Raised pond under construction - a few tips please

I am currently in the process of building a raised pond. It is suituated on a concrete slab and the basic construction is from the high density (very heavy) concrete blocks. Im building it with the blocks with the large side down to give hopefully a stronger and more solid pond.

Its going to be (internal dimensions here) aprox 1.3m wide by 3.2m long and with a final depth of 55 to 65cm (dependning on whether i go for another layer of blocks)

Im after some tips and ideas in finishing if off.

Once the blockwork is complete, i plan to use a butyl liner (so any recomendations or comments here would be useful) and then finish off the top using slate paving slabs.

The sides will be rendered - this is something i havent tried before so hints and tips would be useful. I want to have a slightly rustic finish to the render, partly as I suspect im not going to get a perfectly flat finish with it being my first go.

Although I have the basic plan worked out and have read quite a few books etc, there is no substitute for other peoples experiances and ideas!!

I am not yet sure as to the filter/pump etc i will use so any tips and advice please.

 

The only suggestion I have is to make sure it is perfectly level.
Nothing worse than after all your hard work filling it up and the water level looking cock eyed.
Our first pre formed pool is like that.

This may be of some help.
http://www.garden-pond-building.com/raisedpond.html

I do love raised ponds they have some at our garden centre made of wood.
Lovely.
I would of thought the pump etc would be the same as any other pond.
Just get the right one for the water volume.
Hiding the wires under the top slab would be easy enough.
Or you could get one of those solar ones, ( thats if we ever get any sun) ha aha
I'm sure it will look great and I will be very envious of you.
I would love one but I already have 2 ponds.
And space is a problem.
Good luck with it.
Post some photos.

 

I wil take some photos this weekend of the work so far. I am keeping it reasonably level as i go, and will make a lot of final checks before i put the top layer of blocks on as any minor imperfections can be ironed out and hiden under the render

 

where are you going to put the filter?

A suggestion would be to make one wall double ended with a cavity, you could put the filter in here with the returning water via a waterfall (fed from the filter)

Solar pumps, you may like to read this

 

can i suggest that you line the blockwork with underlay (from pond suppy stockest) before you put your liner in place to stop the butyl ripping when it is filled as the liner will slide slightly when it is first filled

 

suppy????suply

 

i see you have taken the p

 

Still denigrating the solar pumps then water garden?

Well just for balance then, I have one and am quite happy with it, thanks very much. I can't get mains to my pond but even if I could I probably wouldn't.

I'm not sure about the validity of that page (which appears to be trying to sell mains pumps) - you can't really base a comparison on only one pump and (rather obviously) the panel needs to be sited where it gets the most sun possible, and it doesn't really look like that one is, does it? Clearly it is horses for courses but that page implies solar pumps are entirely useless - whereas for my wildlife pond, mine is just great thanks - I wouldn't want anything more powerful, it would keep the toad awake!

 

Claire75,
I wouldnt want anything more powerfull. it would keep the Toad Awake :D:D:D CLASS.......Dee.....

 

claire75, how about a picture of yours working then please?

 

They have solar pumps working at our garden centre and they look fine.
Not as fast as a mains but as claire75 as said it depends what you want t for.
If you don't want all the wireing, (and I can understand that) it seems a good option.
I like the idea of the Solar Pond Oxygenator.
The extra oxygen when the weather is hot and sunny.
So should work well.
I have never tried one but might look into it further.
Be interested if anyone else as got one.

 

Hi thanks for the tips, i was planning on using a mains pump. I have a garden outbuilding with power only 3 or 4 meters away so was going to run a cable though some pipe to the back of the pond. The pump itself will be hidden behind the pond.

 

while we are waiting for clire75's picture, i thought it only fair to see what others thought of them

have a read of the reviews on the site here (first one up on google)

i do not rate solar pumps myself that much for a valid reason.

They are great idea, but the technology / cost is the bit i dont like.
In order for a solar pump to work well it needs a very good solar panel, the smaller the panel the less electricty the panel can produce, which is why the one on the site i linked to is not very good.

The bigger the solar panel the less sun it needs to work, (bigger catchment area) Also the bigger the panel the higher the voltage / current they produce which means a bigger water flow.

The problem here is that a good quality solar panel is expensive, so untill the cost of them comes down and the pump size goes up, i will not have one.

 

Hi folks. Just thought I`d add my thoughts on this `solar` debate. I`d say it all depends what you want a pond for. If you only it for effect and general wildlife (including a few goldfish) then a solar device would probably be ok. However, if you want to go down the serious route of keeping fish, and by that I mean Koi, then I would never go for a solar option. I haven`t checked any of the posted sites, but I`d say that a solar powered pump couldn`t possibly deliver the amount of water needed to keep the pond healthy enough to keep Koi. Like Claire said, it`s horses for courses, but even if I wanted a `general` pond, I`d use mains, much more reliable IMO. Cheers...freddy.

 

If people want to debate the solar or mains issue I guess it would be more polite to start another thread as Tropical Gaz has already said he plans to use a mains pump.

I just wanted to respond to the comment in case you had wanted a solar one and were put off Gaz, and I'm sorry it's kind of taken over the thread. You were asking for tips on finishing off your raised pond, and recommendations for (mains!) pumps and filters - I guess you'd need to state what you want the pond to house to get the best facts on that? (I know from other threads that if you want fish, you need higher spec filtration and stuff...)

My only comment would be, that if you want marginal plants in the pond I think you'd need a shelf round to sit them on? (if that makes sense), as the full depth might be too deep - then again I don't know about raised ponds, just a little about wildlife ponds.

From your description it sounds very cool - please will you post some pics when it's done? I'd love to see! (I'm not posting any more pics of my pond though, water garden just makes rude remarks so I'm not going to bother. And the toad's camera shy)