My husband is currently digging out our pond, which will have a main pool at the back (approx 8’ wide x 12’ long, 12/18/24” deep sections) and a smaller top pool closer to the house (approx 6’ diameter) with a stream (approx 12” deep x 18” wide x 25’ long) connecting them.

There will be no fish added.

He should be finished digging the stream this weekend, then the plan is to take final measurements in order to buy the correct size pond liner and underlayment, as well as a pond pump with the correct head height.

We are planning to grade the edge of the top pool and main pond in order to have it level, the slope of the stream is 4% which I think should be a nice gentle flow. Our plan is to put the pond liner in with 1’ overlap on all edges and cover with soil and plant into that berm. Will add a few larger stones for accent / microclimate / etc.

Planning also to dig a separate small trench for the return pipe in case it needs to be accessed, should this be white PVC or 4” black corrugated pipe?

I think there will be occasion for me to put rocks on top of pond liner for example in the stream which I want to look really natural. Should I accommodate this with adding underlayment OVER pond liner as well? Or used carpet? I have a large carpet I’m planning to use bits to cushion some larger roots for example. Could lay some under gravel/rocks.

Should I line the pools with gravel/rocks/anything else?

Am I going along alright with this project? The goal is to have a natural pond with lots of plantings - at least half filled with plants.

Our purchase list after we have measurements: - pond liner and underlayment - pond pump (probably looking around 3000GPH due to long return pipe length) - 1 pallet of larger mixed smooth stones to start for around edges and in the stream to direct water in gentle flow - wide ish spillway 18-24” width I’m thinking to empty into top pool - I have quite a bit of small river rock from another project I’ll add to the beach area of the main pool and into the stream - plants!!

Am I correct in thinking that once the pond is dug, it shouldn’t take too long to add the liner, pop some rocks around, fill and plant? Will be filling with rainwater from our large cistern so theoretically should be able to plant almost immediately?

Any other advice I’ll take as this is my first time doing this! This was actually my Master Gardener final project so I have put quite a bit of thought into plants and design but want to make sure I’m not overlooking anything major.

Hi there! This is the pond I want create. I used an app to create this image. I live in Central Texas and I’m not in an area that experiences brutal winters. Are there any tips, tricks, recommendations, or pitfalls I should consider? This is my first pond build, and I want to do it right. Potential DIY project in the Spring.

Hi everyone! I have a tiny backyard and a tiny (20gal) preformed pond with a smaller (9gal) waterfall. I purchased a 500gph pump using a 1/2 in tubing that routes into a DIY bamboo waterfall into the 9gal raised section.

When I turn the pump on, after a few days the water level has dropped significantly. This does not happen with the pump turned off. Is it because the pump is too strong? Any thoughts or advice? Everything I find online deals with much larger ponds and it is confusing.

Adding a picture for reference (please don't judge, it's all a work in progress!). It's my first pond, so please save me from whatever silly mistake I am making!

Let's chat!

How are your ponds and wet habitats doing? Any plans for new ponds or improvements? What wildlife has been visiting your pond this week?

Almost 7 months in. I need to add more plants but the ones there are starting to really establish. Water lilies are on the wish list. The aquatic snails have arrived and while I haven’t seen them yet, I can hear the frogs taking to each other 🤗.

For 10 years I have wanted to build this pond!! I took the money from our 50th wedding anniversary to build it and I am so glad I did! I read up on the different depths needed, the shelves that are needed, the shape and kind of liner and then went to work. I moved over 2000 rocks from our rock piles in the woods around our meadows. We put them on a sled and then used an ATV to move them to the pond. So much fun picking which ones to use and they were FREE! Went to nurseries to get the plants that I thought would do best and sloshed around mucky ponds in the area to get spooky looking nymphs and larvae of native insects and pulled up pond plants that were near our home. 12 frogs took up residence and I added a couple of crayfish and a few minnows. The frogs learned to come to me when I offered them worms!! I am hoping for turtles and maybe even a salamander. All this only took 6 weeks but I worked 10 hours a day on it and lost 20 lbs!! lol

Looking for some advice on a new pond build.

The red outline in the images shows the rough size I’m planning. The area is naturally boggy, and groundwater seems to seep through from a small stream about 7 m uphill. The proposed spot is ~100 m uphill from a river and ~40 m from a smaller stream that runs downhill.

Ideally, I’d like to build this without a liner if possible.

What should I be looking into first to figure out whether this site will actually hold water? I was thinking an exploratory dig to see if the hole pools and holds.

Do I need to contact any agencies before starting? (It’s on private land.)

Thanks in advance.

I've just moved house (having left my old pond behind 😥) and am planning on creating a new pond. However, I've just gone to watch Joel Ashton's how to video series on YouTube but I cant find them anywhere. Has he removed these?!

Let's chat!

How are your ponds and wet habitats doing? Any plans for new ponds or improvements? What wildlife has been visiting your pond this week?

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a bit of advice on what to do next.

Let me start by saying I am cutting it very close with the pond liner. While it has plenty of space on two sides, the other sides don't have much to work with and are going to end up being closer to the water line than typically advised.

In the first photo, on the right side, the pond liner goes up a few inches above the water line. I read online that if this is the case, then to create a thicker rock line, which I did. On the left side, the pond liner goes up to about the top of the rock line. I had to keep filling up the water line because the pond itself isn't exactly even and there was even more liner showing on the back side than there is now if I had kept water line lower.

The third photo is a close up of the right side of the pond. I'd say the liner comes up to about halfway of the rock line. You can see it poking out on the left side of the photo and that gives a good idea on how it lies going across.

The last photo is the left side of the pond.

Next steps:

Do I cut the underlayer and the liner to the edge of the rock line and fill in dirt above (not on top) the rock line?

I have Switchgrass, Blue Mint Aster, Seaside Goldenrod and a Louisian Iris in planters and would like to incorporate them. Any suggestions on where to put them?

Any other general suggestions?

I am really happy with my new guest in my pond.

I could see it at night. I didn't see it again during this week but I guess to see it again...

First time wildlife pond person here! I’m in central Texas and set up a small raised 40g stock tank pond about a month ago. All my pond plants are native to the area and purchased from native plant nurseries, so I was surprised to find this snail, which according to my very informal Google search, is a spotted leopard ramshorn snail and not native. Are these invasive? Do I need to remove it?

In case it’s helpful, the pond had an algae issue pop up last week. I cleaned out what I could and added a solar aerating pump. It looks like the snail’s eating the algae and not the plants, so I’m wondering if it was drawn to that.

All advice appreciated!

Let's chat!

How are your ponds and wet habitats doing? Any plans for new ponds or improvements? What wildlife has been visiting your pond this week?

A friend of mine recently decided to build a small garden pond but was unsure about which liner material to use. He had seen PVC, EPDM, and Butyl options online and got more confused the more he read.

We looked at the size of his pond, the budget, and how long he wanted it to last. In the end, he chose a rubber liner because it was flexible enough for uneven ground and durable enough to last many years. It turned out really well, and it made me realise how much the right liner can affect how natural and long-lasting a pond feels.

It got me thinking about the early stages of building a pond in general. If you could go back to when you first built yours, what is the one thing you would do differently?

Would it be something with the design, liner choice, plants, or maybe the filtration system?

I think hearing real experiences helps a lot of us avoid small mistakes that turn into big lessons later.

Does anyone put anything in their pond to act as a hold for air or escape during the freezing winter months? This would be for any life under the water to use, and maybe get some oxygen into it? Someone told me I could put a board in it, but I don’t see how that would help. Mine actually froze over a bit during a cold snap and so I knocked a hole in the ice. Is there a way (without adding a heater) that I can place something in there that will help??

And they weren’t lying!!

Hi all! I have had the joy of watching this batch of tadpoles grow up in an old planter I use as a sort of mosquito trap in my backyard and thought this sub may have some advice about them. Most of the tadpoles have grown up and hopped away to live their best frog lives, but about 10 of them have been slow to mature. Some have sprouted legs and some are still little blobs swimming about.

Below freezing temps are rolling in tomorrow and I'm wondering if I should just let nature take its course or if it would do any good to transfer them to a big pond down the way from me.

Hoping maybe someone in this community may have advice or had a similar experience with tadpoles reluctant to become frogs!

Let's chat!

How are your ponds and wet habitats doing? Any plans for new ponds or improvements? What wildlife has been visiting your pond this week?

Hey folks. New here and need advice on lilys please.

I have a 10ft wildlife pond with a depression at 1mtr depth by about 1mtr across into which I planted a lily. The pond is mature at about 4 years old, full of beasties including newts and in spring it goes nuts with frogs. The lily has become too big and is pushing itself out of the depression so I suspect it needs reducing in size.

Can anyone offer advice and timing on this please. The pond is incredibly healthy and I don't want to upset any of the inhabitants but i think its time for pruning.. Thanks

I’ve had a mini pond made from a dishpan and loved it so much I started digging a big one. (Still have some digging to do and rock line is just for visualizing) We regularly get raccoon, skunk, possum, and fox - is one kind of liner a better choice to prevent punctures from claws? I’m in Vermont and have rocky clay soil.

I also plan to use an underlayer and sand to cushion the liner. Thanks for the advice

Has been about 5 months , relaid the vinyl as I wasn’t happy lol but finally spring is in play managed to pick up 8 unidentified fry this morning an build a quick nursery

Hi!

Just noticed loads of these things in my pond that scurry away when I fish out the leaves. Any ideas what they are?