My New Lily/Fish Pond
I told Darly several weeks back that I was working on a lily/fish pond, I’m a bit behind on schedule since I took a little detour here and there with such nice weather, I skipped town and went to the zoo this past Saturday, so a day late and a dollar short but here it is. I placed the lily pads in the pond yesterday evening and was able to divide it into two separate plants, still hard to see because they’re still somewhat too short for the deep water. My dad will be helping me with the bridge going across, most likely he’ll start the project today since he is retired and hopefully by the end of the week I’d be able to go and pick out the koi fish from one of my co-workers daughter’s house.
I’m looking forward to this part, because it’s FREE fish, which is helping me out some, since everything else is so expensive. I didn’t go over my budget, and I’ve managed to make it a bit bigger than when I first told everyone about it, it’s 144” x 64” (from 144” x 48” I think was the last time that I told everyone). I’ll be showing everyone the complete pond in 2 weeks, with koi fish, bridge, and hopefully the lily pads might surface a bit more then.
The digging was the hardest part, one side is deeper than the other as you can see on the above photos; it was backbreaking work, but it’s all worth after seeing the result, hopefully I’ll get to spend more time outdoor. Yes Darly, with all these postings, I still have time to do this. 
Did Darly said this style of home goes for nice 100k?...
Good morning Ginger
Can’t wait to see the finish project. A great deal of work has been put into this. Yep, it’s more back breaking than the typical garden but you will enjoy this pond for many years to come.
I could imagine it is expensive with all the tools you need to make a pond. What about the water? It’s silly of me to ask this. But do you just use tap water and then treated with something for the fishes?
I use regular tap water, but keep the pump to circulate mainly to filter and clean the water, also for the musketoes from laying their eggs with the water moving. The chlorine usually goes out in about 24 hours, if I let the water sit for that long, then it’s safe for the fish to go in, no chemical is needed, I think.
Good Morning Darly,
sorry about that…I was in a hurry to get to work.
Good morning Ginger,
NP. Some of us have to work full time for a living, I know.
Thanks for the explanation about water used in your pond. That makes it less expensive not having to buy chemical to treat the water.
I hope you don’t have to clean it too often. But it’s a good exercise in the end. That’s how I think of chores.
Hi Darly, I think I might have to get a PH test kit just to make sure that the water is okay. For some people with big pond, they do have to treat the water if they already have the fish in there and need to replace the water, the chemical solution is to remove the chlorine and other chemicals, as for me, I can let the water to sit out in a big bucket over night and it should be okay, and refill as needed.
This is nice work. We’ve talk about a pond long ago. I didn’t believe you will do it. Looks like you’ve done the impossible.
I notice that you’ve line the pond with concrete. Is there some steel wire meshes inside the concrete to keep it from cracking and collapsing?
Is there a reason why you choose a rectangular pond over a kidney shape pond?
How will you control the algae growth? I hope it won’t come to be but if your water turns black I hope you’ll let us know.
This is an excellent design for a pond. I can imagine that it will become a pond full of life. Thanks for sharing the construction pics.
Hi Sim, we spoke about this at the old LP forum when my mom first got sick, and you suggested that the pond in front of her house for good energy (chi), sadly my sister has a pond in front of her house now, but it was put in after my mom passing. I’ll take some photos for you too see, hers is in a kidney shape, and it’s the design from the kit.
My land is very sloppy, if you noticed one side seems higher than the other, but overall the water is leveled. If I lay the liner on the grass, and have the blocks on top of it, then dirty water will flow right into the pond. I thought about cinder-blocks but then it wouldn’t stand the test of time, then thought about the rocks that I used on top, but it was too expensive, and my dad suggested pouring concrete mixed, which we used 21 bags of the 80 lbs. My sister and I did all the work of mixing and pouring, and my dad placed the steel/rusty rods (not wire meshes) in the center, he bended the steel rods into a 90-degree angle right at each corner. We pour the bottom layer of concrete mixed first, then he placed the steel rods, he used 2 side by side, about 2 inches apart, then we pour the top layer of concrete mixed.
My backyard is rectangular, so a pond of similar shape is more uniform and easy for the eyes, I like the simplicity of the shape, I think a kidney shape is too feminine, and you know how I feel about that. I also want a bridge going across and this is a simple design for that. As for the algae, I think there’s a light that I can use…but I haven’t gotten that far yet, my dad is till trying to wire the electric outlet near the pond, he started yesterday but no luck, so he’ll come back this evening to do it.
This is as long as my post, just like the old LP forum.
[...] Below were photos that I took earlier during the making process. I posted here. [...]
I’m try’g to find a couple of Koi fish for my waterpond. Do you have a
particular shop in which you can purchase healthy ones?
Karen
Lowell, MA
Hi Karen, we purchase our fish from Pet Smart and they seem very healthy, and here is what our fish look like now, go to the bottom of the post.