didn't seem to be bothered at all. Hardy little guys.. I've been told it probably isn't deep enough for Koi and I'm fine with that. I'm more concerned to get it set up and looking nice at this point. It's a little swamp-looking at the moment! I will post some more pics for sure though. Thank you again for your feedback.

 

[taherrmann4]

Do you have he space where you could put a waterfall on one side of the pond, I am thinking then you might be able to disguise your filter in that. There is a pond on here that has a setup you might be able to use I will look and see if I can find it.

 

[taherrmann4]

Check out this thread I am not sure what kind of filter Jason has but it may be something you could do.

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/starting-new-doing-it-right.13702/

 

[Erin Sterling]

Thank you! I will check those out. I don't think I have any space for a waterfall but here are some more pictures so you can see for yourself. It's totally free-standing and not up against any walls at all..

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/showcase/my-pond-or-is-it-a-swamp.15/

Thanks again
Erin

 

[addy1]

to our group! Stick around everybody loves to help!

 

[Tula]

Welcome. Your pond reminds me of a traditional lily pond. I think it would look nice with lilies....not sure if deer eat them or not though!! lol . I know they're not in favor with most ponders, but my first pond had an all in one filter and pump in a milk crate type box. It sat on the bottom of the pond and I had a fountain nozzle on it for a pretty spray of water. I had to lift the entire thing from the water to clean if.

Again, welcome!

 

[addy1]

Ground hogs love lilies! Not sure about deer.

 

[Erin Sterling]

Welcome. Your pond reminds me of a traditional lily pond. I think it would look nice with lilies....not sure if deer eat them or not though!! lol . I know they're not in favor with most ponders, but my first pond had an all in one filter and pump in a milk crate type box. It sat on the bottom of the pond and I had a fountain nozzle on it for a pretty spray of water. I had to lift the entire thing from the water to clean if.

Again, welcome!

Thanks! I would love to fill it with lilies. The deer are a concern but that's why I was thinking of one of those ultrasonic devices that are supposed to scare them off. I am hoping to connect with someone that has some experience with those. I have a friend who suggested a similar-sounding filter but as a newbie, I was a little intimidated at the thought of constructing a filter system. I'm also looking for a really clean design. You have to pass right beside this pond to get to our front door so I'm hoping to disguise as much of the equipment as possible.. Maybe I am picturing it wrong but I wouldn't want an actual milk crate to be visible below the surface.. Thanks very much for your help!

 

[addy1]

The deer inhale everything here, but they ignore our pond. Might be because there is so much other food in the summer to munch on.

 

[RobAmy]

Hi Erin and welcome

I am not sure how crazy you want to go but you could hide a filter with the same style stone work on the outside of the pond. I am a mason contractor and it would be a fairly easy job to do if someone in the area is able to do it. This would be the most costly but seeing it is in the front of the house it may be worth looking into it.

 

[Big Lou]

Welcome Erin! Lot's of information here.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I've never seen a pond like this before. To keep the water clean you're going to want a pump, and a filter. Pond plants can help shade the pond and some are good at filtration and adding oxygen. I'm not sure what the deer will do with the plants. You should try underwater plants like Hornwort and a maybe add Waterlily in the center to make it harder for deer to reach. See what they do and slowly add more plants if it works out. I can see this pond being fantastic once its ready. Lets just hope the deer don't cause problems.

 

[Erin Sterling]

Hi Erin and welcome

I am not sure how crazy you want to go but you could hide a filter with the same style stone work on the outside of the pond. I am a mason contractor and it would be a fairly easy job to do if someone in the area is able to do it. This would be the most costly but seeing it is in the front of the house it may be worth looking into it.

Hi there! Thanks for this suggestion. This is a good idea, especially since I was expecting to have to recap the edges to hide the liner anyway. I would prefer to hire someone for that and I'm willing to spend a bit more if it means getting the right solution. There are a couple of "shelves" built into the concrete bottom and side of the pond already. I wonder if I could something constructed to allow a waterfall and the filter to hide underneath? That would be awesome!