The pond is lined with black plastic but the pond is supposed to look like a natural jungle pond (ideally a peaceful zen-like pond) which you might stumble upon while hiking in the jungle so the black plastic needs to be hidden. We found out after we had all the rocks in place that one side of the pond was a little high so it was difficult to hide the black plastic on that side with rocks. We also realized that the best way to hide the plastic is to have a shelf of rocks a little way below the top level of the pond. We are achieving this by pulling out one layer of sand bags on the high side. It is also necessary to back fill dirt very close to the edge so that we can root plants that will drape over in places and also look natural. The plastic will loop up a little behind the low level of rocks before we back fill with more rocks and dirt. This will contain the water when we bring the level of the pond up again.
Source: El Yunque Rainforest Bed and Breakfast Blog
Related:
Building Your Own Earth Pond (Note: the soil that’s removed can be used to build your earthbag house.)
Erik’s Swimming Pool to Pond Conversion
Fish pond can be maintained easily, if you have got good sense to care about your fish EPDM Pond liner is very helping and Eco-friendly product.
It’s definitely not eco friendly. It’s made from oil. Some builders use EPDM due to lack of alternatives.
The filtration system which grows watercress was so successful in our pond that now we are building and aquaponics greenhouse next to it. This pond is very prolific in plant growing!
I’ve been thinking about using this idea to build a constructed wetland. Lets greywater sit in the pond for 5 days while being oxygenated by plants, and use gravel to make sure there are no exposed water surfaces for mosquitoes. Then by putting a drain at the far end, use the cleaned up re-claimed sink/shower water to water the garden. Or send back to the house for toilet use,
I’d love to read more about their filtration system… have you seen any designs that incorporate water storage/features in homes? We will be living in a very water challenged area and every drop of clean water is precious.
One guy built an earthbag biogas plant. We have 1-2 earthbag cistern plans online. It’s far easier to bury a plastic cistern if you can afford it, and probably more durable.
I’ll make sure my girlfriend doesn’t see this. Don’t want her getting any ideas.