A pond with barrels

Why not use half barrels of recovery to realize an original set of ponds with a circulation between them by a system of overflow? It will be of the most beautiful effect near your terrace.

Preparation of the barrels

Take oak barrels cut in half in perfect condition (dimensions for the example of 70cm diameter by 45cm height, it is possible to find some in garden centers).

If the barrels have contained wine, it is necessary to proceed to a complete cleaning and rinsing stage. Then, to ensure a good watertightness of the interior, you can either place a pond liner cut to the right size and fixed around the perimeter or coat the interior with several layers of flexible resin. If there is aquatic life present, it is best to choose a food grade resin or a pond liner.

Installation of the barrels

Choose a shady spot in the garden during the hottest part of the summer. Sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon is preferable, it will limit evaporation and the development of green algae. Know that water lilies need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day to bloom.

To create a water feature between the half barrels, place them with a height difference of about 10 cm. Then position the barrels with a spirit level.

The highest barrel has a hole in it to allow for drainage to the lower barrel. The hole corresponds to the outside diameter of a piece of bamboo for water circulation. The hole with the bamboo can be sealed with colorless putty.

To allow water to circulate, use a small pump submerged in the lower pond that returns the water to the upper barrel.

Placement of aquatic plants

Place the plants in 11 cm square plastic baskets with some heavy garden soil and then place pebbles or felt to prevent the soil from mixing with the water. This will also prevent the fish from digging into the contents.

Plants are arranged according to their height. For a graphic effect, the highest ones are towards the bottom.

Example of arrangement for the lower half of the barrel: Myosotis palustris, Iris versicolor, Myriophyllum Brasiliensis, Equisetum Japonicum, Nymphaea 'rose Nymphe'

Example of layout for the upper half of the barrel: Mentha aquatica, Lobelia Cardinalis, Acorus Gramineus 'Ogon', Nymphaea 'conqueror'

Installation of the aquatic fauna

Be careful with the stocking because depending on the exposure and your region, the barrels may freeze to their full depth. If you wish to put fish in them, it is necessary in this case to bring them in during the winter. When feeding them, limit their food so as not to pollute the tanks. The food must be eaten within 5 minutes.

Without fish, flying insects will most certainly come and reproduce there like dragonflies or mosquitoes. If you have an aquarium, they can be used as live food in summer.

Starting up

During the start-up period, green algae will develop while a general equilibrium is established. During this period of about one month, do not put any fish in the tank.

Maintenance of the pond

In the spring, clean your barrels of various plant debris that may have accumulated and control the growth of certain aquatic plants such as milfoil, which can become very invasive. Reassemble the filter. It should be cleaned regularly.

As winter approaches, turn off the filter, clean it completely and put it back in. Leave a few empty water bottles weighted down with pebbles floating on the surface to limit the pressure of ice on the walls. Protect the sides and top if necessary.

Making a garden pond in polyester resin

Building a pond is not something to be taken lightly. Indeed, there are all types of ponds with different techniques: clay, concrete, concreteity, preformed ponds or simply covered with a tarpaulin ... but the pond that holds our attention is made of polyester resin.

Why choose a polyester pond?

Creating a polyester pond is undoubtedly the best way to create a durable and solid piece of water. In addition to offering a long life to your pond, polyester requires little maintenance and offers great flexibility in the realization of shapes, only your imagination will be limited. It is also easy to repair and refurbish, and colorfast, all for a relatively low price.

Can I make a polyester pond myself?

Creating a polyester pond is not an easy task. Sometimes it's better to call in a professional than to go into a project head first. However, with a minimum of manual skills, it is possible to create your own water feature.

What are the different possibilities to create a pond?

First, you need to determine the shape of your pond and calculate its dimensions. The ideal is to have a deeper area at 1m20 so that in winter, your fish are safe.

There are 4 methods for preparing the soil:

1. The bitumen paper method: for walls with an angle of more than 45°.

• Less expensive and suitable for covering large areas.
• Place the paper at 20 - 30 cm on the edge and hold it with grass or stone clods.
• Glue the joints with insulating tape and apply the polyester coating starting with the sides and then the floor. Once the substrate is ready, start the polyester and glass mat coating.
• Place the glass mat strip over the resin layer and apply a new polyester layer.
• Remove air from the glass mat with an air roller. It is important to fray the edges of the glass mat to prevent the seams from showing when covering the 1st strip of glass mat with the 2nd layer of glass mat.
• Trim any protruding edges and sandpaper.
• Apply a layer of pre-coat. (10% polyester dye and 2% MEC hardener).
• Let dry for 3 to 7 days before filling the pond with water.

2. The concrete method: for round polyester ponds

• A layer of 2 - 3 cm is sufficient for the floor. Due to the alkaline nature of the cement, it should be allowed to dry for 8 days before applying the polyester liner.
• Apply a coat of PU primer, wait 1 to 4 hours maximum. Then apply the polyester coating.

3. The concrete block method for a polyester and fiberglass pond with vertical walls

• First pour a screed on the floor and mason the walls. For small areas: 5 cm screed and 12 cm walls. For large areas: 10 cm screed and 24 cm block walls.
• Cap the walls and round the corners to a radius of 2 cm. Due to the alkaline content of the concrete, a minimum of 28 days is required before applying the polyester coating.
• After 28 days, apply a coat of PU primer by brush or roller and wait a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 4 hours. Then apply the polyester coating.

4. The chipboard method: for walls with an angle of inclination of more than 45

This inexpensive method also allows for very large surface areas to be covered. Because of the counter pressure of the floor, the walls will have an angle of inclination of about 15°.

You will then have to nail boards to the joints.

• Round the corners with putty or with corner battens.
• Apply 2 coats of pu primer. Wait 1 hour minimum and 4 hours. Then apply the polyester coating.

What should I pay particular attention to?

• The application must be done at temperatures between 10 and 33°C. The higher the temperature, the shorter the application time. You can adjust the application time by adding more or less MEC hardener (1.5%).
• Please read the hazard warnings on the labels carefully.
• The hardener is a peroxide that can cause allergies.
• Check your local regulations for disposal of chemical waste.
• After curing, these products are neutral and therefore respect the fauna and flora.
• Cobalt is used to accelerate the resins, it should never be mixed directly with the MEC hardener: this causes a chemical reaction!

Your garden pond is now finished, all you have to do is place your selection of fauna and flora in it, and relax when the time comes!

Creation of a pond

It is important not to go too fast and to consider all the following points before starting the work...

Location

Its location must be carefully defined. The ideal situation should be half-shaded, while avoiding being under a tree because of the risk of its roots spreading out and damaging the walls and because of the leaves that will not fail to land in the water.

Remember to leave a strip of land around the pond of about 1 meter wide which will be used for access, installation of stones or plants.

Shape and size of the pond

If the pond is too small, it will suffer from too much thermal variation if you intend to put fish in it.

Concerning the depth, everything depends on the surface of the ground, knowing that it is desirable to have not too steep dimensions, and a slope in step with a step every 20-30 cm and a width of 10-20 cm. A bottom of 60 to 80 cm will allow your fish to spend a comfortable winter and the summer to avoid that the water is too hot. 60 cm will be enough if you have a pump ensuring a water circulation in winter.

The steps of different depths will allow you to place pots of plants or flowers according to their size.

Let's identify the different zones:

The border zone between 10 and 20 cm, allows the development of small plants whose roots appreciate the mud and water. It is also the place where insects develop between the roots of the plants and where the fry come to take refuge, thus sheltered from the parents often inclined to devour their offspring.

The shallow zone between 20 and 40 cm; in this zone, many plants for plants like reeds, water iris, ... We can also plant submerged plants.

The deep zone, refuge of the fishes the winter, it is also in this zone that one will deposit the feet of water lilies.

Filtration

Have you thought about filtration? If you intend to put fish in your pond, it is preferable to install a filter. It allows to keep all its clarity to the water, otherwise it will have a tendency to green very quickly. It also ensures a circulation of water and thus an oxygenation of water by these movements on the surface and the winter, it prevents the ice from forming.

You can install it in a special tank outside the pond with lava stones to ensure a biological filtration.

If you are not interested in a filter, you may want to consider a pump to circulate the water from one side to the other and perhaps feed a fountain, waterfall, etc. ... This will energize the pond and delight you with its chirping, but beware of the neighbors, a torrent may not be to their taste!

Lining the pond

First, you will have stabilized the walls with a layer of gravel, then a layer of sand and finally a little cement to harden the whole. Thus stiffened, the walls will resist better over time, to the attacks of the roots and to the settlement of the ground.

The walls must then be sealed, and different materials are possible:

The preformed pond, in this case, forget what was said before.

The concrete; several layers of cement more and more fine will be necessary to ensure a perfect sealing.

The PVC liner is certainly the least expensive and most durable, so... To calculate the size of the liner, add 2 meters in width and 2 meters in length for a 60 cm deep pond with 30 cm edges.

The rubber cover, more expensive than the PVC cover, will last longer because it is more flexible.

Whatever cover you use, put a garden felt underneath.

Check filling

A check fill for water tightness and levels is necessary to ensure that everything is in order. It is still possible to make some adjustments to the edges of the pond.

This is also an opportunity to test your filtration system.

Let it run for a few weeks.

What is the point of having a water point?

What is the interest of having a water point ?

A watering place, a small pond in the garden or in the immediate environment of the vegetable garden has multiple interests for the gardener.

A watering place is beautiful!

First of all, a water feature has an aesthetic dimension: well integrated into its environment, it is an undeniable decorative element in a garden. In addition, you can see dragonflies and all sorts of insects living near water.

A water feature attracts beneficial insects

Secondly, watering holes attract useful auxiliary fauna for the gardener and his crops.

Frogs

Newts, toads or other frogs that love to eat slugs. All amphibians need a water source when they lay their eggs. Toads are capable of traveling several kilometers to find their birthplace to reproduce. But if you offer them a watering hole, they will stay close to your home.

In addition, there is the nostalgic pleasure of observing the evolution of the tadpole into a frog!

Bees

The bees that pollinate your fruit trees, vegetables and flowers need to drink. And this need must be satisfied near their foraging area, near the flowers where they go to collect nectar and pollen. A watering place near a hive or in the garden is therefore highly appreciated. The same is true for all pollinating insects, such as hoverflies, which can rid you of aphids.

Birds

After eating a lot of seeds, larvae and caterpillars, birds (chickadees, sparrows, thrushes...) also need to drink. In fact, if there is no water near their feeding area, they may attack juicy fruits or water-rich vegetables (as do insects) to quench their thirst.

So, if you install a watering place in the garden, not only will you protect your crops from possible attacks, but you will also effectively attract these defoliating caterpillar eaters that ravage, among other things, cabbages or apple trees.

This is particularly the case of the Hyponomeute, a caterpillar that causes defoliation at the ends of the branches of apple and plum trees, and that chickadees love!

You will easily recognize them; they are the ones who weave silk webs to make collective nests.

Fighting green algae in the pond

There are many factors that can cause green algae to appear in a garden pond. Too much sunlight, nutrient-laden water and your pond is invaded by a greenish aquatic mist. Once well installed, these algae tend to colonize the space, harming both the general balance and the aesthetics of the place. Let's see how to remedy it...

The causes of the invasion

Several causes are at the origin of the propagation of these green algae, but it is always due to an excess of nutrients in the pond water. The organic pollution of the environment is the result of several phenomena: too much food for the fish, plant debris that has fallen to the bottom of the pond for several months, fertilizer applied around the pond, or an overpopulation of fish in relation to the size of the pond are all aggravating factors.

Another cause is the lack of aquatic plants in the pond. After a harsh winter, some aquatic plants will have disappeared, others will take a long time to start up again, leaving green algae, which develop very quickly in the spring, to take advantage of all the nutrients present in the water. The aquatic plants will no longer be able to perform their filtration, depollution and shading roles, and the algae will have plenty of time to colonize the pond.

Note that constant sunlight can further aggravate the phenomenon. A pond should always be installed in semi-shade.

How to fight against green algae?

It is easy to prevent the appearance of green algae by following these few tips:

• First of all, make sure that you maintain your pond regularly. Plant debris (leaves, flowers, grass, etc.) that has fallen into the pond should be collected on the surface before disappearing to the bottom of the water, where it will decompose quickly. The same goes for aquatic plants, which should be cleaned of soft leaves and wilted flowers before they decompose in the water.
• Don't overfeed the fish; the right amount is the one that can be swallowed whole in a maximum of 5 minutes, otherwise it will all end up at the bottom of the pond.
• Another mistake to avoid is overcrowding the pond. Keep in mind that a goldfish will need 50 liters of water to be comfortable while a koi carp will need 1000 liters. These little creatures grow very fast, don't forget that!
• In the spring, as soon as all risk of freezing is eliminated, restart the filtration after a complete cleaning and a check of the filter. It is possible to inoculate the filter with biomass bacteria to increase its efficiency.
• Finally, check the condition of your aquatic plants and replace those that have not survived the winter. They have a major role of filtration and depollution in the pond. Plants that start their vegetative cycle very early in the season should be favored (Aponogeton, Elodea, Ranunculus, Sagittaria, Iris pseudacorus...)
• Install water lilies, water hyacinths and lotus if the depth of the pond allows it: their foliage will provide welcome shade to which you can add the planting of an evergreen tree at the edge of the pond.

Spring cleaning of the pond

The warm weather is back, and with it, the rising temperatures that signal the awakening of the ornamental pond. This is the ideal time to carry out a major spring cleaning in order to start again on a healthy basis so that fish and aquatic plants develop harmoniously in a balanced ecosystem.

Do not confuse cleaning with emptying!

Cleaning does not necessarily mean emptying. This is an important distinction and should be emphasized because many owners of small ponds make this mistake. Thinking they are doing the right thing, they empty their pond completely and without knowing it destroy the fragile balance between fauna and flora. The fish are then subjected to a stress that can be fatal to them.

This is why a total emptying of the pond should only be considered in case of serious situations such as a leak, a chemical pollution of external origin causing the death of fish or an imbalance of the environment such that the water, always cloudy and smelly, causes the disappearance of animal and plant species.

How to clean the pond?

Apart from the specific cases mentioned above, a simple cleaning will do the trick:

• Remove all organic debris from the surface of the pond with a large net. Dead leaves from trees, grass clippings from mowing, small twigs blown in by the wind, large green algae: everything must go!
• At this time the aquatic plants start to grow, to aerate them and give them a maximum of light, remove all the wilted leaves and the softened stems around the new shoots. It is also time to divide overgrown plants and introduce any new plants.

A partial change of water may be necessary; changing 1/3 of the volume should be more than enough and should not disturb the flora and fauna too much.

Maintenance of the pond equipment

• Clean the filtration system and the pump before putting them back into service;
• Heterotrophic bacteria can be placed in the filter when it is put back into service as soon as the water temperature reaches 10°C. These bacteria have the effect of rebalancing the pond, reducing the nitrate level and thus limiting the appearance of filamentous algae. They also accelerate the efficiency of the filtration process and reduce the need for maintenance of the filter media.
• Check the operation of the UV unit and change the lamp, which can lose power if it has been in place for several years.