Having a Flexible liner is usually by far the most satisfactory way of creating a pond that is large enough to house numerous aquatic plants and various fish. You should not limited to your range of shapes and sizes of Rigid liners offered in the catalogues and at the garden centres. The transportation and handling can also be considerably easier. Price should not be a stumbling block because on an equal area basis, a high quality Flexible liner isn't dearer than a fibreglass Rigid liner.
The only real drawback with a Flexible liner is that you can't achieve the perfectly smooth surface and angles that you will find in a pre-formed kind of liner. There will be also a few wrinkles, but this will not not pose any serious problems.
Plan on starting the work in the spring and during a fairly dry spell of weather if you are lucky enough to receive one. If the pond is to be permanent try to purchase butyl sheeting if you can. It is the costliest, but it will easily outlast other types and any tears will be easily repaired. Where money is a problem choose a very good quality PVC liner.
If you happen to be building a temporary pond for breeding fish or holding the stock when you’re cleaning out a permanent pond then a cheap polythene sheeting is perfectly satisfactory.
A problem which occasionally arises when buying a Flexible liner is that some suppliers use trade names without stating inside the catalogue just which construction material has been used. Just be sure you ask before buying and make sure you check the length on the guarantee.
Rigid Liners:
Using a Rigid liner is maybe the simple way of making a small pond . It can be worth considering if you merely want a pond for rearing fish, just a little wildlife pond or perhaps a mini-pond for some aquatic plants and a couple of Goldfish. It is also a great way of lining a raised pond.
Most experts through the years have warned against the installation of a Rigid liner when you want a well balanced pond for a variety of aquatic plants and several other kinds of fish in water which is not going to be green with algae. Until quite recently they were generally correct as there was a good list of drawbacks. The cheaper liners had an unacceptably short lifetime and were often tastelessly coloured. The depths were also generally lower than the critical 18 inches and the usual shape was too small and too fussy.
Things have changed rather a lot these days. There are tough black plastic ponds having a long-term guarantee along with sizes well over 40 sq. ft surface area and depths of in excess of 18 inches all available and simple geometrical shapes are offered alongside the convoluted ones. Along with that they have shelving for Marginals which is a superb improvement. There is certainly even a variety of Rigid liners which have a planting area for Bog plants already built in to them.
When buying your liner make sure that the guarantee runs for a minimum 10 years and choose a dark colour if the construction material is plastic. Check that the depth is deep enough and remember that an easy shape will give you more surface area for your money than a fussy one.
Concrete Pond:
The traditional kind of pond which is still regarded by some as being the best is concrete. Concrete continues to be used where a big square or oblong pond is to be built, but this is a job for the professional. But it is possible to make a simple round or oval pond if you have some experience of working with concrete. Remember that if you do do this yourself you do need to finish the job in one day. When the concrete has dried, paint the surface using a proprietary sealant like silglaze before filling the pond with water and stocking it. Raw concrete is harmful towards fish.
Author Resource:-
I spend a great deal of my spare time in my garden but I must admit that most of it is spent either improving my pond or just sitting by it watching the world in water. A lot of my fascination with ponds was created with the help of a gardener london company. They gave me all the help and advice that I needed as and when I asked them for it.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.natureezine.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
