wanting to create a bigger pond

[jokerfishie]

Hello everyone, I currently have a small preformed pond that I put in two summers ago, and I love it but I would love to expand into a much bigger pond. It is my favorite thing to do is come outside in the morning and drink my coffee sitting near the pond and watching the fish and frogs play Happily about. How do I go about it, I don't even know where to start except to start digging, but what all do I need to achieve the pond of my dreams, what kind of pump, liners, skimmers.... am I getting in over my head, oh and also I would like to achieve this on a budget...any help would be greatly appreciated....thanks guys

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I was on a budget too. Like a "I can maybe afford a puddle" budget.
It depends how big you plan on going. My pond is 7' x 4' x 3', around 400g but with the size liner I bought, it could've been 7' x 7' x 3', which is somewhere around 650g-700g, I'd imagine. If you plan on going bigger than that, this probably wont be too much help.

My 14'x14' pond liner was on sale for $30 at Menards, originally $70, so similar stores like Home Depot and Lowes may also have good deals. I wouldn't imagine it to be a top-of-the-line liner by any means but I couldn't pass up the deal. Harbor Freight sells cheap pumps and usually have them on sale.

The biggest expense for me was buying rocks to go around the edge. I found a landscaping place nearby that had the perfect amount of flagstone for $140, and a farm up the road was selling 4" stones for 25 cents a piece that I used around my stream. Farms always have tons of stones and larger rocks and sometimes give them away for free.

 

[addy1]

Check craigslist too, a lot of people esp after a winter like this one, might be saying done with ponds and dumping their equipment.

Don't know where in pa you are, but just checked a few areas, see pumps, ponds etc for sale.

 

[sissy]

Welcome The pond liner i hate to say is the most expensive part .You can check out roofing companies for rubber roofing .Not sure since you don't say how big your budget is and how big you want your pond and how many fish you have now and what size they are or how much space you have to put in a pond .Skimmer you may not need if you do not have lots of leaves .I have never had a skimmer .Harbor freight pumps are good ,I still have my first one and the last one I bought was the 2150gph but sad to say something chewed the wire .It uses 175 watts of power and cost 79 dollars ,they also have smaller pumps .Got a new one but pump at the other house was not enough so it is over there and i bought a laguna 2900 gph hat uses 104 watts .It said more but also states it will hit it's sweet spot on use and will stay at that .I bought it on ebay from webbs .In PA you should be able to find lots of rocks in local streams to borrow .I was from the Berwick and Benton area at one time

 

[dieselplower]

Would you care to share with us what your budget is?
How much space do you have for this pond?
Ideally, how many gallons would you like it to be?
How many fish do you have and of what type and size?
Do you plan to leave the fish outside all Winter?

I know what you are saying about loving your pond. Mine is my favortie thing as well. If you can provide us with as much information as possible, we can help you build your pond right the first time, rather than having to redo it many times, as some of us have. It costs a lot more to redo everything 2 or 3 times than just once!

 

[Big Lou]

Having a preformed pond presents a number of obstacles up front. The most serious being joining it to a conventional EDPM lined pond. Now that's not to say your expansion dream is impossible. According to your current ponds design you may be able to join another preform with yours. Please provide a photo of your current pond and I will try to help.

 

[michey1st]

Hi Jokerfishie and welcome!

Maybe something like what I did can serve as inspiration for "tricking out" your preform. I started out with a preformed (when I moved to this house, I dug it up from the old house and brought it along) and then added an upper bog and a "middle pond" with an EPDM liner. All three are connected together with waterfalls and piping. This year will be the "rock year" where I redo all the edges to get something that is a little more natural and add lots more plants. Then next year, I'll be removing the preformed to make an even bigger/deeper lower pond.

Right now, everything looks like heck as we are in the tail end of winter (still) here in Maryland. Here are some pics in my introduction thread from last year, which you can see for more details at https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/almost-finished-sort-of.12776/#post-187914. In the first pic below, the pond towards the bottom of the picture is the kidney-shaped preform.

 

[addy1]

That looks very nice!

 

[michey1st]

Thanks, Addy! I can't wait for this latest snow/rain bout to BE GONE! Hopefully this is the last we will see of the white stuff for this season.

Kindest regards from your neighbor just slightly south =)
Michele

 

[JohnHuff]

Here's a thought. If you don't want to get rid of your old pond, add another pond and make a water bridge to connect the two so the fish can swim back and forth, and you can keep the same filter.

 

[sissy]

Welcome and best part about a pond is it can lower your blood pressure .I use my bridge to meditate .I am just rebuilding my pond after rodent chewed through my liner .First was a preformed pond

 

[JohnHuff]

Welcome and best part about a pond is it can lower your blood pressure .

Are we talking about the same thing? It can increase your blood pressure if things do go right and you have to do a lot of work and maintenance! It can also get you wet and dirty and give you muscle aches and pains. And lower your bank account balance. And waste a lot of times on forums too.

 

[addy1]

Are we talking about the same thing? It can increase your blood pressure if things do go right and you have to do a lot of work and maintenance! It can also get you wet and dirty and give you muscle aches and pains. And lower your bank account balance. And waste a lot of times on forums too.

lol but look how many virtual friends you have made! and what great shape that pond keeps you in.

 

[sissy]

sure it may be work but it is good work and when you win you are happy and when you fail you ask for help and try again to succeed is that not what life is about .How would I be where I am if I just said i can't do this and gave up .There is a learning curve for everything in life and I never give up .We learn from the time we are born it is what makes life worth living.I don't care what people think of me just what I think of them .

 

[jokerfishie]

Hi Jokerfishie and welcome!

Maybe something like what I did can serve as inspiration for "tricking out" your preform. I started out with a preformed (when I moved to this house, I dug it up from the old house and brought it along) and then added an upper bog and a "middle pond" with an EPDM liner. All three are connected together with waterfalls and piping. This year will be the "rock year" where I redo all the edges to get something that is a little more natural and add lots more plants. Then next year, I'll be removing the preformed to make an even bigger/deeper lower pond.

Right now, everything looks like heck as we are in the tail end of winter (still) here in Maryland. Here are some pics in my introduction thread from last year, which you can see for more details at https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/almost-finished-sort-of.12776/#post-187914. In the first pic below, the pond towards the bottom of the picture is the kidney-shaped preform.