Landscape design - we build a film pond ourselves. If you decide to build on a garden or summer cottage a film pond or a small one with your own hands, read and take into account a few tips.

Location, shape and size of the pond

The first thing you need is decide on the location, shape and size of the pond. Never locate the pond entirely in the shade of trees. The size of the pond or reservoir should be commensurate with the size of the entire plot or.

When choosing sizes, take into account all your desires - for example, if you decorate the pond with plants, and it cannot be otherwise, then remember that coastal plants need a depth of more than 20 cm, water lilies from 50 to 100 cm, the most common pond fish need at least 120 centimeters. The depth of the deep-sea zone can be from 60 to 150 cm.

How to calculate the required amount of film for a pond?

Now you need to calculate required quantity film, and adjust the size of your future pond, because the film must be taken in one piece, and it has a certain standard width. To do this, use the following example for calculating the size of the film for a future reservoir:

For example, We will build a pond measuring 3x2 meters and 1 m deep.
We add double the depth to the length of the proposed pond and another 1 m for backfilling with soil to obtain the required length of the canvas. For a pond, a film with a length of 3+2x1+1=6m is required.
We add double the depth to the width of the proposed pond and another 1 m for backfilling, resulting in the required width of the film sheet for the future pond. A film with a width of 2+2x1+1=5m is required.

In this calculation of the amount of film for the future pond, it does not play any role at what angle the banks descend or what depth the various landscaping zones have. Only the deepest part of the reservoir is considered.
The next step is purchasing the film. You can begin work on the future pond only after it has been purchased. This way you won’t make a mistake with the size, and the bank of your pond won’t start to crumble if it’s dug in advance.

Film for pond construction

We recommend buy PVC pond film. This kind of film is used in the construction of capital pools and serves its owners for many years.
PVC is synthetic surface based on plasticized material. Special biological impregnation of the film for constructing a pond protects it from the effects of microorganisms present in the water.

PVC film used in the construction of swimming pools, it is resistant to aging, it is not afraid of ultraviolet rays and conventional water care products, its dimensions remain unchanged when the temperature changes over a wide range. The coating structure of the pool film that you will use when building your pond or reservoir on your site includes a reinforcing layer based on a polystyrene fiber mesh.

The reinforcing layer of the film provides high tensile strength and external deformation. PVC film has a huge number of colors and this will allow you to give the water surface of your pond any shade.

We build a film pond with our own hands

1. Now let's decide on the shape of your pond, it should match the style Your garden. This is very important; mistakes at this stage cannot be corrected unless a new pond is laid.

And so we mark the shape of the future reservoir with a cord, a clothesline, or even better with wire, and begin to dig a pit for it. Remember that the slopes between individual zones (plants, fish, etc.) should not exceed 30°. Think in advance about the location of pond care equipment (pond cleaning, fountain, waterfall) and how to lay the cable to power the pond equipment.

2. You must have a place for securing the film along the coastline. Remove all stones from the surface of the resulting pit. If there are tree roots, remove them as deep as possible, at least a meter; to avoid damage to the film by the roots of nearby plants, it is a good idea to fill the place where the roots were with salt and copper sulfate, of course, not forgetting to cover the solution with clean earth, or even better, clay. Consider where you will place the pumps and filters.

3. It is necessary to dig a hole for the future pond 10 cm deeper than the depth you calculated. After you have formed the terraces, level the surface well. The bottom of the future pond, coat the bottom with a clay solution and make a pillow, then place a special material under the film -. From the excavated soil, create an earthen rampart behind the pond, which we will later turn into a waterfall.

4. Let's proceed to the most important moment, laying the foundation of the pond. Carefully unfold the film and level it on the bottom. The main rule the basics of pond longevity- under no circumstances should you cut the film; we must lay it in one whole piece. In places where there are folds, carefully press down the film and press it down with stones, while taking care that the film is not accidentally damaged when the stones are moved. If the design of your pond involves finishing with natural or artificial stone on top of the film, be sure to lay a layer of geotextile between the film and the stone.

5. Our pond is almost ready. As you can see, everything is very simple, you have become your own or landscape designer and designer. Now you can slowly fill the pond with water, just don't rush. Under the weight of water, the film will straighten and “shrink” for a long time. Do this in three stages over three days - of course, if your pond is not lined with stones. It is necessary to secure the film along the banks and arrange a decorative blind area after the pond is completely filled with water.

6. The last stage of constructing a pond in a garden or summer cottage is coastline decoration and populating the pond first with plants and not earlier than two weeks later with fish. coastline decorate with coastal plants of your choice. Place containers with aquatic plants on the terraces and at the bottom.

To design a pond in accordance with the style of your garden and home, it is of course best to invite a specialist landscape design, especially if you are planning to build a swimming pond, but there are many exceptions in life, maybe the designer is in you - try it, experiment.

And also:
What are hydromassage spa pools?
Construction of a frame pool.
What is included in the frame prefabricated pool kit.
Delivery cost to your city.
How to properly connect utilities to the pool.

We choose a place. This is a very important stage. The soil should be clayey, and the place itself should be open from the southwest, so that the pond is illuminated by the sun 4-6 hours a day. It is not recommended to place a pond under deciduous trees; falling leaves will inevitably pollute it.

If you plan to put fish in a pond, then its depth should be at least 2 meters, for carp - at least 2.5 m. Then the pond will not freeze in winter.

Making the markings, scattering sand around the perimeter of the future pond. To even out surface unevenness, we mentally imagine the expected water level in the pond.

Digging a pit, but a little deeper than the pond will actually be. Remove large stones and roots. Next, we use sand to mark the zones of the pond: coastal, shallow and deep.

We will use some of the excavated soil later. to create differences in height of the stream bed. We obtain a planned recess according to the zone markings. We determine the size of the film using cords, arranging them in width and length and adding 50 cm on each side.

Setting up the shore. There are several options. The easiest way is to dig a ditch around the pond, apply geotextiles and film over the resulting edge and tuck them, and fill the resulting depression with crushed stone. Then the pond edging, reinforced with a strong lower structure, will be more stable.

For this purpose, stones, wood or plastic pipes . We chose plastic pipes. In the case of rocky ground, the bottom is covered with a layer of sand to protect the film. However, as a rule, it is enough to line it with geotextiles. You should press it down well and cut off the protruding ends.

Regarding films, then not only strength is important for it, but also such a characteristic as structure. For example, the structured surface of the film from OASE allows microorganisms to better attach to it. Thus, the film quickly takes on a natural look.

For edges choose flooring with stone decor. We hide the hoses and pump cable in folds, and then carefully smooth the film. We glue the film for the stream with the film for the pond with special glue.

Protruding ends of the film wrap it in a fold 10 cm wide. This is a so-called capillary barrier that prevents soil from entering the pond.

Landscaping: We place the plants in special containers and cover them with substrate. First, we plant plants in the deep part of the pond and install a pump in it, then we decorate the bottom with stones.

There should be no stones in the water suction area, since reducing the suction area reduces the pump power. We fill the bottom with crushed stone and install the selected pump.

Fill the deep part of the pond with water. It is recommended to use tap water.

Now we plant the plants in the shallow part of the pond. Special containers are used for this. For a steep bank, special bags are recommended to strengthen the slopes, which are secured on the bank with stones and then filled with crushed stone.

For landscaping the coastal zone We cut coconut mats and cover the shallow part of the pond with them. We press down the mats along the edges of the pond with stones so that they do not slide down.

Film pond

Film garden pond with aquatic plants

author Shulekin A., photo by the author

A garden pond can be built using various materials.

My first decorative pond was an aquarium dug into the ground. I placed two nymphs in it, the rhizomes of which were stored all winter in the refrigerator, in a bag with moss. Early spring The rhizomes were planted in plastic containers (with holes drilled in the bottom) and lowered into the aquarium.

Nymphs bloomed in this small garden pond all summer. And then the containers with rhizomes safely overwintered in storage along with the potatoes.
In the spring, the overgrown nymphs were removed from the containers. I divided each rhizome into several sections with growing points.

The number of nymphs increased, and it was necessary to solve the problem of constructing a real decorative pond in the garden.

Options for constructing a garden pond

When constructing a small garden pond The simplest option is to purchase a special plastic bowl - the base of the reservoir. All that remains is to dig the purchased bowl into the ground and pour water into it.
This is convenient, but I wanted to have a much larger decorative pond in the garden.

I didn’t have time to make a pond thoroughly (with a special film for ponds, with a geotextile lining under the film, etc.). I decided to do it easier.

For construction decorative pond I dug a pit 50 cm deep in the garden. I leveled the bottom of the pit, smoothed the walls (at an angle of approximately 45 degrees) and lined the bowl of the future pond with a regular greenhouse film made of stabilized polyethylene 150 microns thick.
The walls of the reservoir at the top ended with a step for stones, with which I pressed the edges of the film.
The film was laid loosely in the pond bed, with folds, to avoid excessive tension when filling the reservoir with water.
In the future top part I covered the walls of the pond above the water with black lutrasil (spunbond). The pond looks much better this way. In addition, under black lutrasil, polyethylene ages more slowly - it does not lose its elasticity so quickly.

Let me summarize the results of many years of operation of a simple garden pond using conventional stabilized polyethylene film.
Firstly, this design of a decorative reservoir turned out to be quite viable. There were no problems with mechanical damage to the film (plant roots, rodents) or other horrors.
Secondly, you don’t have to remove the plastic film for the winter. Then in the spring there will be less hassle with starting the reservoir, and a starting supply of water in the pond will automatically be formed.
And the last conclusion: polyethylene film It lasts in a reservoir for at least two seasons, and with careful handling - even longer.
Thus, as simple option For a garden pond, the film construction is quite acceptable.

Of course, if there is a desire and opportunity, then it is better to immediately build a decorative pond in a more thorough manner.
First of all, when building a garden pond, it is advisable to use a special film for ponds. It is more reliable and durable than polyethylene.
To protect the special film from damage, it is useful to first line the prepared reservoir bed with geotextiles - a special synthetic non-woven material.
This is exactly what I did in 2007 when reconstructing my “Small Pond”.

Below is a series of photographs illustrating the stages of this reconstruction:

1 - pond bed with steps for plants and stones;
2 - the pond bed is covered with geotextiles;

3 - pond film laid out with folds;
4 - the pond is ready.

Construction of a film pond

1. Using flexible hose or a thick rope, mark the outline of the pond on the ground. The visual perception of the size and shape of the future pond often differs from what was previously planned and drawn on paper. It is not difficult to calculate the size of the film for the future pond; for this you need to know the length, width and depth of the reservoir. If you are planning a pond with fish, read the article on keeping fish, because... Such ponds have their own characteristics in terms of depth.

Formula for calculating film for pond construction
film length = pond length + 2*depth + 1 m *
film width = pond width + 2*depth + 1 m *

The most accurate calculation will be obtained if the pit is ready, it can be measured using a rope, first laying it along the longest and deep place reservoir + 1m * , the same for the widest and deepest place + 1m * .

* allowance for subsequent fastening of the edge of the film, if the depth of the reservoir is less than 1 m, the allowance can be reduced to 0.6 m (0.3 m for each edge)

2. The next stage in the construction of a reservoir is its direct excavation. At this stage, it is necessary to know the depth of the terraces for planting aquatic plants. Usually the depth of the first is 30-45 cm (for shallow-water plants), the depth of the second is 80-100 cm (for deep-water nymphs and water lilies), the width of the terrace should be at least 30 cm. You can make any number of terraces of any size, depending on the configuration and pond size. After they are formed, be sure to check the horizontal surface of the terrace using a board and level. Next, the rest of the soil is excavated to the required depth.
Important! The angle of the walls of the future pond must be at least 45 degrees, otherwise it is necessary to further strengthen them, as shown below in paragraph 6.
Remove roots, stones from the pit and pour a 10-15 cm layer of wet sand onto the bottom and walls.

3. If there is close groundwater, we recommend making drainage under the reservoir. If you can't cope with groundwater do it yourself and drain the pit for laying the film, it is better to turn to professionals. There are no unsolvable problems. But if you put the film in the water and do not make drainage, it will be much more difficult to correct such a mistake in the future, up to a complete rework of the reservoir.

4. Then cover the pit with a layer of geotextile, which will protect the film from plant roots and rodents. For ponds, geotextiles with a density of 300-350 g/m are used. Pond film, made according to the size of the pond, is laid on the prepared bed. At a distance of 15 cm from the edge of the pond, a groove is dug to the depth of a shovel or deeper, depending on the depth of the reservoir itself. The protruding edge of the film is carefully placed into it and pressed down with stones.
Important! You can fill the ditch with earth only after filling the pond with water, when the film has completely taken the shape of the pond and fits tightly to the walls and bottom.

5. A second layer of geotextile is laid out on the laid but not yet secured film (if you want to decorate a pond natural stone) or coconut cloth, or film with pebbles.
Important! Regardless of how you decide to design the pond itself, you should lay several large stones on the bottom or fill the bottom with pebbles to avoid swelling of the film in the spring.
Now in the pond there are plants planted in special baskets, and at the same time necessary equipment: skimmer, pump, fountain, lighting. And only after that, slowly fill the pond with water so as not to wash away the soil. When you completely fill the pond with water, cut off the excess film and fill the groove with soil.

6. Proper design of the edge of the pond is one of the most important stages its construction.
Here we give some examples of how to construct a pond edge:

Edge of a pond with a lawn Edge of a pond with a path