Building A Water Garden - Fish Pond 1

There are basically four main ways to construct your water garden or fish pond. Use a flexible liner, Use a preformed shell, Create your own concrete shape or if your soil conditions apply you can simply dig the shape of the pond and compress the soil to make it water tight. The first two type of pond liner material are the most common. Firstly the :-

Flexible Pond Liner

The main advantage of a flexible liner is that will adapt to any shape or size that you decide to


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make. There are two main types :-
Butyl Rubber - This type of pond liner material will last the longest ( 30 years or more ) as it will not get damaged by the suns ultra violet rays. It is the strongest type of liner and therefore it is far less likely to get damaged by frost or accidental damage. For this reason it is slightly harder to install because its harder to bend and fold unlike the next type :-

PVC - This is the pond liner material chosen by most people, especially beginners as it’s the cheapest but will still last in excess of 10 – 15 years. The liners are normally sold with a lifetime guarantee in years of how long it will last. PVC is still relatively strong and wont be damaged by frost, but more care is needed to ensures that it doesn't rip or tear. It is more important to line the bottom and sides of the pond more thoroughly with this type of liner. The main problem with PVC is that it will eventually dry and split where its above the water line and in contact the suns ultra violet rays. By designing a pond correctly you will limit daily access to the sun. One of the best and simplest tips is to limit the amount of pond liner material visible above the water line by simply checking that all sides of the pond are level. If you decide to edge your pond with decorative stones you can position them to overhang the pond slightly to create some well needed shade. Flexible liners are sold by rectangular size. It is important that the liner you buy will be large enough for the size of your pond that you dig. To calculate the amount of pond liner material forfor any type of flexible liner follow these simple steps or use the calculating pond liner tool.

1) Measure the length	Please enter the length	cm
2) Measure the width	Please enter the width	cm
3) Measure the depth	Please enter the depth	cm
4) Double the depth and add to width and length	Assume Over Lap of	cm
5) Add about 30 cm to both width and length	Required Liner Length	cm
	Required Liner Width	cm

Part two can be found at How to Build a Water Garden or Fish Pond with a Pond Liner II


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