Backyard Fish Pond

Building your very own backyard fish pond is a great project for those who have always dreamed of having something fun in their garden. This would be an excellent addition to a beautifully kept garden.

A fish pond will make the backyard one of the most favorite spots in the house. It will not only be fun for kids, but will also be a great place to entertain friends and family.

However, before building a fish pond, you do need to plan for it! Just digging a giant hole in the backyard and filling it up with water does not make a fish pond. This project takes a lot of time, effort and most importantly planning especially for those who have never picked up a shovel in their lives.

Here's 5 Tips To Get You Going

1. Location, location, location. The first thing that you have to do is decide where you'd like to place the fish pond. Picking a random place in the backyard is not a good away to go about selecting a place for a fish pond. Remember that this will be a part of the permanent landscape of your backyard. So be wise when it comes to picking a spot.

It is important to note that building a pond under a tree might not be the best idea. This is especially true of deciduous trees which habitually shed their leaves. You really do not want to spend so much of time cleaning out the leaves, muck and bird droppings that fall from the tree into your pond.

2. Design your fish pond. Decide on the size of the pond that you want to build. Ideally, the size of the pond should be proportionate to the size of the backyard. The fish pond can be rectangular, square, or any other shape you want. The key is to make sure it is even out, and symmetrical. And if you are a true beginner with no experience in fish pond construction, avoid shapes that are too abstract. Not only will it be difficult to build but abstract shapes tend to have too many nooks and crannies that would make the fish pond hard to clean up in the future.

3. Pond plants. If you'd like to have plants in your fish pond, keep in mind that you should place your fish pond in a place where it can be exposed to great amount of sun light. Too little sunlight and you'd have ugly yellowish vegetation instead of healthy green plants.

4. The depth of the pond. Make sure when constructing a natural pond, that you dig deep enough so that the pond does not freeze over during winter. Also, consider what types of aquatic life you want to include in the pond before digging. The depth of the pond will also be determined by the kinds of plants, and fish that will reside in the fish pond. Smaller fish should have shallower ponds and larger fish should be given a deeper pond to swim in.

5. The size of the pond. Try not to make your fish pond too small. This is a mistake that a lot of beginners make. Remember that your finished fish pond will be slightly smaller than the hole you dug because of contruction, so dig a slightly bigger hole to accomodate for construction material or you might end up with a smaller pond that you planned.