Work out your pond budget

A pond built by yourself sounds a daunting task, however it is not impossible and over time with good planning you can overcome any real issues, as long as you have planned out what you really want as a pond and from your pond. The ever popular hobby of keeping fish has made it possible to build a pond for alot less money than people may think, the huge amount of retail outlets available have really brought prices for equipment down as each company try to gain your custom. The first thing you need to work out is how big a pond you really want and can manage, decide if you are building into the ground and or above ground, obviously above ground will work out more expensive as a supporting wall of some kind will be needed, and be strong enough to with stand the enourmous pressures water places on them. Calculate the sizes you need using pond calculators, these will aid you in what size liner you require including the pump size and filter size. This is the first step to working out your budget, the skin of your pond will be the first item you will need to consider be it a liner , fiberglass or concrete each have there advantages and disadvantages and prices will become clearer when you have had a shop around for the materials required to build your pond. Again the most important aspect is planning ahead, digging a hole in the ground is the easy part, getting that hole to become a healthy manageable habitat for fish is the area that will cost you the money.

Hint:- Plan your pond during the summer, buy your equipment during the winter, you can gain huge savings of up to 75% off as the season is at a close. Prices begin to rise again around Febuary.


Additional Considerations.

Soil waste:- You maybe able to use alot of soil around the garden however you may need a skip for waste, a small hole brings alot of soil. Take into account where and how you can get rid of any waste.

Pump Size:- A big pond needs a bigger pump, the bigger they are the more money the cost to buy and inevitably run.

Filter size:- The bigger the better, a pond cannot be over filtered. Fish stocks, plants will add strain on your filters so it is advised to go bigger than you really need.

Electric Bill:- A pond needs to be running 24/7 this will increase your electric bill, account for this cost as many people do not realise that there can be a big increase to your bills. It is often seen that cheap pumps cost more to run, and from experiance this is very true.