Choosing a Preformed Pond for Your Garden

It used to be that if you were looking to put a nice water feature in your backyard, you would never have used a preformed pond liner. The preformed pond liners of old had an extremely short lifespan, which was mainly due to poor materials used in the construction of the liners.  You could almost count on them failing within a two year time span after you had it in installed. In addition, the old preformed liners were made too shallow to support any fish or plant life, and they would become full of algae that would quickly clog the pump and filter, creating great conditions for mosquitoes. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. New preformed pond liners use materials that greatly outperform the liners of the past and are an excellent option when choosing the materials for your next water feature project. They very simple to install, and can make a backyard pond a quick weekend project.

The benefit of using a preformed pond, in a word: simplicity. You pick your pond shape, you dig a hole to match the size of the pond, drop in the liner, and voila. It is a very simple and worry-free solution for any pond that is towards the small end of the size spectrum. Of course you will likely want to do a few more things to your pond once you have it in the ground, such as line the outside with plants and/or put plants in it, add edging materials, add fish, etc., but even with all this you can still be done with installation and be enjoying your pond within a couple days of purchasing materials. In addition, with the use of new materials in their construction, preformed ponds are very sturdy and will hold water for years to come. Because of this they are an excellent choice for raised ponds, which can sometimes be difficult when using a flexible liner. You can even buy preformed pond kits, which will come with everything you need to get your preformed pond up and running, including a pump, a filter, water conditioners, all necessary tubing, bacteria, and sometimes even an above ground cascading unit to add to the visual appeal.

The main downside with a preformed pond is that it is, well, preformed.  This means that the shapes you see are the shapes you can get.  This is not an option for some landscapes where the pond needs to be a certain shape to fit the layout of other landscaping features.  Also, preformed ponds become impractical when they get large, particularly when it comes to transporting them.  If you are planning a pond that is going to be over a couple hundred gallons in volume, then you are going to need a flexible liner.

When purchasing a preformed pond, it is important to find one made of quality materials. Sure, that $50 dollar one seems to do the same thing that the $150 one does, but think about it: are you really ready to invest your time, hard work, and money into something that will last for two years? Make sure that your pond is quality before spending money and going through the trouble to get it home. Look for these three things when choosing a preformed garden pond:

1. The liner should be constructed of fiberglass or reinforced plastic. Some of the cheaper preformed ponds are made of flimsy plastic; pass on these and go for the better ones
2. A guarantee of 10 – 20+ years. Think of this as insurance on your investment. Yes, these are the liners that cost more, but think of the frustration when the pond you put in last year starts leaking out.  Spending a little more up front will save you time and money down the road.
3. If you are going to be putting fish or plants in it, make sure the volume and depth are correct for the species you plan on putting in. Aim for a minimum of 40 square feet of surface area and a depth of 18 inches.

Keep these pointers in mind when buying your preformed pond, and you will have a great water feature that will last many years to come.