Easy Pond and Water Garden Construction
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Article by: Lee Goins Today's successful water garden , Lighting your with Perennial Bulbs usually is designed as an ecosystem that uses a balance between fish, , Beneficial Mycorrhizae - Your Plant's Best Friend plants , Rose Gardening: Water, Sun and Shade and bacteria keeping the water , Rose Gardening: , Sun and Shade clear. The type of pond , The Basics of Mulch I'm talking about is self-contained (not fed by a spring , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness or stream) and between 100-900 sq ft; a backyard , How To Brighten Up Your Home With These Flower Arrangement Ideas water garden , The Glory of Autumn: What Causes the Color? that is easy to maintain and adds value to your lifestyle and property. , Let Your Venus Flytrap Frost Over 20 years ago the typical do-it-yourself water garden , Buying a Lawn Mower was a muck-filled cesspool waiting to happen, while the successful koi pond , Garden Folklore: It Starts with the Soil required deep water , Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard and unattractive out of the pond , Do It Yourself Landscaping filtering equipment. Thanks to a better understanding of the pond , Water Gardens ecosystem and some equipment ideas borrowed from the pool equipment industry, anyone with the ability to dig, make things level, and move rocks and dirt around can create a beautiful , Attracting Birds to the Garden living water garden , Flower Bulbs: Nature's Greatest Gift if they use proven equipment and methods. Now I will admit that there are other ways that can work; But none of the other pond , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness construction methods have the successful track record I've seen with pond , Adding a Water Feature to Your Yard installs using this system. The basic elements for this system are underlayment, liner, rocks and gravel, , Attracting Birds to the Garden skimmer, fill valve, pump, , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness plumbing, , Landscaping With Boulders - Do your Neighbors look at your Yard and say WOW biological filtration, plants, , Artificial Trees Advantages fish, , A Look at Fall Flower Bulbs and bacteria. Here's a simplified explanation of how this works as an ecosystem. Fish , Water Gardens eat insects and plants , Flower Bulbs: Nature's Greatest Gift and then the fish , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness waste spreads through the system . The skimmer draws water , Garden Folklore: It Starts with the Soil off the top layer of the pond , Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard helping with circulation and aeration while trapping floating debris in a net. The pump , Let Your Venus Flytrap Frost Over is situated under the net in the skimmer and pumps , Indoor Waterfalls up to a bio-filter. The bio-filter is often designed to be incorporated into a waterfall. , Rose Gardening: Water, Sun and Shade The water , Controlling Aphids enters the bio filter and rises up through filter media that is colonized by bacteria. The bacteria converts the waste into forms less harmful to the fish , Indoor Waterfalls and less conducive to excessive algae growth. The waterfall , Unusual Daffodil Stories or stream add more aeration that the bacteria and fish , Landscape Lighting need. The plants , Fences uptake more of the nitrogen and some oxygenate the water. , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 6) The Autopot The rocks and gravel , Garden Folklore: It Starts with the Soil provide more area for bacteria and protect the liner from UV rays. Sheesh! Every time I set out to give a simple explanation of a pond , How To Brighten Up Your Home With These Flower Arrangement Ideas ecosystem it still takes 10 sentences. Suffice it to say that all the parts work together to make your pondkeeping easy! I use the word easy as a relative term. Compared to the work and rebuilding you may experience with other methods this is the easiest way I know. But there is still a good deal of work in pond , How To Brighten Up Your Home With These Flower Arrangement Ideas construction. Obviously you need to dig and shape a hole in the ground and move some heavy items around. A well trained crew with everything needed on-site can install a pond , Attracting Birds to the Garden in a day. It may take a few weekends for a homeowner to do the job himself, depending on their ability, time, and conditions. Some key points: Size: It's best to have it at least 6 ft across. Bigger is better. 16 x 11 is a good medium size. Generally people regret not making the pond , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 6) The Autopot larger when they are done with their first one. Location: There is a tendency to put ponds , Adding a Water Feature to Your Yard in a place , Let Your Venus Flytrap Frost Over where water , Landscape Lighting already collects in the yard. , Forever & Ever Double Pink Hydrangea This isn't always the best idea. Groundwater running into the pond , Lawn Tractors Were Never a Chore can create problems. If possible bring it right up near the patio , Wood Furniture for the Outdoors: Durable, Dependable, and Pleasing to the Eye where you can enjoy the fish , Lighting your Garden with Perennial Bulbs and flowing water , The Coliseum Is One Of The Best Complete Hydroponic Systems On The Market everyday. Electric and plumbing: Don't overlook the need for a GFI outlet near the pump , Coneflower or Echinacea - the Best Thing in Your Bed and a water , Lighting your Garden with Perennial Bulbs source to keep the pond , Forever & Ever Double Pink Hydrangea topped off. Most kits for some reason don't include a fill valve, but it really is important since on a windy day a pond , Unusual Daffodil Stories can easily lose an inch of water. , Controlling Aphids Left unattended this can lead to the pump , The Glory of Autumn: What Causes the Color? running dry in the skimmer for a long period causing possible damage. The ponds , Landscaping Tips level of course won't drop below the skimmer opening. Lets go over the basic steps for installing this type of pond , Enhance Your Walk-Through Garden with Wind Chimes system. Decide the size of the pond , Lawn Tractors Were Never a Chore and order a kit with all the necessary components. Layout the shape of the pond , Lighting your Garden with Perennial Bulbs with something like a garden , Enhance Your Walk-Through with Wind Chimes hose. Leave it out there for a while, move it, think about where the falls , Wicker Patio Furniture - Buying and Maintenance Tips and different plants , Beneficial Mycorrhizae - Your 's Best Friend will be. If you are building , Japanese Beetles - The Plain Truth About Traps... And A Tiny New Winged Hope! a stream do the layout for it too. Level ground isn't a problem since you will be excavating enough soil , Japanese Beetles - The Plain Truth About Traps... And A Tiny New Winged Hope! to buildup around your waterfall , Backpack Blowers filter. Paint , Adding a Water Feature to Your Yard an outline with orange marking spray paint. , Landscaping Tips Make arrangements for getting the variety of rock and gravel , Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor you will be using. Position your skimmer and BioFilter. The skimmer should be on the opposite side from the falls , Garden Folklore: It Starts with the Soil or stream to create circulation. Then lay the flexible PVC, or kink-free pipe between the skimmer and waterfall , Chives - Allium Schoenoprasum filter. This is so it can be covered during excavation instead of trenching it in. Establish a firm compacted and level base for the Waterfall , Japanese Beetles - The Plain Truth About Traps... And A Tiny New Winged Hope! filter, perhaps leaning slightly forward, depending on it's design. , A Look at Fall Flower Bulbs If you have help they can be working on digging the pond , Lawn Tractors Were Never a Chore while you get this right, or vice versa. Hook up the plumbing , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness to the filter and backfill around it. It's a good idea to have someone stand in the filter while it is being backfilled to prevent it from shifting out of position on the base. Examine any slope of the land and establish where the water , The World of Herbs level will be; usually a couple inches below grade. Finish digging the pond , How to Grow Apples relative to the water , Buying a Lawn Mower level. A rotating laser level is the ultimate tool , The Coliseum Is One Of The Best Complete Hydroponic Systems On The Market for this, though they are expensive to rent. Patiently checking string levels in all directions can get the job done also. Include shelves for marginal plants , Let Your Venus Flytrap Frost Over and keep the sides and shelves level. The deep part of the pond , Rose Gardening: Water, Sun and Shade should be around 2 ft or a little less. Any deeper and most towns swimming pool codes kick in with fence requirements. Unless you intend to keep a great number of koi , Garden Folklore: It Starts with the Soil this will be plenty deep for your fish. , Unusual Daffodil Stories Planting pockets for water , Adding a Feature to Your Yard lilies can also be dug now. These pockets create a plantable depression in you liner for later. You can either plant , Wood Furniture for the Outdoors: Durable, Dependable, and Pleasing to the Eye directly in these pockets or hide your planters in them covering with gravel , Coneflower or Echinacea - the Best Thing in Your Bed creating a more natural , Wicker Patio Furniture - Buying and Maintenance Tips looking pond. , A Look at Fall Flower Bulbs Excavate the position for the skimmer so it will be on a firm level base that gets it into correct position relative to the water , Chives - Allium Schoenoprasum level. Recheck everything. All the measurements and levels. Make sure the pond , Tulips is free of sharp objects and unfold the underlayment into it. Start in the deep area pushing the underlayment into all the shelves and pockets. The EPDM rubber liner is then installed in the same way, making sure that it extends far past the waterline (settling will occur) and above the openings on your skimmer, filter, stream etc. Add rock and gravel. , Adding a Water Feature to Your Yard Pre-washing the stones , Artificial Trees Advantages can help with a clean install or you can hose them down in the pond , Water Gardens while pumping out the dirty water. , Buying a Lawn Mower Use larger stones , The World of Herbs at the base of each wall , Tulips that forms a shelf, building , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 6) The Autopot up with smaller ones. Cover flat , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 2) Plant Needs areas with 1"-2" gravel"¦absolutely no more than that. If you have extra gravel , Rose Gardening: Water, Sun and Shade don't be tempted to just use more in the bottom of your pond. , Adding a Water Feature to Your Yard This is for biological reasons I won't go into now. The rock should have your liner pretty well pulled into position now so you can make final adjustments on your skimmer and attach the liner to it according to the manufacturers , Do It Yourself Landscaping instructions. Start filling the pond. , Landscape Lighting Now the fun of building , Garden Delights For Midsummer the waterfall , When to Fly Old Glory and stream. Make sure you have plenty of slack running up to the falls , Tulips opening before you attach it and make any cuts. Also take care to avoid folds in the liner as you twist downstream. Folds in the stream liner are a common source of leaks and why a very wide liner for a stream is recommended. Dry stack stones , The World of Herbs as in a wall , Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard up the front of the waterfall , Forever & Ever Double Pink Hydrangea filter. Using black waterfall , Let Your Venus Flytrap Frost Over foam or some other type of expanding foam to seal the space between the rocks. This makes the water , How to Grow Apples flow over the rocks instead of disappearing into the cracks between. Black waterfall , Lighting your Garden with Perennial Bulbs foam is nice for blending in with the rocks. The basic outline of the stream should have been established with excavated soil , Color in the Garden from the pond, , A Look at Fall Flower Bulbs but some digging of different catch pools may be necessary and you may need to build up more of a berm at the waterfall. , Planting and Propagating Bulbs Rock in the sides of the stream and cover the bottom with gravel , Color in the Garden as in the pond. , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness Use the waterfall , The Glory of Autumn: What Causes the Color? foam to seal in rocks wherever a cascading effect is wanted, using flat , Adding a Water Feature to Your Yard rock to form the lip of falls , Do It Yourself Landscaping and sealing under them. Install the pump, , Planting and Propagating Bulbs install the overflow plumbing , Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor and fill valve in the skimmer. When water , The World of Herbs level is high enough and all the waterfall , A Look at Fall Flower Bulbs foam is dry, (you can assume your hands will be covered with the stuff, but try to avoid it because it is very difficult to clean off!) try out the pump. , Wicker Patio Furniture - Buying and Maintenance Tips You will then need to refill the pond , Japanese Gardens - Basic Design Questions That Should Be Addressed as it will take a large volume of water , Controlling Aphids to fill the plumbing, , Controlling Aphids falls , The Basics of Mulch and stream. Once you are happy everything is as it should be, cut the excess liner away. Leave several inches of liner for settling and possible adjustments. There are plenty more nuances to building , Fences a pond , Wicker Patio Furniture - Buying and Maintenance Tips but this should give you a decent feel for what a water garden , Choosing A Landscaping Firm project entails. The kits we sell include a decent installation manual and I'm happy to answer any questions as are many other pond , Do It Yourself Landscaping enthusiasts.A garden , How To Brighten Up Your Home With These Flower Arrangement Ideas center manager, writer, builder of water gardens, , Coneflower or Echinacea - the Best Thing in Your Bed musician and webmaster; Lee Goins is often called on as an expert in landscaping , How To Brighten Up Your Home With These Flower Arrangement Ideas and gardening. , Indoor Waterfalls Lee's site The Garden , How To Brighten Up Your Home With These Flower Arrangement Ideas Aquatic offers products , Planting and Propagating Bulbs and advice , Choosing A Landscaping Firm to make water gardening , The Coliseum Is One Of The Best Complete Hydroponic Systems On The Market easier. His garden , When to Fly Old Glory and landscaping , Adding a Water Feature to Your Yard site is http://www.shelbylandscaping.com. |
  
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