Pre Formed Pond

[Tilly2]

We have a free standing pond in the garden which is on the patio but would like a wildlife friendly pond which sits a bit lower/or is dug into the lawn.

Has anyone got any really good ideas for either supporting the pond so that it sits on the lawn, rather than digging a hole? I have had a look on Youtube but can't find anything to help.

I am wary of digging a big hole because I cant get my head around how you dig out the shelves for the different levels. I can see that you use the upturned pond as a template but how do you work out the shelf parts?

Please bear in mind that neither of us are any good at DIY and have never used anything more complicated than an electric drill. Building retaining walls would not be an option. We wouldn't have a clue.

[woofgang]

My preformed ponds sits on breezeblocks on levelled hard packed earth and has done so for more than 20 years. I have tubs all round it to hide the edges and this makes a cool dark wildlife hidey hole. Even tightly netted against herons I get dragonflies and frogs and various minibeasts. The breezeblocks support the shelves and the bottom sits on the earth, its about hip height on me, say around 30 inches high.

[tonyav]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Home-and-Garden/Gardening/Question1212424.html

You could use sand to form the levels with the shelves, Yilly.

[nannybooby]

as with wolfgang but we had a layer of sand (not sharp sand !) before the liner.

[woofgang]

tony, how do you get the sand in right without digging a much bigger hole or doing loads of fiddling about?

[Tilly2]

Thanks for the answers so far, woofgang, Tony and nanny.

Breezeblocks and sand sound like a good idea. Thank you.

[Tilly2]

Could you just dig a hole, put some sand in and then wiggle the pond about to get the sand to support the shelf bits? Probably not.

[SlackAlice]

You could dig the hole for the pond. Put in a small layer of sand for the bottom to sit on, fill with a small amount of water to keep it still. Then backfill around the sides of the pond with sand and tamp it down with a post of wood.

[Tilly2]

Would the sand 'shift' after time SlackAlice or would the weight of the water keep it still?

[SlackAlice]

I was assuming the pond top will be the same as ground level? The sand will pick up moisture from the ground. The ground will also hold it quite still against the pond sides. When you finally fill the pond with water it will also squeeze the sand between.
I'm only talking about a small gap to backfill.

What sort of pond as you considering, Fibre Glass?

[Tilly2]

I haven't really looked at particular ponds, Alice, except on Amazon. Is fibre glass the best sort to buy?

The ones I've looked at, on Amazon, all seem to be plastic.

[SlackAlice]

Fibre glass is about the best and is quite strong rigid as well, unfortunately they are not cheap.

If your using the plastic type they are a bit frail and need more care in installing, also some of them are not UV stabilised so may become a bit brittle with age around the exposed edges.

A good fibre glass pool will be strong enough to support itself just standing on its base and full of water.

[Tilly2]

Thank you Alice, I'll have a look for some fibre glass ones.

[SlackAlice]

Best way to get an idea is to wander round some Aquarists shops. They often have them on display, garden centres as well.

[SlackAlice]

http://www.wildwoods.co.uk/watergarden/preformed.htm

source of info for you.

[Tilly2]

Thank you, Alice.