Please help me resurrect my backyard pond? :)

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  Almost Banned on 05/01/2014 - 18:39

  My first instinct (my cheap-arse side) is to ask why you are spending your own time and money on renovating the garden in a rental - but there's also a part of me (my gardener side) that is impressed.
  My guess is that the pond liner was surrounded by rocks which formed the lip of the pond. Surely from the look of your picture the pond liner is fibreglass and has levels in it already?
  Good luck.

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    Geewhizz on 05/01/2014 - 19:30

    +1

    My first instinct (my cheap-arse side) is to ask why you are spending your own time and money on renovating the garden in a rental

    If you're going to live somewhere why wouldn't you put in a bit of effort to make it an enjoyable place to be? We rented for the best part of 20 years and always had a garden. If you plant things that can easily be divided or otherwise propagated, or grow easily from seed it's no big deal if you have to move.

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  chris_21 on 05/01/2014 - 19:17

  Check to see the fibro surround doesnt have cracks\leaks.

  My pond has a few small rocks at the bottom and we put a brick to raise the height of the water lily pot plant to the right height.
  you might want to fill in some soil along the gaps between the pond and soil for stability. Then place some larger rocks so when it rain soil doesnt seep in and the boundary is marked

  This is my pond, to give you a quick idea

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  Geekomatic on 05/01/2014 - 22:00

  +2

  In this photo:

  Patio & Pond

  you can see a bunch of the stones. rocks, & tubs that I removed from in & around the pond. Now, I did panorama, so the pond looks strangely squished now- but it's actually fine. Chris_21, yours is about what I'm thinking of, but w/o the Koi- lol. I don't have the confidence for those yet. I did order a small solar-powered fountain from ebay, just for water movement & to add a bit of interest.

  The pond is actually hemmed in by large tree roots, so if you see gaps at the soil/pond it's not really a problem. What I have is a bunch of tubs, pots, & some rough-surfaced stones of all sizes. I don't have to use these exact stones- in fact, I'd like to level the soil, shore up the front (where the old railroad ties have disintegrated) & maybe put down a few flat stones that lead to the waters edge so you could actually sit at the edge. Right now, it's pretty bleak- having been neglected for so long. Initially, that whole corner was entirely overgrown & impenetrable.

  When I visited Bunnings to ask about liners, the fellow pointed me to a black plastic builders use- and it actually says, "for pond lining"- but cheap. I plan to double it up before lining the pond. What I'm wondering is if this goes in first & then the stones/pots? I ask because it seemed when I removed the old liner, it was over top of the tubs…could that be?

  Sorry to sound so dense, I'm just trying to grasp the concept starting from an odd pond set up as I found it.

  Geewhizz- I like my home to look nice & I like working outdoors. I have a very nice, young owner (this property is his "super"). Anything I've improved, he's been happy to pay for it. I just had $500 worth of topsoil & mulch delivered & have completely redone the front yard. He arrived with his own ute & stacked & took away the debris to the tip himself. So, all that to say that it's nice to surround yourself with good things like this pond. I find it uplifting.

  Any other tips or tricks or ideas, please, please pipe up!

  Ta! :)

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  Geewhizz on 06/01/2014 - 07:14

  +1

  To answer one of your main questions Geekomatic, no, a liner should not be placed over any rocks or pots. I'd say whoever might have done that in the past probably had some disappointing results, hence the neglected state in which you found it.

  Normally, what you would do is dig your hole (which in your case has been done for you) and ensure there are no sticks or stones or other sharp objects that can damage the liner. The hole is meant to have varying levels to support plantlife as well as fish. The majority of water plants don't need it all that deep (maybe 30cm to 40 or so, whereas your fish need deeper water. When it warms up the deeper water will be cooler for them.

  Once the hole is dug and smoothed, a 3cm layer of builders sand is generally spread over the surface to help protect the liner from damage, and then a further layer of old carpet or cardboard is often used to provide even further protection. The liner is then draped into the hole and smoothed as best you can to the shape of the hole, making sure that it is in contact with all of the surface of your hole.

  Lay the excess on the ground at the top of your hole and anchor roughly with a few bricks to support it all the way around. It doesn't need to be tidy at this stage. Then fill your pool slowly, working the liner further to the shape of the hole and smoothing any wrinkles from the plastic as it fills. Once full you can then trim the liner to 30cm bigger all round than the size of your hole and dress as desired. PLEASE NOTE however, there is absolutely no reason you couldn't incorporate some sort of waterfall into your pond, and if you chose beforehand to do so, you'd need to line this with the plastic also, before you trim it.

  Those stones you have appear to be quincan or some other type of volcanic rock. They appear to be quite rough, and as such are probably not what I would use by choice, but if you have no choice then simply use the smoother ones amongst them. Just be careful not to pierce the liner with any sharp bits when putting them into place.

  However, in your pic, that would appear to be a pre-formed pond that is already there, is that correct?

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    Geekomatic on 06/01/2014 - 14:15

    Yes, it appears to be a fibreglass pond. It's old looking & may have leaks - so I assume, if the previous people had lined it.

    PLEASE NOTE however, there is absolutely no reason you couldn't incorporate some sort of waterfall into your pond, and if you chose beforehand to do so, you'd need to line this with the plastic also, before you trim it.

    I'd like to, except there are no power outlets anywhere near this corner & I don't fancy running $$$ worth of power cable to one, tiny pond. That's why I bought a small water fountain that runs on a solar panel (w/internal battery for night use/LED's if wished).

    The rocks are very plentiful- lol. And yes, many are rough so I wouldn't use them inside the pond. There are a few smooth stones I can use inside it to prop up plant pots. Now, one of the plants was still alive in that corner & I believe it was in the pond- but can anyone verify this? It's the one at the left-hand side of the "pond & patio" photo, in the black pot.

    Are there any plants better at water-filtering which are easy to keep in check & to get flourishing? Lastly, which small minnows are best at staying alive & eating mossie larva- I'm in the Mandurah area.

    Ta!

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      meshe1969 on 06/01/2014 - 15:10

      If you a water feature/fountain that keeps the surface of the water moving you won't get any mozzie larvae.

      I don't have water movement in my wine barrel/water feature so have a couple of Murray River Rainbows.

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  Wildberry on 06/01/2014 - 20:09

  good on you Geekomatic

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  w2st2k3 on 04/03/2014 - 13:48

  Bunnings's liner are PVC sofe liner, for situation you have now, i.e. rocky and lots of root, you will need underlay and harder HDPE liner.