Preformed Garden Ponds
If you are looking for preformed garden ponds to enhance your outdoor areas you will know that they represent a different approach to pond construction than the traditional liner offers. Are you also aware of the flexi preformed pond? They are made from a form of rubberised plastic and generally are must less expensive to produce that the traditional rigid fibre-glass ponds, as the material is much more malleable than the rigid pond it means it is much easier for the DIY enthusiast to do a good job when installing the pond. The rubberoid plastic is believed to be more durable than its rigid structure counterpart, having greater impact resistance. It also has a better UV stability and general all round weather resistance for the freeze and thaw elements most ponds are likely to encounter.
When choosing a site to install your pond, choose a sunny location but ensure it is away from trees, not only to avoid the leaves clogging the pond at fall thus spoiling your outdoor garden decor, but also to avoid the roots when digging out the hole for the pond to sit in.
Mark your pond size by turning the pond over and sprinkling flour around the outside. When you remove the pond you have a white line marking out the pond shape; you should allow an extra 5 inches all around the pond. Next dig an over-sized hole to allow for a loose soil or soft sand buffer. Remember that when it comes to preformed garden ponds you will need to sit about 3 inches below the soil level to allow a good few inches of sand to sit on also. Keep the soil in a wheel barrow, and remove any stones and lumps or sharp objects as you will need to mix it 50/50 with sand and use it to back fill the hole.
When the hole is large enough place the pond in the hole to check it fits. At this stage the hole should be much bigger than the pond! Then remove the pond to fill all the shelves and the bottom with about 4 inches of sand. Next pop the pond back into the hole, then level it out, it should be about an inch above the soil level at this point. When level slowly fill the pond with water whilst back-filling the sides, to contour the soil with the shape of the pond always checking the water is level.
Always follow the manufacturers' instructions, but you at least understand the basics of installation now. There are pros and cons to most solutions and you will need to make the best choice for your situation based on your own requirements, but for a DIY aquatics project a flexi pond is worth careful examination.
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Comments
I have a litte preformed pond and it turned out well. Great article!
Yeah, I know; the first one I had I installed without reading the instructions (being too clever for that "sort of thing") and it ended up turning into the dirtiest well! lol! I definitely learnt my lesson!:)
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