Location

One of the first considerations when building a new pond is the actual location within your garden.  A poorly chosen site is a certain recipe for a troublesome, rather than attractive, water feature.

Trees & Other Plantlife

• Do not put your pond close to a tree as leaves, blossom and bird droppings will fall in.

• Old stumps and/or roots are equally bad sites as digging will be difficult. 

• Roots can damage any type of lining if the pond is too close to a tree.

• Certain tough and vigorous shrubs and plants such as Bamboo can easily destroy a pond liner.

Underground Hazards

• Check the location of any underground cables or pipes before you start digging. 

• Consider the history of the location. 

Power supply

• If possible avoid long distances from a power source to connect to.

• If planning to use low voltage equipment you need to remember that these usually come with an indoor transformer and extending the cable will reduce their effectiveness.

General safety

• Be considerate of your Children and pets needs.

• Read our article on pond safety for further information.

Sunlight

• Where possible avoid sites with extended periods of full sun as this will cause algal problems and it will create a pond that can become too warm during the summer months.

• Where possible avoid sites with extended periods of shade as this will create a colder water temperature all year round.

Lay of the land

• Slopes are difficult as water always shows a perfectly true level.

• Avoid placing a ground level pond at the base of a hill, as chemicals may wash down into the pond and can be toxic to aquatic life.

Available Space

• Allow enough space for your filter, waterfall, Access and ease of maintenance etc.

Water Table

• If you are near a natural stream, river or lake then you can expect the water table to be at the same level.  If in doubt you should enquire locally as to the depth of the local water table.

• A Raised pond is usually the most suitable if you are near to the water table.

• An underlying water table may cause the pond liner to lift after prolonged heavy rain. 

Size

• You need to know the Gallonage for virtually everything and this will drastically affect the overall cost.

• Always aim for a maximum depth of at least 2ft.

• The minimum suitable size for a Koi pond is 1000 Gallons with a minimum depth of 4ft.

• Most first time pond builders, sooner or later, end up enlarging their pond so consider the size carefully.

Spoil removal

• Removing the unwanted earth is hard work and skips are expensive.

• Avoid moving earth over great distances whenever possible.

• A waterfall is a great way of utilising some of the removed soil.

• Look to see if any other part of your garden would benefit from more soil but remember that only the top layer from the ponds excavation is likely to be good soil.

Assistance

• Do you have someone to help should the going get tough.