How do I build a fish pond with cement?
Question:The liner I use usually breaks within months and is very costly.
My concern is how do I do the walls for the pond using cement without having to seperate the walls from the bottom of the pond. I have the hole in the ground whats my next step...
Answers:
lol I've seen this question on many different sites and every one gives the same answer. And I always disagree with there answers, Rubber liners no matter how good they claim to be suck. And cement isnt harmful to your fish. Cement just gives it a higher PH and most fish will adapt. If your worried about that, they sell special sealers for ponds. Cement is the best way to go though if you want something permanet and lasts longer. You want to have some help, it only works if you can pour the concrete all at the same time so you get one solid piece. Make it atleast 4 inches thick. Be sure to put chicken wire or something to make it strong. Pour the bottom first, when your done smoothing that out, work your way up. make sure the cement isnt too wet so you can get it to stick on the way up. the more of a slope you have the easier it will be to form the walls. The next day when the concrete is starting to cure, wet it, this will help it cure. Keep wetting daily. It should cure in about 2 weeks to a month depending on the temperature outside. dont fill it with water until it is fully cured. If you want you can seal it to prevent the cement from changing the ph in your pond, Sherman williams sells a sealer for potable water tanks, thats what you will need to seal it with. If it ever cracks, you can seal the cracks with a caulk made for aqariums, usually sold at aquarium stores. Good look, and dont be scared of all the hard work, it really pays off. I hate having to change rubber liners all the time just cuz of roots messing them up, or the sun making them brittle. And those sub-liners dont make much of a difference.
Don't use cement. Use a rubber pond liner. I suggest you go to the local book store,and pick up a book on how to build Koi ponds. That will give you all the correct info you need.
Go buy a good piece of EPDM roof rubber for a liner. To get technical you can not make a pond from cement. You can use concrete, which is a mixture of cement, sand and aggregate. But you would also need to use steel reinforcement. And if your in a cold climate you half to allow for freeze-thaw, and expansion and contraction. I think in the long run you would be wasting money, I have EPDM roof rubber in my pond and its been in for over 4 years with 10 tons of river rock placed on top of it. Or you could talk to a swimming pool contractor. They use Gunite, which is a concrete that is sprayed onto steel reinforcement. There are only three things for sure with concrete #1 It comes in a truck, #2 It gets hard you hope, #3 It cracks
Whatever you decide, don't use cement. Your fish will all die within a week. The lime in the cement will kill them. Perhaps you didn't use the padding that comes with the liners. Tree roots may be growing through, or the weight of the water is pushing rocks into it.
Go to website below, type in ' fish pond', 6th on the list. There it is, you're good to go - Good luck.
www.diynetwork.com/
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