Pond hints

To remove grass (that was a lawn) after marking out the desired area sub divide it into widths of a spade, press the spade into the ground about 2cm  along these sub divisions, so you end up with two parallel lines (You will need to repeat this until the whole area is done.) Then starting at one end push the spade into the strip and tilt it so it is nearly parallel to the ground (here is the hard bit) PUSH ! You should end up with strips of lawn rather than clumps.

Cable through hose

If you are burying a pond cable underground why not run it through a hose pipe. Now that is easier said than done you can either tie a weight (a nail will do) to a string and drop it down the hose, if the hose is long it is advisable to go to an upstairs window drop the hose to the ground (check first no one is below) and then drop the string down the hose, gravity will do the rest.

Don't use coloured "toffee paper" to change the colour of garden lights because even with 5 watt lamps it doesn't take long for the plastic to get burnt and turn brown, use professional lighting gel available from good electrical stores.

If you have a stand alone pool or water feature and you want to hide the pipe work or cables why not cover the base with gravel, as shown in the picture below

When building a waterfall try and use a flexible pipe from the pump to the top, and unless you have to do not have any 90 degree bends, use gentle curves as bends considerably reduce water flow

If you are building your own sump or filter and you are using a plastic water tank, before you drill any holes for pipes make sure they are at least 2cm off the bottom so that you can turn the locking nut.

Leak / water loss

If your pond / waterfeature is loosing to much water you may have a leak, but how do you find it? 

Look for the obvious first, water or damp in one particular place, say you have a raised water feature, and you refill it and the water keeps dropping, leave it alone until the water stops dropping, then look very close to the new water level, that is where the hole will be. you may also find shinning a torch from the outside in useful, where ever you see light that is your leak.

The other thing to check is have you altered or added anything, if so check there first.

Sometimes a new fountain spray pattern may be the cause, if you have a finer spray than the original it may look nicer, but it will be easier for the wind to blow the finer spray out of the pool / container.

Evaporation should also be considered as if you have a big surface area it has been known to loose 2.5 cm / day just because the sun heats the water.

Repairing your leak.

Most aquatic / watergarden centres will be able to supply a "self adhesive patch"  follow the manufacturers instructions.

If you have a concrete pool and it is cracked, you should remove the concrete at least 2.5 cm either side of the crack  to a depth of at least 3 cm, thoroughly clean out fill with cement, allow to dry (at least 24 hours) then paint with a water sealing compound. Tip. Paint in one direction only. i.e left to right. when dry paint again but up and down

Solar

Did you realise you can not have solar lights with a solar pump? why, because the solar pump runs in daylight and the lights only come on at night, so although you can have them both, the solar lights will not light the fountain as it is not running, because it is dark.

This used to be true, but you can now supply solar pumps and lights that will operate at the same time. (They are very expensive though)

Noisy fountain

Feature sump

If you decide to build your own sump for a feature don't just make the sump as big as the feature, make it bigger to "catch the splash", or put a liner in the sump with the edges spreading outwards, but angled so they point inwards, any water splashing out will flow back into the sump

Big filter?

Choosing a builder

So you are going to get a builder in to construct your pond / water feature, that is fine, but get a drawing made first, so you both know what you want, also ask to see previous work  of your builder, do not for get that not all builders can build ponds / water features, you may want to try a landscaping company, but always check previous examples and always get several quotes.

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