I was discussing putting in a pond with my wife.
Water fall and a “D” shaped pond.
3’ MAX depth. maybe even some fish.
I was thinking of a tunnel under hill for the water fall.
I guess a trip to some garden shops is in my future plans.
Is there anything I should consider before doing this?
David
Front or back yard? Any city or county building codes against it?
Do free form over formed shell, they eventually break. Don’t ask how I know.
Lay the liner over a lot higher and wider area than you plan. Another one of those no need to know things.
Pond has to hold the all the running water in the river or stream and you’ll need a filter.
$0.07 fish at WalMart live just as long as the expensive sushi and the cats, cranes and raccoons are not that picky, they’ll eat them all. Another one to not bother to asking the question about.
Chlorine cleans up the algae, fish don’t like it. Same thing on the question and applies to concrete, also.
SWMBO says it will need a lip or ledge for plants.
Find a nursery that specializes in them, by a pump bigger than you need and one that is easy to get replacement parts for.
Make provisions to shut down streams and waterfalls in the winter, they form beautiful ice sculptures but take all of the water out of the pond and then the fish are just like Mrs. Paul’s. Yep, learned that one the hard way, too.
That should get this started. Don’t save the dirt, because you’ll want to use it to fill in the hole long before you get it really established. Grand kids love them and, yes, they will all eventually fall in. Yep, same on the question.
Ric…LOL…I seem to hear one of those “Been There, Done That” stories here…
Plus they are a magnet for leaves…
3 letters, GFI
You can’t have duckweed AND goldfish/koi, you’ll just have fat goldfish.
Medium size channel catfish CAN/WILL eat medium sized goldfish… but then, YOU can eat medium sized channel cats, too.
Snails eat algae, but the wrong kind will take over.
Wild frogs like ornamental ponds. so expect to find at least one dead one on the bottom every spring.
The local midget mafia WILL stomp any scale details (small boats, geese, benches, fisherman figures) placed near the pond’s edge trying to catch the above mentioned frogs. Good luck with discouraging them. You’ll have better luck reasoning with the herons and raccoons.
Water Hyacinths are pretty… They are also classified as invasive in lots of areas. Don’t put them in any pond that drains into a natural waterway… ever
Hi David,
Been there and I’m still doing it. The whole nine yards with a lake, waterfall, second lake and stream. Looks nice and sounds terrific.
Check the story and the waterfall video at the end.
Nope we’re not doing fish, blue herons can stay where they belong along with the racoons. And since there are no fish we don’t have to worry about keeping them happy either.
Getting things nice and tight: stream bed should have steep, high walls - that keeps the water from doing the capillary trick.
If you’re doing stone/masonary/concrete for the waterfall portion, again steep enough, high enough walls and seal it right away with water stop cement.
David,
Research,research, and more research!! We’ve had a pond for twelve years and I don,t recommend it if you’re not willing to be married to it 24/7/365. Pumps fail, leaks occur, fish get sick or die!! You will become a Veterinarian, maintenance guy, etc. Having said all of that, I would not trade the experience of the enjoyment we get from the pond. We have several species of Gold fish and Koi that are over 20" long. When we walk toward the pond they all come running (swimming) for food, we even can pet them. Anyway, do your research and have fun!!!
What Ric said. I had one as well. Loved having it but the maint is no fun and something always went wrong, leaks, leaves, and electric bills. I even tried a small one in the layout thinking smaller would be easy - wrong just as much maint. Good luck.
Ours has been running since 1997 and is a great source of fun and peace. The mind causes you to forget most of the bad stuff, except for when it turns into a fun story to reflect on.
Kim really likes to sit on the yard swing and listen to the waterfall. After a while it just makes me have to pee. lol
Is it worth all the fuss? I think so. But then I like having fish whether inside or out.
I had a pond, once.
I gave it all to a friend.
Well, I think he is still a friend.
:lol: 
Maybe I wont do it now that you told me that.
After a while it just makes me have to pee.
I pee more than enough now.
And just what I don’t need is more work.
Work, Pee, Work, Pee it’s a vicious cycle, you know…
I think you guys are scaring me off of the pond Idea.
Maybe a water fall in to a pond-less pond.
Might be an idea. Do you think that will work?
No algae , no fish, ???
David
Mik said:
Kim really likes to sit on the yard swing and listen to the waterfall. After a while it just makes me have to pee. lolIs it worth all the fuss? I think so. But then I like having fish whether inside or out.
I have a pond too…and love it. In fact it’s two ponds connected by a 2 foot long stream with a 6" tall waterfall at the end of the stream. One very small pump to pump water from the lower pond to the upper pond ($5/month). Both are about 2 feet deep and roughly 5 feet x 8 feet. No filters lots of frog and things show up naturally. We have fish and don’t feed them ever and they do fine…there’s about 4 or 5 in each pond and never get more than 6 inches long. Lots of frog spawn and bug things…the dragonfly’s are cool too. Have not cleaned the pond in years and have no algae problem. The pond is full of water lilies and algae does grow on the rocks yet the water is clear. The pump runs all year. In the winter the ponds are covered with snow and ice but there will be clear spots in the stream, at the waterfall and where the water comes out at the top pond. Biggest reason for ever losing water is capillary action. My recommendation…try it you can always fill it in.
The reason the water is clear is that there is a natural balance between all things in the pond whether plant or critter. Too many people try to turn a pond into a pristine fake thing…think goldfish bowl with 30 fish, blue and pink stones and plastic plants…no balance…gotta have balance.
Had a big stream withe monster pump and water fall and the noise drove me crazy 
David,
It was never my intention to scare you off or have you change your mind. I just wanted you to understand what you were getting in to. “Sweetwater” is our whistle stop by the pond. Named because our beautiful male partial lab loved to drink from the pond and he lays nearby, now. The pond has been a major part of our yard, railroad and life. The memories are worth all the work. The pond marks the changes of the seasons and gives us enjoyment in all seasons. For 14 years now, it is a great part of our garden railroad.
Larry,
Our monster pump for the waterfall doesn’t run all the time - except in the winter when it recirculates the water in the lake. I put in a Wye to regulate the flow from that pump to the waterfall, just enough that it looks natural without lots of noise.
The pump that feeds the upper pond and the stream runs all the time - except in the winter when I remove all the filtering hardware that’s in play. The stream gurgles all summer long, very soothing when working on the railway. It also attracts a lot of different birds that use it to get cleaned, to play and whatever else birds do around water. The stream is shallow enough for that ( too shallow GRRRR) and the waterfall portion is really good for splashing around and getting a shower (bird style).
Large pump: Algreen MAXFLOW 9000 2500GPH
Small pump: Algreen Super-Flo 1300 306GPH
Noted yesterday looking at Craigslist someone in my neighborhood selling a complete pre-formed pond, pump, waterfall parts, etc. for $100. Gone by the time I got there. I figured for $100 and a whole lot of labor digging that I could try it. Told the wife once we found out it was gone that I saved myself a back-ache.
Chas
hehehehe
Yes we go that particular saving route quite often, huge discount on whatever and you save even more if you don’t buy it. :lol: :lol:
That gave me an Idea.
I checked Craigslist and found a small pond kit. liner pump and a solar light.
Well I gave them a call and found out it was an item they bought, but never found time to put it in.
So I offered them 30 bucks for it.
Now I have a small pond liner and pump.
I will probably get a bigger pump later when I get the water fall finished.
I almost got the hole dug then the T’Storm came up.
David
Well I have some picks but I’ll post after todays pics. I was totally surprised this morning when I went out to check for storm damage.
I faired out very well. I looked in my pond hole that isn’t quite finished, and to my surprise it had NO water in it.
We had over a half inch of rain last night and no water in the bottom of the hole.
I went after sand today and I found some rocks to hold the liner until I get up in the mountain and get some rocks.
% bucks and you can get a permit to get rocks out of the State Forrest. That will be for my hills and pond area.
You’ll see when its done. But don’t expect too much I’m not to good at this kind of thing.
David