Types of Garden Ponds
There are 4 main types of garden ponds: preformed ponds, flexible prefromed ponds, liner ponds, and concrete ponds.
Preformed ponds are ideal for beginners because they come in preset shapes and are relatively easy to install. All the guesswork is taken out of the installation and the installation of a preformed pond primarily revolves around digging the hole, leveling the pond, and back-filling around the pond. Unlike liner ponds, many preformed ponds can be installed above-ground.
A flexible preformed pond is a hybrid between the preformed pond shell and pond liner. Flexible ponds have a preset shape and are constructed out of a rubber-plastic composite, which allows them to be folded up and packaged. Prior to installation the water gardener will have to unfold the pond, which may require a moderate degree of labour. Flexible ponds may require exposure to direct sunlight to facilitate the unfolding process, and they can only be installed below-ground.
Liner ponds are ideal for more advanced water gardeners because the use of pond liner allows for customization of the pond shape. Pond liner is versatile and very forgiving, but it does require significant preliminary design and sufficient knowledge about pond construction.
Concrete Ponds- Poured concrete and concrete block are building materials that can last decades. However, its high cost and challenging construction means that it is best installed by a professional contractor. If improperly installed, a concrete pond will crack and leak.
