How to Construct a Garden Pond
- 1). Dig a hole large enough to hold the garden pond liner you purchased. Rigid liners require more precise measurements than flexible sheet-style liners. The hole should be placed in an area with partial to full sunlight for the health of any aquatic plants you will include.
- 2). Lay the water garden liner in the hole. A rigid liner may require a layer of sand to properly support the base, as well as sand poured in at the edges to provide a firm wall for the sides. Flexible pond liners can also have a base of sand but, as long as rocks and tree roots were removed from the hole, should be sufficient with the existing dirt.
- 3). Disguise the top edge of the garden pond liner with wide, flat rocks, bricks or paving stones. You can grow plants directly up to the plastic lip of rigid pond liners, but flexible, sheet liners require some heavy materials like stone to hold them securely in place.
- 4). Place any pond pumps and filters that are not submersible in a convenient place near your pond. Run the necessary tubes or hoses in and out of the pond. Position submersible filters and pumps at the bottom of the pond liner on flat stones or bricks to keep them free of the muck that will develop at the bottom over time.
- 5). Fill the garden pond with water from a hose. It will probably take several hours to get it full to the top. As soon as the water is high enough to cover and fill all pumps, filters and hoses, turn them on. This will not only test them to make sure they work well, it will start the process of aerating the water to remove chlorine and other chemicals.
- 6). Place purchased aquatic plants at their appropriate depths. To prevent overgrowth of algae, it is recommended to cover at least one-half of the pond surface with plants. If you intend to keep fish in the pond, plants will provide security from predators. They also add to the overall beauty of a garden pond.