Discuss – Provide adequate shade by having 60 to 70% of the pond’s surface area covered with floating plants or other types of shade.

A pond, logically, the first question you should ask is WHERE? Do you have a huge yard with a lot of trees and shrubs and flowerbeds? In other words what is the present landscape like? Would you prefer your pond in a sunny spot or in the shade? That may not seem too important, but if you should decide to surround your pond with flowers, it becomes very important. It seems (to me at least) that there are many more varieties of flowers that are sun lovers rather than ones that prefer shade. Another consideration also is that if you place your pond too near to trees, then falling leaves become a cleanup problem.

Once you’ve decided on a location, then the next question is HOW BIG? Do you want a small pond that will only need a few hundred gallons to fill, or something more like what you see in the pictures that accompany this text that holds around three thousand gallons? Do you have a water spigot close enough to your pond location so that you don’t need three hundred feet of hose to fill it?

Discuss – Including an assortment of plants inside the fish pond, and planting it around the edges will help manage and absorb the nutrients in the fish pond. Some water plants will also help to control the presence of algae.

If you are going to have a pond with a pump and filter to re-circulate the water, then you will need an electrical source nearby. Are you thinking of having a water fall or fountain? Do you think that you are going to want fish or other aquatic life in your pond?

Will you need a fence? Does your city or township require fences or any other kind of safeguards around ponds? If there are no local ordinances in this regard, then how about your own personal feelings about keeping such an area safe for small children, who all seem to love water and gravitate to it like bees to honey?

Where is the one really good spot in your yard where you love to sit and commune with nature? If you have a spot like that, then that is probably the perfect place for your pond. Just sitting and watching a waterfall or fountain is very relaxing, and if you’ve decided to liven up your private little lake, then choose fish like Koi, Comets, and Shabunkins which seem to be quite hardy specimens. They winter well, even here in northern Ohio. We haven’t lost one fish to the weather in the eight years we’ve had our pond.

Now, as to the basic “hardware” needs. Set your mind to having a strong liner, even if it’s more expensive. This is the key to a trouble free pond. Firestone makes a liner material called EPDM PondGuard that is tough and very puncture resistant. (Holes in the liner are a real pain in the neck!). Besides the liner, you’ll need a submersible water pump, a pond filter, a UV light (sometimes called a UV filter), and a few pond plants.

Discuss – However, if you still do want to keep potted plants in your KOI pond, we recommend wrapping netting over the tops of the pots, to keep the fish from digging in the pots. Another thing you can do is to top the pots with 1′ of pea gravel, and then larger river stones or similar over that.

Just some things to think about before you build your pond.

Robert Dorrance has had a pond for the last eight years and would like to share his experiences with you. Be sure to come by and download the free e-book, How To Build A Beautiful Backyard Pond. Find out more at http://www.Backyard-Pond-Guide.com

Discuss – When used to reduce stress in separate treatment tanks or during fish transportation, use 4 tablespoons full (95.2g) of Pond Salt for each 10 gallons (37.

The location of your pond should be decided. You’ve picked a good spot in your yard where you can see the pond from different places, and it’s near enough to the house so you can see it from a window. This is really part of the fun because you can visualize the landscaping ideas you’ll be incorporating into the pond area once the dig is finished.

The first thing to do is outline the perimeter of your pond. Avoid square or sharp corners because your pond liner will conform much better to a freeform round or kidney shape. You should also have made the decision by this time about the size of the design. I would strongly suggest not going too small. I changed the size of our pond two times because the first and second time just weren’t big enough. Lay out the final design and size on the ground where you plan to dig with a can of spray paint.

Discuss – Those who want to have plants on their fish pond should keep in mind that they should place their fish pond in a place where it can be exposed to great amount of sun light.

The next thing to decide is the depth of the pond. I would suggest at least twenty four to thirty six inches. Our pond is thirty six to forty eight inches deep and the main reason is the fact that we have fish. Some of our fish are quite large, we have two Koi’s that are about eighteen inches long and they definitely need the room. If you’re going to have fish, or think you might get fish in the future, then don’t skimp on pond depth. If you live in a cold winter climate like we do, then the fish need room at the bottom to winter over. Like I mentioned previously, we haven’t lost a fish to the winter in the eight years we’ve had our pond.

Keep in mind that you want to keep the top ‘shoreline” edges pretty level. The reason for this is that once you put the liner in and fill the pond with water you won’t have a large piece of the liner showing on the high side of the hole. Also as you dig, remember that you are going to want a ledge most of the way around the perimeter of the hole, about six to twelve inches down from the top and about twelve inches wide. This will provide you with a “shelf” to set your pond plants on.

Discuss – Including an assortment of plants inside the fish pond, and planting it around the edges will help manage and absorb the nutrients in the fish pond. Some water plants will also help to control the presence of algae.

Once the hole is dug and shaped to your satisfaction and with any protruding sharp rocks removed to provide a relatively smooth surface for the liner to rest on, then you are ready to install the liner. Here are the quick calculations to figure the size of your liner:

Length: Length of the dug out area plus two feet plus the depth plus three feet.

Width: Width of the dug out area plus two feet plus the depth plus three feet.

For Example: The hole is ten feet long by six feet wide and the depth is three feet. Therefore, the liner LENGTH is 10 + 2 +3 +3 = 18 feet. And the WIDTH is 6 + 2 +3 + 3 = 14 feet. So the needed liner size is 18 feet long and 14 feet wide.

Discuss – Outline the edges with rock. One should be careful when selecting the rocks that will line the edges of the pond.

Some people have lined the dug hole with old carpet scraps to provide a little extra cushion under the liner and also a little more protection in case a sharp rock may have escaped detection. Personally, I didn’t do this and we haven’t had any leakage problems.

So, now it’s time to install the liner. Make it easier and get some help for this operation. Position the liner over the hole, trying to keep an even overlap on all four sides. Next push the liner down into the hole as evenly as you can, keeping in mind that you want the overlap to be as equal as possible all the way around the hole. When you are satisfied that the liner is positioned correctly, place a few heavy rocks on the overlap equally spaced around the pond.

Discuss – Location is everything. First individuals must decide where they want to dig their fish pond.

Now it’s time to start filling the pond. Obviously, the smaller the pond, the quicker the fill. A large pond can take quite a while, and while it is filling use the time to disperse the liner evenly so that you don’t get a lot of large folds. You’re bound to get some folds but if you work on smoothing them out as the water is going in the end result will be a nicer appearance. If you have to make any moves to even out the overlap, do it before too much water is added because it gets heavy fairly quickly and once the weight of the water takes over you won’t be moving anything. As the pond fills and the liner conforms to the shape of the hole and you see that your overlap around the edges is looking pretty good, then you can start to relax because the hard part is done.

Robert Dorrance has had a pond for the last eight years and would like to share his experiences with you. You can read other articles and download my free e-book, “How To Build A Beautiful Backyard Pond at http://www.Backyard-Pond-Guide.com