This pond was designed and built by a member of the Central Illinois Water Gardeners.  He began with the set of flower beds seen below, and with a lot of hard work and imagination, created this beautiful pond.

The pond gives the feel of a rocky Mountain stream in Colorado. It features 3 waterfalls measuring approximately 1 foot, 2 feet and 8 inches. Water spills down a 15-foot river, 2 ½ feet wide, to its destination of a 6 foot by 9 foot pond basin.

The basin is constructed with flagstone. Small boulders and 5/8 pea gravel are used to cover the bottom. This size gravel provides good surface area for bacteria and algae to grow. A 45-mil rubber liner was used to provide a protective underlayer.

The pond basin utilizes a skimmer with one filter pad. The skimmer houses a 2200 gph high efficiency Laguna pump. Water is pumped through a 1 ½ inch diameter flexible PVC pipe back to the water source. The water source is a Biofall that contains 3 filter pads and 2 nylon bags of lava rock. Electricity runs into the garage and uses a GFCI outlet.
 

This pond also contains an underwater light (Little Giant Pond Glow) with interchangeable color disks. At present, a blue color is being used which gives the entire basin a nice blue glow, almost an icy-cold look.

Bacteria are used in this pond, which grows in the Biofall and skimmer. The only other life in this pond is a frog that somehow found its way to the pond before the pond was finished or even had any water. But, after a rainfall when the pond had a little water, our little visitor was right in there enjoying his new frog condo.

This being a new pond, it still appears somewhat rocky and lifeless. But plans for next spring are to add koi and possibly some water plants. Other plans are to find plants that will grow in the rocky crevasses and on the stream edges.

This pond took approximately 4 months to build. It was primarily a one-man project, with 95 percent of the work being done by the owner. He had the help of a few friends with the remainder of the project. Many of the boulders, including some that weigh up to 500 pounds were gathered at a local quarry and moved with the help of friends, very good friends!

This pond fits nicely into the landscape of the backyard. The water sound is very peaceful, masking the noise of the city. It also drowns out the conversations of those near the pond. The pond adds to the enjoyment of an already grownup backyard. Its main viewing points are from the patio and deck, but it can also be seen and appreciated from inside the house. This project was a lot of hard work, but the satisfaction and enjoyment far outweigh everything that was put into it.