Small Backyard Mini-Ponds are Low on Maintenance and Easy to Install
Do you have a space in your backyard you would like to fill with awater feature? Most home-owners would like a large pond, but don't wantit so big that a child or dog could fall into. You also probably don'twant to dig a 3-foot hole either- recently, you may have discoveredthat your "backyard dirt" can actually substitute as modelling clay,and it has a similar composition as concrete. Maintenance is alsoanother issue- do you have the time to nurture your pond, to keep thewater clean, keep debris from falling into it, and to periodicallyclean the filters and pumps? Or would a 800 gallon pond quickly turninto a cesspool and attract nasty glares from your neighbours?
Ifyou're like most home-owners, you would prefer a small maintenance-freeand easy-to-install pond. A small pre-formed pond is probably the idealsolution for you. Unlike liner ponds, preformed ponds already come in apre-defined shape. Mini preformed ponds are typically 2-3 feetwide/long, and 1 foot deep. They are especially low-maintenance sincethe volume of water is only in the 30 gallon range, it is quite easy toperiodically empty the water and to refill your pond.
Mini-preformedpond kits, such as Algreen's 30 gallon kit, sometimes include a smallwatercourse to add the trickling sound of water to your backyard. Theytypically also the pump and pre-filter that is required to circulatethe water, and to pump the water to your watercourse. The pump is anessential part of any water garden, because, without proper watercirculation, your pond will rapidly transform into a breeding groundfor mosquito larvae.
In addition to the pond, the watercourse, the pump, and the equipment included in a mini-pond kit, all you will need is:
- A carpenter's level.
- Sand, to backfill your pond. In addition to backfill, the sand willalso provide adjustable flooring for your pond shell, which will comein handy when you are trying to level your pond.
- A shovel, to dig your hole.
- A garden hose, to fill your pond with water.
- A space in your backyard that is relatively close to your house, tomaximize its impact. Be sure to consider the slope of the land and toensure that the pond avoids rainwater runoff.
Optional backyard water gardening supplies include landscaping rocks, aquatic plants, fish, and a fountain and/or spitter.
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