small pond project

[bmaxwell]

I have 2 naturally running springs in different locations on my property that I am thinking either both combined or one of them would put out enough water to build a small pond. I am talking about a very small pond (somewhere around 10' x 16' or so and somewhere around 4-6 ft deep). I want to have some nice landscaping around it, but nothing fancy because it will be in a natural area which stays fairly shady because of the trees around it. I am willing to lose maybe 3-4 small trees but nothing larger for privacy reasons. I want it to stay fairly clean as well. I was thinking of lining the bottom w/ some sort of large rock for looks. Has anyone done anything smaller like this that was more of a clean garden pond using a natural spring. I don't want a lake or muddy pond. I would probably try to use a small bit of algacide occasionally, but it would be a small enough amount to not harm a few fish in there to help clean it up (I have seen this done before). What do I need to find out about the soil? What type of rock? What are some easy ways to lay out the boundaries and figure out where the edges would be w/ a dam? Any tips on building a dam? Thanks.

 

[bmaxwell]

I have 2 naturally running springs in different locations on my property that I am thinking either both combined or one of them would put out enough water to build a small pond. I am talking about a very small pond (somewhere around 10' x 16' or so and somewhere around 4-6 ft deep). I want to have some nice landscaping around it, but nothing fancy because it will be in a natural area which stays fairly shady because of the trees around it. I am willing to lose maybe 3-4 small trees but nothing larger for privacy reasons. I want it to stay fairly clean as well. I was thinking of lining the bottom w/ some sort of large rock for looks. Has anyone done anything smaller like this that was more of a clean garden pond using a natural spring. I don't want a lake or muddy pond. I would probably try to use a small bit of algacide occasionally, but it would be a small enough amount to not harm a few fish in there to help clean it up (I have seen this done before). What do I need to find out about the soil? What type of rock? What are some easy ways to lay out the boundaries and figure out where the edges would be w/ a dam? Any tips on building a dam? Thanks.

 

[RobertN]

You want something like the one we built in our front yard. Check out my wifes web page, Elegant Harvest Landscape Look under "portfolio".

We need to get new pictures. That was 1.5 years ago. The plants in and around the pond have really grown up. And, our $5 Koi are now about $200 koi /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif We wont sell them, but they are definiteley much larger than when we got them.

It's about 24x14 with a 17' run on the waterfall. Middle is about 4.5' deep(racoons and most birds wont get the fish in deeper water)

 

[RobertN]

You want something like the one we built in our front yard. Check out my wifes web page, Elegant Harvest Landscape Look under "portfolio".

We need to get new pictures. That was 1.5 years ago. The plants in and around the pond have really grown up. And, our $5 Koi are now about $200 koi /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif We wont sell them, but they are definiteley much larger than when we got them.

It's about 24x14 with a 17' run on the waterfall. Middle is about 4.5' deep(racoons and most birds wont get the fish in deeper water)