 Planning
Your Fish Pond
The size and shape of your pond is entirely down to personal
preference governed only by the size of the garden and it's
location. That said, the size of the pond plays a very
important role in the biological balance of the pond.
The bigger the pond is. the better the conditions will be
for both plants and animals not to mention the greatly
improved visual effect. If you intend to stock it with
fish, you need a minimum depth of 1 metre (3 feet) in order
to provide an ideal living environment for your fish,
particularly in winter. Fish need to be able to get
down to around 3 feet to escape the frost. The table
below is a guide to calculating pond size to water volume.
|
Surface area |
Depth |
|
3 - 5
m² |
60 -
80 cm |
|
5 - 15
m² |
80 -
100 cm |
|
above
15 m² |
100 cm
and more |
In addition
to the size and shape you should decide whether you want to
use a pond liner or a ready-made (preformed) pond. In
theory at least; a preformed pond is quicker and easier to
install, these are normally made from either plastic or
fibreglass. There are basically two grades of liner
widely available, go for the stronger butyl type which is
often guaranteed for 20 years whereas the cheaper usually
holds a 10 year warranty.
You could
also create your pond using various other mediums including:
concrete - expensive to build and very costly to repair,
Fibreglass - possibly a long messy process and probably
expensive too, I have never seen a DIY fibreglass pond yet
but I understand that it's a fairly simple process since
there is no precision needed. A clay lined pond - a
natural option which would require a minimum of 16 cm (6
inches) of clay all round as a lining in order to prevent
the water seeping through.
For ponds
less than 4m² a preformed pond with a minimum depth of 40cm
is recommended. Pond liners have the big advantage of
infinite size and design options. Ideally for more
than 400 litres/metre² of water surface area you require a
minimum depth of 40cm.
Important factors
- Choose
an open sunny area with an average of 4-6 hours of
sunlight
- Avoid
constructing your pond under trees if possible
- Pick a
quiet tranquil spot to create a wildlife haven
- Make
sure you have power and water supplies available
- Decide
whether it's going close to the house or at the bottom of
the garden
- Will you
be keeping fish
- What
medium will you use e.g. liner, preformed etc
To calculate the volume of water in your pond
Litres
- Length (metres) x Width (metres) x Average Depth
(metres) x 1000 = volume of pond water in Litres.
E.g.:
6m x
3m x 0.5m x 1000 = 9,000 Litres
Gallons
-
Length (feet) x Width (feet) x Average Depth (feet) x 6.23 =
volume of pond water in Gallons
E.g.:
19ft
x 10ft x 2ft x 6.23 = 2,367.4 gallons
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Detail information
Detail information
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