# Above Ground pond



## OllieNZ (30 Jun 2014)

Hi all, 
I'm looking into putting an above ground pond in the corner of my garden and I'm after some advice. My current plan is to build a free standing frame, skin the inside with plywood and cover the outside with decking boards place the framework in the corner then using it as a guide dig 12in deep and add then line it top to bottom with pond liner.
My main concern is that to make more child friendly my wife wants it to be 3ft high to stop any of the kids accidentally falling in. I can't really find any info on constructing an above ground pond that deep. 
The plan is to use 3x3 posts for the the top and bottom frames and join the frames together with 3x2s the interior will be skinned with 1/2in ply and the exterior with 5x1 decking boards. It is going to be a pentagon (square with one corner cut off)  6ft along the two back sides with the three shorter sides equal at just over 42ins each. 
Any thoughts on whether this will be beefy enough for the given dimensions?
Also being above ground is there a requirement to insulate it?
Any other things that you think may be helpful are much appreciated.


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## Wallace (30 Jun 2014)

Sleepers would be best, more expensive though. What you propose sounds ok to me and the Ply will help to spread the weight and pressure of the water. 

Make it deeper if you can, if only half of the footprint down to 24in, that way the fish will be more comfortable over winter. No real need to insulate unless you are planning on keeping Koi I think. 

What are you planning on using filter wise?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tam (30 Jun 2014)

Just a thought, but 3' is quite high for children to look in and they do like watching fish. Could you go lower for the sides but put a bit of trellis or similar around the top, so say 2' high on the pond then topped with 1' of trellis. That way you've got 3' overall but not so high for the actual water area which might make construction easier? Then once they've grow a bit you can always remove the trellis later. The other option for child-proofing is to have a grill covering the whole water surface. They make them sturdy enough you can walk over so no risk of falling in.


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## martin-green (30 Jun 2014)

I don't want to "rain on your parade" but I would say your plan has some errors.

1) Being a corner pond, how will you get to the other side for maintenance? (All ponds require some maintenance, and a plank on the edges can soon become a pain in the rear)

2) No matter how well its built the timber will rot. Since you have not mentioned any preservative and since you have not said other wise I assume it will be sitting directly on the ground another reason for it to rot.

3) You should also consider filtration if you want to add fish, as without you are building a home, but no "toilet" Some will say "pond balance" but truth is it rarely works.

4) Your pond is too shallow to have any big fish such as Koi, and Koi are NOT a beginners fish.

5) Have you considered how you will get electricity to the pond (For filter, pump or evening lights)

6) Water in the garden is a great thing to have, but, it should be carefully planned if you want it to last and work well.

7) I have seen many ponds, and it is true children do like to look / watch, however through curiosity if a pond is 3 feet tall a small child will want to climb up to look in, or lean over to look in, its very easy to loose balance and fall in, and through panic not realise a good idea is to stand up, I would say if you do want water, wait until the children are older or build a "water less" water feature or fountain. 

Another point to note, is according to ROSPA, children that die in ponds are often visitors to the garden.


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## foxfish (1 Jul 2014)

I would build a more conventional design & place a removable mesh cover over the top.
A green plastic coated 100mm square steel mesh will probably look the least offensive.
I have not looked into this sort of thing for many years but there used to be several mesh options available including a clip together floating design..


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## roadmaster (1 Jul 2014)

I keep baitfish in horse troughs for fishing for Flathead catfish.
Galvanized prevents rotting like wood, and you could maybe disguise the tank with wood frame,rocks, etc.
I generally run large sponge filters in the tanks but pond filter would work also.
Can easily hide the electrical cord for pump or filter.
My biggest problem is keeping four legged creatures from climbing in an stealing my bait.


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## Edvet (1 Jul 2014)

Now we need a picture of baitfish in horse troughs of course!!


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## Ady34 (1 Jul 2014)

I would insulate the sides somehow to prevent sudden fluctuations in temperature. I constructed a raised pond in a similar way (framework, clad in decking boards), however i used a free standing oblong pond so no pressure bearing was necessary. I insulated with 2.5" (ish) polystyrene sheets and covered those with a black polythene (for aesthetic reasons).


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## roadmaster (1 Jul 2014)

Usually only a couple dozen young perch,bullhead, or goldfish.
I catch the perch and bullhead's and buy the goldfish.
They don't spend much time in the troughs or stock tanks maybe a couple day's before I use them  for jug lines,bank lines,rod and reel.
Set up a stock tank last year for the girlfriends granddaughter on the patio, but heat from concrete plus near 100 degree F temps spelled doom for the fishes I placed in the tank (ie) guppies.


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## Edvet (1 Jul 2014)

Use a prefab pond, build a frame around it, fill it with PUR foam?


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## OllieNZ (1 Jul 2014)

Thanks for the input so far it's all much appreciated



martin-green said:


> I don't want to "rain on your parade" but I would say your plan has some errors.
> 
> 1) Being a corner pond, how will you get to the other side for maintenance? (All ponds require some maintenance, and a plank on the edges can soon become a pain in the rear)
> 
> ...


1)Hadn't really considered this tbh but I'm sure long arms and a lack of concern about getting wet will take care of this.
2)All the timber will be the pressure treated type and the 3x3s are fence posts and as such should be suitable for ground contact.
3)Filtration will be happening I'm still looking into the most suitable method
4)I had already come to the conclusion it would be to small for koi so no worries there. This might be my first pond but I'm not new to fish keeping.
5)One side is against the garage and the intention is to have the filter in the garage and any additional power required will go through the wall via an appropriate rcd.
6)That's why I'm here
7)It's part of an overhaul of the back garden and the kids are old enough there shouldn't be any issues just trying to minimise risk. 



foxfish said:


> I would build a more conventional design & place a removable mesh cover over the top.
> A green plastic coated 100mm square steel mesh will probably look the least offensive.
> I have not looked into this sort of thing for many years but there used to be several mesh options available including a clip together floating design..



Unfortunately the ground in my back garden is hard as concrete and the largest hole making device I can get into it is a shovel and young and fit as I am, I don't really fancy trying to dig out a 4ft deep hole. I'm going to look into a cover as well, when I lived in the states we had mesh covers that went over pools that an adult could walk on so something like that would be good.



Ady34 said:


> I would insulate the sides somehow to prevent sudden fluctuations in temperature. I constructed a raised pond in a similar way (framework, clad in decking boards), however i used a free standing oblong pond so no pressure bearing was necessary. I insulated with 2.5" (ish) polystyrene sheets and covered those with a black polythene (for aesthetic reasons).



It wouldn't be any hassle to put polystyrene panels in between the plywood and outer cladding. 

Any thoughts on marginal plants the will survive our winters?


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## martin-green (2 Jul 2014)

If you must build it, I would suggest that insulation on a pool such as you propose is a waste of time and money, 

I have a "surface" pool with a double brick cavity wall. You would have thought the cavity is as good as insulation? well if you did, you have just over looked the obvious................
The pool surface. When it gets cold and windy wind will blow across the water surface cooling it, making the wall insulation useless. If you recall a couple of years ago we had a really bad winter, my pool in some places froze solid. I drilled holes in the ice to see how far before I got water, drill bit too short.

I would still opt for a waterless water feature until the kids are older.


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## martin-green (7 Jul 2014)

What ever you decide to build, take pictures of it during construction, then post them here, it will give you a sense of achievement.


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## OllieNZ (20 Jul 2014)

Not exactly the pond the wife had in mind but definitely more suitable for the kids. I still need to roof the tower but done apart from that.


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## martin-green (20 Jul 2014)




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## Dominic (20 Jul 2014)

hello mate, me and my dad built a pond some 12 years ago, i was around 5 at the time and my dad has now passed and i cannot remember how he built it, but it is raised roughly 3ft and built in a corner. It has what i can only describe as wooden 'fencing' around the edges, and i know we dug a hole in the middle roughly 1-2feet deep, then lined with old carpet and pondliner. I can take some pictures if you would like mate?


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## Greenfinger2 (20 Jul 2014)

Hi Ollie,  Superb build the kids must be well happy


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## OllieNZ (20 Jul 2014)

Dominic said:


> hello mate, me and my dad built a pond some 12 years ago, i was around 5 at the time and my dad has now passed and i cannot remember how he built it, but it is raised roughly 3ft and built in a corner. It has what i can only describe as wooden 'fencing' around the edges, and i know we dug a hole in the middle roughly 1-2feet deep, then lined with old carpet and pondliner. I can take some pictures if you would like mate?


Even though I'm not building one right now I'd still like to see it


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## OllieNZ (20 Jul 2014)

Greenfinger2 said:


> Hi Ollie,  Superb build the kids must be well happy


Thanks,
They seem to be so far, hopefully it will keep them entertained for the summer holidays.


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## Dominic (21 Jul 2014)

Okay i'll just pop out and take some pictures now


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## Brian Murphy (26 Jul 2014)

Thinking of a raised circular pond to fill in a circular gravel are we have in the front garden in our new house


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## martin-green (27 Jul 2014)

What exactly are you thinking of having?

Its just that round is nice but harder to build than anything with corners, also installing a liner will be "interesting" 
If you really want round you would be better off buying a pre made round pool.


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## zozo (28 Apr 2015)

I'm doin it for some years now  and i realy love it..
These pictures are from last year. This year i made something different went ADA on it, still starting up.














This is that small Lobelia Cardinalis you know from the aquarium 












If you don't want to batlle algea you need to put some Helofytes in there _like Iris pseudacorus. If you do that the rest will be piece of cake.
If you keep fish, keep temps in check in summer time, above ground ponts like to get hot.. But goldfish are quit hardy and stay happy any other (cold water) species than carp will perish quickly, they cant stand the heat._


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## Edvet (28 Apr 2015)

Some gravel on the bottom and all the plants in pots it seems? Care to elaborate? Looks nice. I seems to have the midday sun?


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## zozo (28 Apr 2015)

I only use inert poreus substrate, even for the nymphea's and feed them with small clay firt balls.. Never ever use dirt or any other organic soil. If you do that the chances of getting a stinky trouble mess is +/- 99%.   This year im going to experiment without pots and other plants, not totaly sure yet what i want. Sometimes depends on the plants ideal (depht) zone area it better to use pots.

And yes it's in mid day sun, there for the Helofyte need to keep the algea out. And lots of fresh water change as cooling when it gets hot. You realy need to check on a daily basis and keep litter out of there. Falling litter will trash a pont like this in days. Its just an aquarium without glass. I filtered it the same with bioball and cotton, change the filter cotton every 3 to 4 days. Outside it gets dirty, birds poop in it, leaves are falling etc etc..


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## zozo (28 Apr 2015)

Last year was jungle style bath tub.. You can do funny things with above ground ponts this year i wentOmano Ado Imino bonsai style bath tub.. lol





The free willy manoeuvre..




Formation flight..




These Goldfish i got as tiny youngsters, they are 6 years old now. They realy are funny and quite cuddly.

Again the free willy Manoeuvre as they studied but this time with obstacle.








But this is still work in progress, the growing didnt realy started yet.


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## Edvet (28 Apr 2015)

You start fresh every year?


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## zozo (28 Apr 2015)

Yes, actualy you kinda have to, all plants are somewhat winter hardy, but will die off after the fall and roots will rot away. So even if the winter is soft, you got to do a major cleanup after each summer. And in all those years i only had 1 winter soft enough to keep the fish outside. But when it starts to freeze to much i realy have to get them in. So im always prepared for that. I always start a tank up inside on time for the fish, so they have a warm welcome inside the house for the winter if needed. If you do this in a region where there is cold winter, you need to prepare to take care..
Imagine - 12 celcius, what do you think happens to the tub?


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## Edvet (28 Apr 2015)

"Fishsicles"?

Though the last time minus twelve feels like 35 years ago ( i know we had a cold one a few years ago, coldest place in the Netherlands was here).


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## zozo (28 Apr 2015)

Just saying, minus 5 for a week is also enough. It's above ground after all.. You're Dutch as well?


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## Edvet (28 Apr 2015)

Aye


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