Don’t Forget to Line your Pond
I remember trying to make a pond as a young child. After digging a modest hole at the end of the garden I would run back and forth with a watering can for a day attempting to fill it with water. Naturally water drained away into the ground and being knee high to a grasshopper I had absolutely no idea why I couldn’t fill my pond.
What I didn’t realise back then was the water would never stop soaking into the porous earth. Without liner, just like the sand castle moats you build on the beach, the water simply drains away.
One of the fundamentals of pond construction is ensuring it is lined. Pond liner is usually cut from a roll (much like a carpet) so you just have to calculate how much pond lining you need for the size of your new pond. Pond liner calculators are very handy for this task, just measure the depth, length & width of your pond first.
Do I need Liner Underlay?
Large pond projects definately require pond liner underlayis essential. Particularly when there is the possibility of the liner getting damaged by tree roots or sharp rocks!
Got the Liner – What next?
Once you have lined your pond and filled it with water it doesn’t end there. The water musn’t become stagnant so you need to ensure it is renewed or filtered continuously. Depending on the purpose your pond will almost certainly need a pump, particularly if you intend keeping fish! Like pond liner, choosing a pump depends on the size of the pond. The pump must be powerful enough to pump and renew all the water in the pond within a certain time frame.
I doubt I would have discontinued trying to fill that childhood pond in my childhood had I known the truth about pond liners and the science of building ponds. Racing to get back with buckets of water before the previous contents soacked into the mud and turning my parents kitchen into an indoor paddling pool was so much fun!
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