Lining a Pond
One of the most important aspects of constructing your pond is making sure you have enough pond liner. Having too little pond liner will mean a sudden rethink in the size of your pond or, worse still, will give you a pond is that is only watertight some of the time.
When measuring your pond you need to consider not just the length and width that you pond will take on the ground, but also the depth of the pond into the ground In other words, you need to calculate the volume of the pond.
A good rule of thumb is to measure your pond and then add a couple of feet to both measurements. This allows the rubber liner to sit slightly proud of the hole in the ground which ensures your pond water does not seep away.
Pond Filtration
Another essential part of building a pond is a good filtration system. If you look for pond filters on the net you should find a good selection to select from.
But what is it you need out of a filtration system? To achieve an efficient biological surface you need to ensure the water that enters the filtration is rich in oxygen. This helps the friendly bacteria to oxidise the waste products through the nitrogen cycle. This is called aerobic filtration. Filter systems must fulfil the following criteria:
- The filter volume should be 10% minimum of the ponds volume.
- You should be aiming to turn over at least half the ponds volume once per hour.
- There should be a number of chambers in the filter that when cleaning can be separated and individually emptied. A vortex should be included.
- The biological surface area needs to be at least one square metre per ten cubic metres of pond water.
- An ultra violet clarifier should be installed to eliminate single celled algae, which causes green water.
There are two main types of filtration. The first is a gravity feed where the water is removed from the pond via a bottom drain. Gravity then forces it through the filter which is sited buried in the ground close to your pond so that the water level in both your filtration and pond are the same. The water is then returned to the pond via a dry sited pond pump through an outlet in the side wall of the pond below the waterline. At this stage it is important to use a venturi on the outlet to oxygenate the returned water as the biological surfaces will have depleted the oxygen during oxidisation of the waste products.
The pressurised feed filter is the 2nd main type of filtration and probably the most familiar. This involves an internal solid handling pump at the deepest part of the pond pumping water through a flexible pipe up to the filter which is sited above the surface level of the pond, which allows the water to return by the forces of gravity.
Water Pumps
Water gardens are at the mercy of bacteria, lack of oxygen and the settling of debris and dirt without a good pond pump. A dependable pond water pump does wonders in creating and maintaining a healthy environment and balanced ecosystem in your garden pond by circulating and oxygenating water continuously. The water pump also plays an important role in safety by helping to prevent unwanted pests from breeding and infesting the area. Find a wide range of pond pump systems to fit every small pond application from good pond retailers.
If you are keen to pursue creating a garden pond whether its for koi, wildlife or aesthetics, take a look for pond and aquatics retailers that not only sell the products but also {offer advice and after sales}provide good advice and after sales assistance.