How to Build a Backyard Duck Pond

Designing and creating a backyard pond to attract waterfowl can be as expensive and intricate as you desire. Pond kits come with liners, pumps, and hoses that you need to install. These can be found at your local garden center or ordered online. There are two types of pond liners to choose from rigid preformed liners and PVC liners. For a small backyard pond rigid preformed liners are the easiest to install.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pond kit Spray paint Shovel Wheelbarrow 1 cinder block Large rocks Sand Pond plants Small fish Tadpoles Aquatic snails bricks Chlorine neutralizing agent

1. Choose a pond kit that is at least three feet deep, optimal depth for waterfowl is five feet and at least six feet in diameter. Set the pond on top of the space you have chosen for your pond. Use the spray paint to mark the ground in the shape of the pond. The mark should follow the contours of the liner be one foot out from the edge. Dig out the shape of the liner, use the wheelbarrow to haul the dirt and dump it nearby. Make sure to remove rocks and roots from the hole to prevent damage to the liner. Line the bottom of the hole with 3 inches of sand and center the liner inside.

2. Place the cinder block at the deepest point of the pond and rest the pond pump on top of it. Small pond pumps have filters built in to keep debris out. Attach the hose to the pump with a hose clamp. The hose can be laid against the side of the liner. If your pond has a waterfall built in then the hose will need to be inserted into the waterfall. Run the electrical cord to the electrical outlet you will be using, do not plug into until the pond has been filled with water. The electrical cord should be plugged into a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter), this will turn the pump off immediately if water were to touch the cord.

3. Fill the pond with water to the top edge of the liner. Pour sand around the liner to hold it in place. The sand should fill the hole to the underside of the pond liner lip. Add bricks under the lip of the liner to reinforce it. Use the dirt that was removed to cover the lip of the liner and the one foot space that surrounds the pond. Add decorative rocks around the edge of the pool. Plug the pump in so that it can begin to circulate the water.

4. Before adding plants and aquatic life to the pond you can either allow the pond to sit for three or four days or add chlorine neutralizing agent to the water. The water will still need to sit for twenty-four hours before adding life to it, chlorine is harmful to pond life.

5. You can use exotic (non-native) plants in your pond or purchase pond plants that are native to your region to make your pond attractive to local waterfowl. Submerged plants provide oxygen in the water and a place for fish to spawn. These plants will need to be put in baskets lined with burlap to keep soil from leaking out of the pot. Gravel will need to cover the top layer of potting soil that was used to avoid it floating away. For the exterior of the pond you want to consider hardy plants that winter over easily. Tropical pond plants need to be removed before the first frost. Rushes, cattails, grass and reeds provide nesting areas for waterfowl and over winter easily. For color consider lilies, water hibiscus, butterfly flower, forget-me-not, and blue lobelia.

6. After eight to twelve weeks you can begin adding small amounts of animal life to your pond. This time period allows a natural build up of the pond ecosystem. For a small backyard pond goldfish and other small native fish will control insect populations, especially mosquitoes. Scavengers such as aquatic snails and tadpoles are needed to control algae growth. Add pond animals in small quantities to a new pond, the ecosystem is very delicate.

Tips & Warnings

• You can create slopes into the pond using soil that was removed for construction. Use plants native to your area they will require less fertilizer than exotic plants. Cover 50-70% of the water with plants. Prune dead branches, leaves, stems regularly. Clean pond filters to prevent unwanted algae growth.
• Carefully fertilize exotic plants, too much fertilizer will cause unwanted algae growth. Fish in shallow ponds need to be brought in during the winter. Dead animals need to be immediately removed from the water.