You need to think about where you want to place your pond. It needs to be close to electricity for your pumps and maybe a heater in the winter. You don’t want too much sunlight because it will heat the water too much. Shade is good, but then you have to deal with leaves from the trees and tree roots growing into your pond.

Do you want goldfish or koi? Koi are very beautiful and hardy. However they can grow to be three feet in length. This is important to consider. If you want a small pond you should probably go with the goldfish.

The depth of the pond also needs to be planned. It should be deep enough to protect them from freezing and protect them from predators. It also need to allow plenty of room for your fish to swim.

What type of shelter are you going to provide for your fish? You need a ledger and even some plants to give them places to hide.

Ponds can be built with concrete, premolded liners, flexible liners, or rubber. The lime in concrete can be deadly to your fish and it can be very expensive. Premolded liners a good for beginners, but they tend to be too small if you want koi. Flexible liners are great to do many different pond designs, they can be more work to set up and they do tear once in awhile. Rubber comes in sheets and can be bought specifically for pond use. It is fish friendly and can last up to 20 years!

Figure out your design and get your hole dug before buying your liner. This way you have accurate measurements and you don’t run out of liner.

The fun part is decorating your pond. You can do lots of different things. Some examples are islands, terraces, waterfalls, fountains, plants and lights.

You really need to add plants to help condition the water and to give a place for your fish to hide. There are several different types of plants, floating, shallow, and submerged. Will the floating plants you need to be careful so the fish don’t eat them.