Building a Sustainable Fish Pond

If you’re looking to build a new pond for your garden, then investing in time and quality pond construction equipment can be key to building a feature that will last over the years.

How hard is it to build a pond?

Of course, the work begins with digging your hole, and this can often prove the most gruelling task. Once this is completed, it is then important to find a manufacturer who can supply pond liners to fit to size.

One of the most crucial factors in building a pond is making sure that any sharp surfaces are removed prior to lining the area. Although sealing kits can be purchased in the event of a tear, avoiding the problem initially will result in less maintenance.

Installing valves and flanges as well as pond hosing can also be difficult if you’re looking to create a water feature, with electrical boxes further adding to the complications. It is therefore essential to invest in quality equipment, to ensure that the building process runs smoothly.

Finding the right equipment

To begin a successful pond build, a tough liner is needed to guarantee solid groundwork. Pond Liners can be purchased in a number of sizes for different styles, with certain manufacturers such as Oasis offering a lifetime guarantee on their products.

Underlay can be further beneficial when building a pond, as it can hold resistance against root and stone penetration. Used often by landscapers, underlay systems from industry figures like Lotus can prolong the life of your pond liner.

For those looking to add a filtration system, or building a new water feature, then you’ll need to buy some pond hosing and clips. These can be purchased in a variety of diameters, ranging from 12-40mm.

Investing in quality corrugated flexible pond hosing will allow you to create an effective water feature, with extra durability and healthy flow rates, meaning the hosing can navigate tight corners with no danger of kinking.

The same can be said for valves and flanges, where quality is essential in ensuring that filtration systems are protected against salt and chemical treatments. Flange connectors and slide gate valves, alongside their seals, need to be top quality to resist corrosion.

Valterra valves, used in welded pressure pipes to filter the pond’s water, provide sustainable water flow to ensure that your garden installation lives a longer life.

Not forgetting the importance of the sealants used throughout the structure within its lining, hosing and maintenance, where manufacturers such as G4, Gold Label and Weld-On provide premium materials.  

Tools and accessories you will need

From the building necessities like a shovel, wheelbarrow and measuring tape, to the constructing essentials such as the liner, tubing and pond filters, ponds are no simple construction when it comes to tools.

As we’ve covered previously, finding the right equipment is key – and using the correct tools to install the equipment is just as important. To build the pond itself, you’ll need to invest in a quality hardware as well as measuring tapes and spirit levels to ensure the pond is stable.

When constructing the pond, start with purchasing an underlay and pond liner. Once installed, pond hosing, a pond pump and filter are needed to ensure that the water is consistently cleaned. Optional extras including a heater and lighting can enable different varieties of fish to be purchased, though they are not essential.

Electric connectors are now a likely accessory needed for pond equipment like pumps, UV clarifiers and air pumps used with water features. Choosing the right electrical connector kit is crucial in protecting your safety whilst installing the hardware.

Choosing the right tank for type of fish

There are a number of things to consider when purchasing fish for your pond, as they must be compatible with the installation to cater for their own particular needs.

It goes without saying that the size of your pond plays a key part in the decision to introduce certain species of fish, as well as how many you choose to keep. For example, varieties of large carp fish will require at least 100cm of depth to thrive.

By measuring the length and width of your pond, you can gain a better understanding of the types of fish that would be suitable, taking into account their growth also. Most garden centres will supply an array of species, from goldfish to European catfish.

Goldfish generally thrive in pond environments, with regular forms such as comets able to survive the climate throughout the winter and summer months. These manageable fish also only grow to around 15cm or more, meaning they are suitable for most ponds.

A more adventurous option is the koi or carp fish, which can grow to around 75cm or more in length. Although these are only suited to larger and heavily filtered ponds, the fish are highly desired by keepers and often require high security to prevent any unwanted accidents with felines.

Tench fish are further popular with pond keepers, and are known as ‘pond cleaners’ to those in the business. Spending most of their time at the bottom of the tanks, looking for food in the silt, means that any unwanted food by other fish is eaten and not left to rot.

Whichever fish takes your preference, it is advised that the animals are acclimatised to the temperature of your pond by a process of floating their unopened plastic bag in the pond for around thirty minutes.

How to maintain your fish pond

Maintaining your new pond is just as important as the building process. Whether it involves re-sealing, or installing new filtration systems, premium materials are again needed to ensure the longevity of the fix.

Simple methods such as monitoring algae, trimming pond plants and removing dead foliage from the features can also be effective in maintaining the construction. These can all damage filtration systems, and therefore observing the systems closely is crucial to a healthy pond.

Bonding sealants, pipe cement and acrylic pond sealer can be used to fix small tears and snags, yet we would hope that if the pond was constructed correctly initially, these issues would never come to fruition.

Looking to build a new pond in your garden? Check out the full range of pond supplies from Aquacadabra.