Pond Location

[Culchie]

Where I originally wanted to put my pond is not as level as I thought. It's at least 6 inches higher on one end. Would this still work somehow ? One thing I would be worried about is water run off into the pond. Even though the slope isn't that drastic. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks

 

[capewind]

Absolutely, you just need to adjust the grade. How big of a pond are you thinking?

 

[Culchie]

I was thinking of a 8' x 15' x 4' deep ( If I really need it that deep). I'm spending alot of money on construction projects at my house, and didn't want to spend extra money having fill dirt hauled in to make my yard level. That's why I was asking how I could make an uneven place work before finally deciding whether to move the location. I also thought of another question I wanted to ask about liner underlayment. Can I use sand under the liner, or is that too abrasive ?? Thanks again.

 

[sissy]

That could be your perfect spot to hide filter and make a nice wide waterfall

 

[Culchie]

I did think about the waterfall idea. Even though it would seem to be coming out of nowhere.

 

[sissy]

If you look at fishin's build at his new house he did a wide one and I am going to widen mine but have to get a truckload of dirt and all you have to do is dig a spot out for your filter and stair step your waterfall with the leftover dirt .I wish mine was that easy .Someone else did a wide one ,I think it may have been mucky but not sure who it was .The wider ones look so much nice .I watched a video on you tube of a step by step build on one and the back of his pond was almost 2 feet higher than the sides and front of his pond .

 

[capewind]

a 6" grade change over such a short distance is nothing! Any competent machine operator could level the area, and spread the dirt elsewhere is MINUTES.

 

[addy1]

We had a 8-10 foot grade issue, use some of your pond dig dirt to build up the lower side, or use the high side as a water fall. Very do able

 

[taherrmann4]

I don't think most ponders yards are perfectly level, 6" isn't any big deal. Like others have said, just use the dirt you dig out and build up the lower side. This lower side will also give you an overflow point so when it rains your pond does not overflow.

 

[capewind]

Also, keep in mind, some of us WANT different grades, even in an area that could easily be flat. The pond we have going now is new this year, so still needs a lot of work (and lots of rocks yet), but we (husband) did some more work yesterday, built up more rocks, and got a few more items planted ... took a pic to show some gardening friends, gonna share it here to give you some ideas.

 

[Culchie]

Looks nice capewind. :smile: My concern was having one side higher than the other, because of it being moreless in an open area, and not having the advantage of incorperating natural landscape to it. I need to know how to build in a waterfall to the high side. I just want it to look as natural as possible. Sorry Taherrmann. I don't know what you mean by giving me a "overflow point". :redface: Believe me, I don't want it to overflow on the low side. My neighbor already called the town on me, because he was worried about water run off from my new garage. He likes to complain about everything. Sissy, you live in Virginia as I do. Is 4' deep overkill for the fish to survive our Winters ? Thanks everyone.

 

[taherrmann4]

If you get a lot of rain your pond will get too much water than it can hold so you want to be able to control where that water drains out of your pond. Most ponders have a spot in their pond either with a pipe or just a small area on the side of your pond where it is lower than the rest only by an inch or so. I made mine look natural and you can't even see it just looks like a dry creek bed that extends about 10 feet away from the pond. The water will never rise above this level causing other problems with water getting under the liner. It won't always have water running out of it only when it rains a lot to the point where there is more water in your pond than it can hold, so your neighbor should not get bent out of shape.

If you want to know how to build a waterfall take a look at my construction thread as I have built one that I think looks very natural....

 

[capewind]

Cul, can you post a pic of the proposed area? Then others can throw out some different options to you. The most simple option would be to simply add a row of decorator rocks (a level above your liner height). You could even put a raised planting bed into that area... 6" is really nothing to worry about, there are TONS of options. I know it may not seem like it right now, when we lack knowledge on something, a small issue can seem major, but there are lots of good folks here who can help I wish I was good with photo editing, as I would take a pic of the pond we have now, and draw on what we are doing next year. Coming off the pond in the pic will be another waterfall (5' drop), going to a river, to a larger pond (20,000+++ gallon, planning at the base minimum a 40 x 50' liner, but hoping for larger). Front to back of the proposed pond, the grade change is about 24", with the backside being the low point, and wide open to the rest of the yard. Front side cant be adjusted as it is being built to meet the patio in the same manner an inground swimming pool would mesh with a patio...

 

[Culchie]

Ok. I thought maybe you were talking about a pipe drain, but wasn't sure. I would rather have a pipe drain, but my yard is all red clay, and wouldn't soak up very well. So I might have to do the dry creek thing. Just deciding what will be the best way to route it. I'll check out the pics.

 

[CometKeith]

Culchie, A lot of people use excess dirt from the dig to build berms with plantings. The berms can be run into your waterfall so it would not look like it comes out of nowhere. I would suggest to look at as many pictures of ponds as possible to see what you like and what might be feasible. It is very typical that people start with a flat or slightly uneven area of land in the beginning. Definitely you want to raise the perimeter of the pond slightly above the surrounding area so that runoff from your lawn or garden does not bring unwanted chemicals into the pond. Good luck and welcome to GPF!