Tuesday, 4 August 2009
garden pond designs
It's all very exciting but before you start drawing out a plan for some prize winning master piece, don't get ahead of yourself, it's vital to understand and stick to some of the garden pond designs basics.
there's always room for small garden pond designs in practically any garden, but let me tell you folks.. the majority of people wish they went 'bigger' after completing the installation. You take a look at some of the custom preformed ponds and they look massive. It's a bit of an illusion though, because a large part of it is going to be in the ground - invisible.
For the main build of the garden pond, you have a few choices. concrete, preformed ponds and pond liner. Now, they all have strengths and weaknesses - i wouldn't go messing with concrete unless you know 100% what you are doing. It's not too difficult to rip up a preformed pond if it turns out your not happy, but it's up to you.
Deciding where to build your garden pond is the key to low maintenance. Here's a few common sense factors guys - don't place a garden pond under or close to large trees, or do you like spending your free time after work picking leaves out of ponds? It's probably a good idea to keep the pond in daylight for the majority of the day - no midday shade. If your looking at keeping fish you might want the pond close to a power source to run pumps and such.
Once you understand the basics of garden pond designs you can create your own custom work of art. Decide on the materials you want to use, the size of the pond you want to create and what you are going to stock (fish, plants etc) and build off of that.
Water fountains and waterfalls are a great way to finish off a garden pond design. Spend a little time browing online and printing some ideas off, you don't have to copy people's gardens guys, just get ideas and improve on them.
Monday, 3 August 2009
preformed garden ponds
Why go for preformed garden ponds? You haven't had much experience with garden pond liner have you? Guys, it's not much fun cutting up bits of liner and accidentally making holes where there's not meant to be holes!
Water garden preformed ponds are great pieces of kit that can allows you to knock out a quick water feature in a few hours. These kits can look professional (and expensive) when installed properly. Could it add value you to your home? Possibly, it can't hurt it's value. I wouldn't count on getting the money you invested in the pond back in the value of your home, it doesn't translate directly.
There's a growing range of preformed ponds on the market, most large aquatic retailers stock several designs. This is something you are going to want to order online, you will have trouble fitting even a small preformed pond in the back of your car.
Glass fibre is the material to go for as it has the longest life expectancy, this material is produced in a variety of colors and shapes.
Installing preformed garden ponds
It's not to tricky to install a preformed garden pond, a novice garden ponder shouldn't run into too many problems. There are two key methods to installing a preformed pond so that it will last beyond twenty years.
leveling, it is completely and utterly vital that you spend some serious time making sure the ground is level. Believe me folks, you don't want to be having to drain your pond and rip it out because it's cracked.
Repositioning and supporting with sand. Dig deeper than the depth of your preformed pond, this will give you the ability to reposition your pond and fully support with a layer of sand.
Guys, a pond might sound or look big on a website or in a store, but once you get it home and into the ground, it will appear smaller. Most beginners make the mistake of installing a small pond and are left with a unsatisfied outcome. Think bigger, much bigger, to be honest i think most people will enjoy a pond the larger it is, it all comes down to how much space you have avalaible to you at the time.
Sunday, 2 August 2009
garden pond pumps
Water garden pond pumps
Water garden pumps powering things like waterfalls and fountains need to have a few special characteristics, they must have the ability to operate efficiently for a very long period of time, especially without regular maintenance, this is very important as any avid garden ponder will tell you. You don't want to spend your days repairing or replacing your garden pond pumps, you want to be spending your time enjoying them.
Fountain pumps can only really pump clean water, by clean i mean no leaves and other debris. It doesn't have to be pure drinkable water - just free from lumps that could and would clog up a water garden pond pump.
Garden fish pond pumps
Garden ponds pumps are much more important that the water feature ones above. These pumps are the ones keeping living things alive, it's not really a big deal when a water fountain stops working, a pain yes - but not a huge problem. When a fish pond pump fails, not only do you suffer, your fish are going to be going under some heavy stress, and if left long enough without a repair or replacement - they will just die.
Now, remember when building or purchasing a garden pond (especially one for fish) your investing in an asset that constant drains your resources, folks it costs money to run these pumps all day everyday. This is something you really need to consider before investing in something like this, there's always hidden costs. Am i saying it's not worth it? no, a garden pond that is filled with life will impress anyone, for a very longtime, i just recommend you research just how much it's going to cost to run, and how to properly maintain your specific garden pond pump so that it never stops working.
Don't bother with those solar panel powered pumps with your fish pond. It's not a problem when those cloudy days prevent your waterfall from working, but if your fish pond pump fails and there's nothing there to back it up, and of course you forget to check it for a few days. You will soon see your pond life going belly up, a pretty tromatic event for the kids when their favorite fish dies.