Small garden ponds are our specialty.

Small garden ponds are our specialty. We have built several of them over the years using both pond liners and pre-formed ponds.

In all the ponds we have built, the benefits of a water feature with its sounds and naturally occurring wildlife has been not only relaxing but very cost effective.

We did not have the time or resources to invest in larger water features, but the ponds that we have constructed are just as relaxing.

The cost of the small garden ponds was well under a $1000.00 because we did the work ourselves.

Small pond pumps were probably the single biggest expense, coming in just under $200.00. I constructed a bio-filter out of a plastic barrel, pvc piping, and hundreds of scrubby pads found at a local dollar store. My total cost for the filter was under $150.00. Adding several rocks found in farmers' fields, and a few choice aquatic plants rounded out the space.

The ease of small garden ponds comes with lower maintenance, coupled with lower electric consumption.

People marvel at not only the sound that the cascading water makes, but the beautiful plants that grow in water and on the edge of the pond.

Several considerations should be taken into account before the first shovel of ground is begun.

Positioning of the small pond should be obviously where you will be able to enjoy it taking into consideration the amount of shade, crucial if you plan to keep fish.

In addition to this, the elevation of the ground and condition of the soil should factor into location of the pond because you want to be able to dig it, but also see it from your house or deck. Obviously, if your terrain is hilly or rocky, there could be some modifications necessary before the digging begins. If there are no trees to shade the area, then you will need to place plants in and around the pond.

Plants are covered in detail on our aquatic plants pages, but for our purposes here, we will talk about floating plants such as water hyacinths and waterlilies which also provide shade with it's leaves. These species not only shade the water surface, but help control algae growth, act as natural filters, and discourage a common small garden ponds pest from propagating: mosquitoes.

The plants are readily available at any garden store for a reasonable price. Now that we have our location and shade determined, we will look at supplies needed to build that little pond.

Building garden ponds

If you so desire, you can purchase small garden ponds kits online or in your local store.

These come complete, making it easy to install in a weekend, after you dig the hole. If you wish to purchase separate components, you will need a liner, or a preformed pond, a filter, a pump, tubing and fittings. Your local garden store should have all of these parts in stock and will be all to happy to advise you on pump and filter sizes. Or, you can check on the sizes needed by just simply referring to our calculator pages.

Regardless of which type of pond you choose, you will need to cover the liner rim or the pre-formed rim with some kind of natural material. You want it to look as natural as is possible. We simply used large rocks as mentioned above, and a lot of mulch around not only the rocks but the small garden ponds plants that set at the edge of the pond.

If you have just a small space, whether it is a yard, or even a patio, consider adding your very own water feature and watch it grow.

Get your pond discovered, including a photo showing your hard work and love of your pond! Have some great tips that others may find useful? Share It!
The tips that others may find interesting could be:

How you built your pond.
How you keep it clean.
The type of fish you keep and how you care for them.
The choice is yours, it's your page about you and your pond.

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Erika's Garden Pond  Not rated yet
Close up of my Pond.

Well, what I can say about my fish.

I had lots of Fish before the Heron came.
I have to cover my pond with a net , because ...