Creating a Naturalistic Pond With a Waterfall | Step-by-Step

I've been dreaming of making my own pond for a while now and that dream just turned into reality! It took 5 very labour intest days of work, but eventualy I managed! Enjoy the video and let me know if you have any questions.
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#pond #DIY #gardenpond
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[@CrunchyFern]

What would you stock this pond with?

[@ShortfinMako83]

Frogs!!

[@CrunchyFern]

@@ShortfinMako83 frog army let’s gooooooo

[@SRC267]

​@@CrunchyFernAfrican Clawed Frog would be ideal. It's mostly aquatic

[@Uqwd]

This channel is so underrated.

[@CrunchyFern]

❤️❤️❤️

[@MM-TheEnd]

One of the simplest, yet most comprehensive videos on this topic yet. And the pond is lovely!

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you for the kind comment! I really appreciate it! The pond is maturing nicely and is now home to a group of rainbow shiners

[@harrysamuppet6804]

You should be very proud of yourself. You put a lot of effort and time into that and it looks really lovely.

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you!! I’m super happy with the pond and I’m happy I could share my fun building this project with people online.

[@DirkCox-tp5lp]

Great idea for the garden

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! :)

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Great job! Looks awesome!! 👊

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you!

[@lorimorsman6408]

Very nice. Common (feeder) goldfish and common brown (feeder) snails are cheap and hardy. Up here I put them in in a pond that has one area at least 2 ft depth and a good hidey hole. I am in Spokane WA and these fish and snails with a pond heater in a 4×8 partially above ground pond can survive temps below-10+. In a smaller patio like pond don't use the heater. The water will get much too warm . When I used to have those I would just overwinter the more fragile plants and fish & snails in the house feeding less frequently.

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! I've added rainbow shiners and recently also a couple common goldfish. The shiners have overwintered outside and did very well. There will be an update video on the pond.

[@TechsterYT]

Awesome 👍

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! :)

[@turtleholic]

Awesome video! Looking forward to seeing the fish added.

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank man! I’m also thinking to maybe let a turtle run loose in my yard haha

[@turtleholic]

@@CrunchyFern haha that would be great.

[@naveendogra2952]

Wow good waterfall.... Love it.... nice 😊😊😊😊😊

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! :)

[@JaRuuizz]

That looks awesome, good job!

[@CrunchyFern]

Thanks you very much!

[@ChristineDuval-cy5ck]

Great job😊

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! :)

[@sagarbhau2112]

So beautiful...😍

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you!

[@156aliciasy]

Hi I just found your channel and I am so impressed with your pond. I wish I had the strength to do this myself but I am going to find someone to do. I'm afraid of running into problems while digging or digging too close to the household or not being able to dig the whole separately. So I will show them your video with hopes that they can replicate yours thank you

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you for the nice comment! I hope your pond will turn out exactly as you hope. Let me know when it’s been build. I would love to see how it turns out.

[@iblemz]

Very nice

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you!

[@Lwimmermastermetalart]

Nice job for a first timer. Shame you couldn’t go big enough to have Koi. They are simply so awesome to have. This year I had babies to my surprise as I had no idea I had a female. In 6 months they grew to 8 inches long. They are simply so neat. With koi you really get a. Lot of solid poo. You have plenty of wet surface for bacteria but the inlet set up may need some assistance depending on your fish load. All in all nice pond and video 👍🏼

[@CrunchyFern]

Thanks! Yeah my garden isn’t that big and I didn’t want to take away too much space. I eventually decided to stock it with rainbow shiners which are beautiful in their own way!

[@GreymsView-ix8yi]

A very cool video my friend.

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you very much 🐟

[@10pm63]

Nice video 👍🏻. Two things i noticed: 1. I wouldn't cover any bricks with dirt. Keep it below brick level - or put some liner between. 2. Is that a special foam for ponds? Don't think the regular one is suitable.

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! I’m not sure what you mean by covering bricks with dirt? Are you perhaps talking about the bricks in the intake bay? Please let me know, and explain why you wouldn’t do that. As for the foam: it is regular foam. I’ve been using it in various aquatic setups for years and have ran several tests with this stuff and have never experienced negative effects from using this stuff nor have I found any toxins in the water. As far as I can tell the regular stuff is just meant for construction and the manufacture don’t bother doing extensive tests to gain a couple more sales from aquarium hobbyists. However if you have some more insight I would love to hear it!

[@10pm63]

@@CrunchyFern You will probably be fine with the foam. But it might crumble over time 🤷🏻‍♂️ At 8:44 the soil is covering some bricks of the wall. They could absorb moisture from the soil and produce mold on the inside.

[@CrunchyFern]

Ah now I see what you mean! That’s a fair point. Didn’t consider that. I’ll look into it, thanks for the tip!

[@GoonsackSteve]

Awesome little pond set-up. Would be perfect for a turtle if there was something keeping it from leaving the pond area (fence or steep scaping). Keep up the good work

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! My yard is completely fenced of, even my cat get out (for now) so I guess it might be possible to have a turtle run loose in my yard. My only concern is that I’m not sure if all of my plants are turtle safe. Either way, I’m just gonna start of with just fish 🐟

[@GoonsackSteve]

@@CrunchyFern what's the bird wildlife like there? That's my only concern in Australia, is we have lots of birds of prey

[@CrunchyFern]

@@GoonsackSteve I don’t think you can get tamer wildlife than Dutch wildlife haha. We do have birds of prey, but not that much nor really big ones. We do have snakes, but they’re super rare. In 25 years I’ve never seen a wild snake here. The biggest concern for keeping animals outdoors is probably cats haha.

[@mlw8998]

Hi, it has been 8 months since your pond was built and I was wondering what you decided to stock your pond with. Looks very nice.

[@CrunchyFern]

Thanks! I’ve decided to add rainbow shiners!

[@SuperMaxibaby]

you will need some form of filter system for fish,and maybe an island escape rout from the water for amphibians but a great job

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! There is a filter. Just not a conventional one. Both the intake bay and waterfall house fast amounts of surface area for the benefitial bacteria. Once those break down any waste the plants planted within the gravel will take up the nutrients and filter the water in a natural way. As for the escape route; I’ve seen frogs enter and exit the pond without any problems but it’s worth looking into. Thanks for the feedback :)

[@MohMah]

Echt mooi

[@CrunchyFern]

Thanks! :)

[@156aliciasy]

Is there any electricity to any of the pumps to make the water siphen over? Or is that old natural

[@CrunchyFern]

There is an (electric) pump in the trashcan!

[@rahmatmunandar2003]

Cool bro, greetings from Indonesia

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you!

[@leticiarodriguez7095]

Hi awesome video! Did you place the pump in the trash bin? Also what kind of filter went into the stock tank?

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you! The pump did indeed go into the trash can. There is no pre made filter in the stock tub. I added a bunch of gravel and stones to create as mush surface area as possible. Beneficial bacteria will colonize this space and help break down waste. I’ve placed various plants in the gravel in the stock tub, once the waste is broken down the plants wil absorb said waste and thus filter the water. Nearly a year later I can say this works beautifully and results is crystal clear water.

[@GavinsAquariums]

Do you have to remove all the rocks to clean the pump from time to time?

[@CrunchyFern]

Good question, but no I don’t. The pump is situated in the trashcan. The rocks are only on the outside of this trashcan. I have easy access to the pump without any obstructions. There is an one year update video in the works where I’ll show in more detail how the filter works.

[@veasna5244]

What pond liner did you use?

[@CrunchyFern]

Just some basic stuff. Not the cheapest option, but two thicknesses up or something. And the sheet was precut, I believe 4x6M.

[@lunaticz0r]

sounds Dutch, where did you get the biggest flat stone?

[@CrunchyFern]

I am Dutch. I got all the stones from marktplaats

[@michelleplayfair7592]

Is the pump mains powered

[@CrunchyFern]

Yes the pump is on 24/7

[@user-zb1zh9wc6t]

Do you recycle the water from the pond?

[@CrunchyFern]

There is no water leaving the pond. But I do recycle water from my fishtanks. I use that to water my house plants 🪴

[@urbanyeti5233]

You’ve put the back of the pond up against the wall of your house and it would appear it’s above the damp course! Your wall is going to get wet and you’ll get damp

[@urbanyeti5233]

Just seen it’s a workhouse! You’ll still get rising damp eventually

[@CrunchyFern]

Thank you for the comment! Someone else commented the same thing and I'm working in fixing this. I'll put a scraps piece of liner inbetween.

[@urbanyeti5233]

@@CrunchyFern yeah that should work! I made the same mistake with some raised flowerbeds and wooden sleepers up against the wall! The wall got damp. Great video 👍🏼

[@user-ty7vq1of7y]

Put a turtle

[@CrunchyFern]

I’ve added rainbow shiners and some goldfish. Might add a turtle later, would be fun

[@SRC267]

​@@CrunchyFernadd newts

[@stormfriendscrew3559]

You should add micro organisms like isopods, certain worms, and tadpoles.

[@stormfriendscrew3559]

Fairy shrimp are also pretty cool.

[@CrunchyFern]

Cool ideas! But I really want to add fish and I’m not sure if micro organisms will survive alongside fish. Might give it a try tho

[@stormfriendscrew3559]

@@CrunchyFern well I don't live in the EU but African cichlids are very nice, and durable.

[@CrunchyFern]

@@stormfriendscrew3559 would be cool! But I don’t think they could survive our winters tho

[@teresaholland4790]

Are those natural logs or cement logs? I love this very nicely done.

[@CrunchyFern]

All natural oak!

[@adamoswell3956]

2 minutes into the video when the filter is going Can anyone else see a face???

[@CrunchyFern]

Can’t see a human face, but I can kinda see a frog with his mouth wide open lol 😂

[@YurGirlEarl]

I'm still so confused on how the pumping system works

[@CrunchyFern]

The various layers of rocks and pebbles catch debris, the benifital bacteria that naturally grow on those rocks will then break it down after which the plants ontop of the waterfall can absorb the nutrients.

[@rogiertien8628]

Chinese danios en koppeltje winterhard paradijsvissen zouden niet misstaan

[@CrunchyFern]

Ja precies, lekker een beetje kleur erin

[@iblemz]

African cichlids

[@CrunchyFern]

That would be really cool! unfortunately they won't survive the winter over here

[@andrewklein9221]

Too Close to your house .. you’ll get rising damp problems

[@CrunchyFern]

That’s not my house in the background. It’s a little workshed. But after a year I’m not noticing anything yet.