Installing a pond in your yard can be an exciting time and they can offer a centerpiece for your landscaping. However, before you grab your shovel and start to dig, you will want to think it through and gather everything you will need for
installing a pond aeration system. What you need will depend on the size and type of pond you’re going to install and the type of features you want to include in your pond. Your choices of the type of pond include:
- Fish Pond
- Water Garden
- Waterfall without a pond
- Water Decorations such as fountains or statues
The tools you will need to construct your pond will basically be the same with some minor differences depending on the type of pond you are working on. For example you are going to need a good shovel and a level no matter what type of pond you are installing and if it’s going to be a very large pond you might consider renting excavating equipment as well. For a fish pond or water garden you are going to need:
- Pond liner made of EPDM rubber
- Liner underlayment (punched or woven)
- Filter for a waterfall
- Appropriately sized pump
- Tubing, fittings, clamps
- Pond treatment chemicals
If you are going to use one of the pre-formed
pond kit you will need:
- Pro-formed pond
- Streamlet for the preformed pond
- Pump
- Tubing, fittings, clamps
Not everyone will have a pond that goes along with a landscape waterfall. To install a waterfall without a pond you will need:
- Rubber liner (EPDM)
- Underlayment for the liner
- Waterfall filter
- Appropriately sized pump
- Tubing, fittings, clamps
- Pond water treatment
If you are simply going to install a water feature such as a fountain or a statue in your landscaping, or include them in a pond setting you will need:
- Feature of your choice
- Appropriate size pump (80 to 650 gallons per hour (GPH)
- Larger pumps, up to 5,000 GPH are available
Keep in mind that electricity will need to be run to the area where a pump is being used and in many communities this work is required to be done by a licensed electrician. Additionally, you will want to install the power lines underground and away from areas where pets or children could dig them up and cause serious injury. In addition to the shovel and level other tools you may need include:
- Knife or scissors ( for trimming EPDM liner and underlayment
- Rocks and plants for decoration
- Ready access to water to both clean the pond after installation and to fill it once it is complete
Once your pond has been installed and water is running through it, the first few days are critical in having crystal clear water. If you plan to have fish in your pond do not add then right away. You will want to keep close watch on any filter you install as it may require changing after the first day or two, depending on how much dirt or debris flows through it in the beginning. You should wait about a week, Once the water is running clear before adding any fish, and only after the pH factor has leveled off to ensure the fish can survive.
