Introducing a pond to your garden is a great way of adding a visually appealing feature, that the local wildlife will also appreciate. By no means a quick or easy task, building a pond will be a rewarding project that you can enjoy for years to come. If you’re thinking of building a pond as your next DIY project, here are the basics steps of how to build a pond, and how you can use Ecodeck products to make it an environmentally-friendly feature.
Choose a Pond Type
The first step to building your pond is deciding the type of pond you would like to build, and the kind of aquatic life you want it to house – if any. Are you planning on creating a pond for goldfish or koi? Will you be adding any aquatic plants, or will the pond act solely as a visual feature? These are the kinds of questions you need to ask yourself long before you start marking out your pond and digging it.
Dig and Line the Pond
Once you’ve settled on the type of pond you’re building, dig out the desired depth and shape, before lining it with a pond liner. Moulded fibreglass and flexible PVC liners are both eco-friendly alternatives to lining your pond with concrete – and will be easier to remove if you choose to fill in your pond in the future. Before you put down your liner, don’t forget to use a pond underlay to protect your liner from rocks and roots that could penetrate it.
Fill with Water
Your next step will be to actually fill the pond. Using tap water is a common mistake that leads to algae because of the sulphates and nitrates it contains. Instead, use rainwater to fill your pond. If you don’t want to wait weeks for enough rain to fill your pond, use something like our rainwater butt so that you can fill your pond straight away once it has been lined.
Edge the Pond
Once you’ve filled the pond, you’ll be left with exposed bits of liner all around the edge of the pond, making it look messy and unfinished. Trying to disguise this so the pond blends in seamlessly with the rest of your garden is often the trickiest task of building a pond. Our range of grass protection mats is ideal for creating a natural look to the perimeter of the pond, blending with the rest of your garden turf, while providing enough support to ensure that the edge of your pond won’t become boggy.
Safety
Maintaining a safe pond is essential, especially if it’s in an area that can be accessed by small children. Households with children, schools, and nurseries are just a few examples of the environments where a pond will need an adequate safety cover. The DiamonDeck Pond Safety Cover will ensure that your freshly-built pond will be just as safe as it will be visually stunning.