Newbie Builds A Pond

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Hi All,
I have been brave and built myself a pond. I will be honest and tell you I have no experience with ponds so started small and easy or so I thought...

After reading pages and pages on advise I went with a small 150 litre (Lotus "Perch") preformed pond. Spent the weekend digging the hole following the instructions etc adding the water etc... after alot of blood sweat and tears finished late Sunday night.......
First thing this morning I went to check on my labour only to find the edges of my pond are curling a bit???? Looking at it, if I placed large rocks (which I planned to do later on to finish to look) around the edges this would hold them down but I am unsure if this is ok to do??

Can anyone advise....this would be greatly received?

Many thanks
Sam
 

addy1

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Is it plastic, and thin, in the full sun? That might have caused it to curl, or the water weight pulling on the edges.

Can you post a picture that would help. Rocks on the edges will be fine.
 
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Wow thanks for the super fast reply.

It is quite thin and made of plastic (HDPE) its not in the direct sun light there is some shade.

Do you think its a big problem? I wasnt sure whether to dig it up and re-do it?

I have attempted to post a pic......

Many thanks again
 

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j.w

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It looks as though the hole is deeper than the pond and so the water weight is pulling it down. I am thinking that you will have to drain it and pull it out and add more dirt. Not what you wanted to hear I know but I don't see any other way around the problem. Maybe somebody else has a different idea and can help you on how to get it right the 2nd time :(
 

addy1

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It almost looks like the water has pulled it down. But it could be sun. You should be fine, just cover the edge with rocks. What are you planning to have in it? For that size I would stick with just goldfish.

lol jw typing at the same time.....................yeah could remove and add dirt. Actually in thinking probably should get it a little above ground level to keep run off out of it.

We are almost home yeah! 1 hour left of 15.5 hour drive lol

That is around 44 gallons, you would not want many fish at all in it. Make sure you add some filtering, water flow and plants.
 

j.w

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addy do you think that the stress could hurt the pond over time? I don't know about these ponds personally so just asking.
 

addy1

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It might, if there is empty space below some of it.
England does get cold, and that size will freeze, so it would be best to have it touching all round, maybe a layer of sand in the bottom of the hole for the pond to sit on and make it level.

I don't know anything about them either, but if you look up preformed installation they suggest have contact on the entire bottom and a sand layer.

Oh and welcome to the forum!
 
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Thanks for the advice so far guys.

How far above ground level should it be?

Im worried, do you think I may damage it taking it out and re-doing things? I used sand and soil to fill around the edges. Hope that was ok?

I built up the side around the edge as there was a big gap all the way around and I wasnt sure if that was ok? which is why the soil around the pond slops away from the edges.

If you think its the best way draining and re-doing I'll do it.

I didnt know whether to add fish as it is a small pond. I thought about some plants in a while and then let nature decide.......I thought that pond fish grow to huge sizes hence the worry to add fish once the pond is astablished??
 

addy1

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Dig a corresponding hole a little larger and deeper than the pond. Make sure the excava- tion has a firmly compacted base. Take out any rocks, roots, or sharp debris. You can put approx. 2" of play sand base under the pond and have some for around the edges.

Bed the pond on a layer of sand, then level the pond. You should have the pond's edge slightly above ground level so the dirt around it slopes at least 10% away from the pond to prevent rain from washing soil, lawn fertilizers, etc. into the pond.

Backfill with loose dirt or sand between pond and excavation, stopping at halfway mark between excavation base and pond's flange (upper lip). Start to fill with water.

Commence filling with water slowly and continue backfilling with loose sand. Gauge your time so the filling of water and backfilling of sand steps are finished at the same time.
 

addy1

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sam76 said:
Thanks for the advice so far guys.

How far above ground level should it be?


>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3-4 centimeters and slope the dirt away from the edge
 

koidaddy

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I would drain it and add a few inches of fill dirt underneth. It definitaly looks stressed. Then you want to backfill the side slowely as you are filling it up. Build the dirt up to meet the liner and add some rock to the edge. Hope this helps.
 

koiguy1969

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drain 1/2 the water from pond, backfill the hole with clean sand and run some water into the sand. as the water works its way thru and fills the hole the sand will settle, and fill cavities and gaps. put some more water in pond and repeat if neccesary.
 

addy1

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Yeah for koiguy...............a easier way to get it done!
 

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