First of all, your probably wondering what would you need a rock-wall pond for? Then your probably wondering how it can be possible to build one of those by yourself. On top of that, there are probably some major concerns about your budget. The process of building one of these rock-wall ponds is very simple. There are just a few small steps to go through and then WAL-LAH, you'll have yourself one of the best ponds in town and you'll have the satisfaction that you built it yourself. FIRST STEP The initiating step for building one of these ponds is to decide what type of pond you want. In order to do that, you have to determine what sort of use you plan to get out of it. By this it is meant, do you just want to look at the pond and have other people look at the pond, or do you have other uses in mind for it? Do you want to use it as a spa, would you like to use it for a larger piece like a pool, or do you want use it for something else like raising fish? There are a lot of people that use those sort of ponds to raise Cod or Tilapia, which can also be used for food. Those types of ponds can also be used to grow aquatic plants and hydroponic versions of land plants. So basically, you could use the pond to plan out an entire fish meal. CHOOSE A SPOT Once you are aware of what you would like to do, it is time to plan for the next step. This step is kind of tricky because it deals with choosing a spot for your new rock-wall pond. In order to chose the right spot, first you have to have an idea of the size you need for the purpose your going to use the pond for. This takes a little bit of estimation and some looking around. Obviously if you are using the pond for decoration your only going to need to use a smaller pond. Please remember, by smaller I mean smaller in the context of this type of pond. There are some ponds that are easily available at places like Home Depot or Lowe's that are very small and for use as a bird bath or a butterfly pond in a flower garden. While these are awesome ponds, the size of the rocks and other scenery that you are going to use are too large for this type of pond to be of use. There are specialized system available at specialty stores for other uses, such as those for swimming or creating a spa or water filtration and irrigation. For the Cod or Tilapia garden, a small decoration pond may work, or you may need to go to a specialty store, it just depends on how detailed you want the pond to be. It also depends on the type of material you'd like to use for your pond. Some people are OK with just plastic, others are more concerned with the way the pond might effect the soil for other types of gardening. FORM YOUR ROCKS Once you have your pond picked out, you will also need to decide the type of rack-wall you want to build. Some people want the wall to be taller and take up less ground space, some people want it tall and a wide amount of space for use so that they can use it like it is a fence, and some want a slightly shorter wall that can be attached to teh scenery as a progressive level in the ground. This use of the wall will effect where it is best to place the system, and also how much space will be needed for the system. Once you have an idea of both of these two elements, then you can chose a spot. Many people like to use already extracted rocks to build their walls. While this sounds ideal, these rocks are not easy to find and they can be very expensive. There is another way to do this. This can also be done through the use of cement and a supply of large garbage bags. This will save money, and keep other people from having to look for a bunch of large rocks that take heavy equipment to extract and move. To do this, just go ahead and prepare the cement with the solution, which is usually water. In most instances it is two parts water and one part cement, however it is best to read the bag that the cement comes in, just in case the instructions are different for your brand of cement. Once the cements is prepared, go ahead and pour it into the bag as a mold. Make sure that the bags are plastic or another material that will not stick to cement. Once you pour the cement into the bag, you can shape the cement however you want the rock to look - flat, round, odd shaped, use the force of the cement and the edges of the bag to hold it in place. This technique will also allow the cement rocks to form the natural ends and curves that are present in rocks formed by nature. ******It is important to start the cement molds FIRST, then the rest of the work so that the rocks have time to dry.***** FINAL INSTALLATION The steps get a little less complicated from here on out. Basically, you want to begin to dig your hole. Once the hole is dug,make sure you also dig some trenches that can be used to keep the equipment for the continuous flow of the water underground. This rock-wall design requires that you are able to have water run up to the top of the wall and fall down, so water need to flow to the top and not just to the bottom of the pond. This means that you will need a water pump and some pipes to drive the water from teh pond into the pump and back through the top of the wall. Usually the set-up instructions will come with the pump, and you can choose what size tube you want for the amount of water the pump can take. Once you have the pump set up and the tubes covered, it is time to insert the pond. Sometimes the hole will not be perfectly fit for the pond. No reason to worry about that, go ahead and use the extra dirt to fill in loose spots and fill free to dig more out for spots that are too tight. You will want to secure more dirt around the edges of the pond and compact it once the pond is fully installed. Then, fill it up with water, attach the pump in the right spot, and get ready to create the rock-wall. ARRANGE YOUR ROCKS Hopefully the rocks will be dry by now, if not, you can cover the pond and come back another day. Once they are dry, you can arrange them however you want around the pond - stack them, place them side by side, set some up and lay some down, its your design. After the rocks are installed, go ahead and add some plants. You can do a little research to find out which ones like to use rock to grow, or you can plant them with soil incorporated into and on top of the rocks. SET THE PUMP AND TURN IT ON The final step is to hook up the pump. Make sure all of the tubes are installed, and the pump is securely set to release the water through the top of the rock wall. Set the switch and watch the water flow! Now you have a rock-wall fountain pond. Any other steps are related to the extra options. If you chose extra options and need help, fill out the form on the contacts page and I'll be happy to provide some advice. ********************************THAT'S IT! ENJOY YOUR POND!*********************************************
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBonnie enjoys publishing poetry, fiction, social media and non-fiction. She has created numerous technical documents and research dissertations. Bonnie has also assisted in teh writing of movie scripts that have gone into production. Archives
November 2021
Categories |