Building a new pond

[White Lightning]

I have been anxiously awaiting spring to arrive so that I can finally build a pond in the backyard. Where is the best place to go for pond liners and accessories? I only have a small backyard and plan on completely renovating come the spring. Any ideas?

[cemantic]

We built our first pond last year and it turned out great but there is definitely things we would do differently after the experience.

First off get your hands on as many books on pond building as you can.  If OVAS has some great, if not there are some good ones at the Ottawa Public Library.  Our experience was that a lot of the books just gloss over everything so you have to envision what you want yourself.

Depending on what you want to do there are kits that Costco sell that are not too badly priced.  http://www.costco.ca/Common/Search.aspx?whse=BCCA&topnav=&search=pond&N=0&Ntt=pond&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-CA

If the link doesn't work go to Costco's site and search for "pond"

We bought the 180-gallon Flexible Deluxe Pond Kit which included a pre-formed pond a cheesy little waterfall, a pump, lights etc.  In the end all we used was the pre-formed pond.  We bought a better pump at 1100 gal per hour and built our own waterfall.  If you have a waterfall you have to have a large enough capacity pump to lift the water up to the level you start the waterfall at.

I would definitely recommend digging you own shape and using pond liner instead of a preformed pond unless you positively know that is all you want.  We already have plans to redo ours in another year.  We have to get a fence up this year.  Keep in mind any pond deeper then 24" must have the same type of fencing that you need for a pool, check the city of Ottawa site to confirm this.  If you want to over winter fish two feet is not deep enough.

Consider if you want to have fish and if you want to leave them there over the winter.  The biggest problem with keeping fish over the winter is making sure the pond is deep enough and that a heater keeps the surface open to allow gases to escape.  The other one is to neutralize any ammonia or nitrite over the winter as well as oxygenating the water so the fish don't suffocate.  Here is a link to a simple Aerator/Circulate http://www.suggestive.com/aerator.htm that will be a life saver if you do plan to over winter fish.  It utilizes a Kent Turbo Venturi for oxygen and a Bag of zeolite & carbon to neutralize any ammonia build up.  Simple to make.  Plan for it if you want fish.

We bought liner for the waterfalls part and you need to buy textile underlay to protect the liner from rocks etc.  We used a good pump to a bio-filter weir.  Basically a bucket with a lip that has the space for filtering material and lava rock for bacteria surface build up to neutralize ammonia and nitrite.  If the pond is bigger you might want to consider skimmers.  The same idea as what is used in pools to help with leaves etc. entering the pond.  Our waterfall dropping water into the pond was enough for the oxygen needed for our fish.  Getting oxygen into the pond beyond just the surface exchange is something I would recommend.  It is necessary for the fishes survival but equally important for the good bacteria necessary for a balanced eco system.

Home depot has everything you would need to built it.  They have rolls of pond liner and rolls of textile underlay plus all the pumps etc. you might need.  The Pond Clinic in the west end is good but I found them expensive.  There is MOPS, Mail Order Pet Supplies that you can order what you need over the net.  They are extremely good at advice and getting you what you order to you quickly. http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/Pond-Supplies.asp?L+scstore+slhc9022ff2aef2a+1202322357  There is a Pond shop on Preston on the west side about three blocks north of Carling.  I can't remember their name but the guy that runs it is a wealth of information and also sells probably everything you might need.  He has built hundreds of ponds and knows what he is talking about.  They also have a good selection of plants for ponds.

Think of power supply for the pond itself.  Not just for pumps but also maybe lights around and/or in the pond.  Code states you need the proper tubing to put the wiring through, buried two feet deep, which doesn't seem like that much but when you start digging it yourself it is a lot of work.  Definitely use Ground Fault plugs on everything.  We ran the wiring from a garage box to where we have the pond with four ground fault plugs.  I built a box to house them in with a fold up slanted top with an open bottom to bring the wiring in through.  You need a drip loop, meaning the plugs are higher then any water potential.

It is infinite what you can do.  I haven't covered all of what you might consider but hopefully it helps.  First decide what you would like then design for that thinking of the future.

Have fun we had a great experience doing ours.

Here are a few pics.




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[White Lightning]

Thanks so much for all the tips and advice. BTW your pond looks amazing! Thankfully I have someone who knows what their doing to help me build the pond. The one big question I have is, The electrical stuff.... I was planning on using my outdoor outlet but it only has two plugs. Does that mean I am going to have to get electrical work done to accomadate the lights, pump etc....?

[cemantic]

That depends on how far away your pump is from the outlet.  Definitely get ground fault interrupter plugs put in if they are not there already.  It is code now in Ontario that any new electrical outlet for outside or anywhere near where there is water, i.e. kitchen, bathroom, outside etc. have ground fault interrupter plugs.

See this link: http://www.misterfixit.com/gfi.htm for info on GFI plugs.

Technically if you can't plug something in directly, meaning not using a permanent extension cord you should have an outlet on a post so high off the ground and the wiring from the house should be buried two feet deep and run through PBS plastic pipe to protect it.  Definitely something you can do yourself as the OWNER of the house but it legally still needs to be inspected.  If you are not the owner then you have to hire a licenced electrician.

That being said please don't rely on what I've said here as correct.  Check with the appropriate government departments to be sure.

[cemantic]

One more after thought.

If you use the existing plugs but need more then two that are there I would suggest you get any extra permanent plugs installed.  I would also suggest that you do not use any sort of power bars etc. outside.  A safely installed electrical system is worth the money.  It protects you and your family not to mention your fish if you have them.

Here are a couple of pictures of ours when we were first starting to build.  The trench has been filled in but you can see it in the one picture on the right.  I built a box with a flip top roof for access to help protect any electrical.  This is good but by no means foolproof.  Water still manages to find its way in, just not as much.  I have four GFI plugs in there, two sets of two.  I also keep any timers for lights etc. in this box.  The box is not a code requirement.



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[The Pond Boy]

Building a pond by yourself is hard work and you will learn from your own mistakes. You can also come out to one of our build-a-pond days where you can learn how to do it by yourself. The result is that most people who come out decided not to do it by themself but to hire a contractor to do it. If you hire a good contractor, you are sure he will install a nice pond for you. Don't try to cut corners when you buy material for your pond, most likely you will hate it later. Good material makes it so much easier and better to control the water quality (also the quality of life of your fish and plants).

Also to keep the fish outside in the winter, we recommend to have it about 2 feet deep but I have seen ponds about 14-16" deep and they have koi from about 16-18" and surviving for years
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks,

The Pond Boy,
Greg Veldhuizen

[Steve_2]

I just thought I'd share my experience with keeping fish outside in the winter.

I built a pond in my back yard last spring. I was so excited about this project that I started digging before the ground was thawed. That might be why it took me a very long time to dig the hole! 

Anyway, my pond is fairly small. It was about 24" deep when I first dug it, but I added about 6" of gravel at the bottom so now it's only 18" deep. It is kind of oval/kidney shaped and I would say it probably holds around 200 gallons of water.

Anyway, in the spring, last year, I bought 12 feeder goldfish. $0.16/ea! 

Well, I did lose a couple to crows(yup, they sit on the rocks and wait for the fish to swim at the surface and then SNAP...).

So, as an experiment(call me cruel if you want) I decided to leave the fish in the pond over the winter. Now winter is not over yet, BUT I saw the goldfish swimming around last week when it was mild and the snow that covers 80$ of the pond surface melted.

I have a pump at the bottom of my pond that feeds my water fall. That keeps a portion of the pond's surface clear(not frozen).

Anyway, The pond is only about 10 feet away from my house, so I'm wondering if maybe the heat from my house might be one of the reasons why my pond is not freezing... 

[The Pond Boy]

Hi Steve,

A pond 10 feet of your house, it isn't the heat of you house what keep the water of your pond unfrozen. It must be the pump you have installed.
Thanks,

The Pond Boy,
Greg Veldhuizen