Making a pond

Hope you are successful, because Im doing the same thing in the autumn. The expert man dug out a sample 2m hole tonight and dumped some small samples on the patio. He says its OK, loaded with clay and we don't need lining. Brilliant news. Now do we use/need a filter ? or leave it totally natural, with the right plants to do the job ? On verra.

Our expert has done 00's of natural ponds...he says. We will lean on his expertise.

Wish us luck!!

 

Depends what goes in the pond as to if it needs a filter or not.
water will turn green if exposed to sunlight. put lots of plants it to cover surface area it cant turn green (Because surface is not exposed to sun because of plants) add fish and filter recomended because plants may not be able to keep up with quantity of fish waste.

 

I am currently in the middle of building a raised pond, so thanks for the link. :D

 

I've just made a clay pond too! It seems to be holding water well, does anyone have a rule of thumb to estimate how low the water level is likely to get in a hot summer? I don't want the marginals left high and dry! It's about 7m x 10m at the widest point.

 

Depends how hot it gets, and is there a fountain, as not only will the sun cause evaporation, the wind can "take some" too.

Thats one problem with puddled clay ponds the clay must never be allowed to dry out.

any chance of a picture?

 

A pond is a wonderful thing to have. I dug mine out to max depth of 35" concreted the bottom and 3 coat rendered the sides. I then purchased chopped straw mat, resin, hardener and some cheap brushes. The method is the same as boat building. 1/ Mix a portion of resin and hardener, paint this onto your dry concrete and drop the chop straw mat into it tapping it into the resin. Repeat step 1/ allowing a 2" overlap with the matt until the job is finished sides as well. 2/ Add a final coat over the whole thing and allow to dry. A fine mat can be added with the second coat. Using a plastic mixing bowl will enable you to remove any already hard resin. You now have a very tough pond that will last forever and it will be impossible to puncture.