A very basic beginners pond
Get the correct location bearing in mind all the aspects discussed on the link "pond" ;
Mark the area out with white chalk or rope.
Dig the area out and level the bottom.
Place pegs on each corner linked with rope to mark the actual pond.
Place the bottom drain/s in the desired location and stabilize it with a bit of cement to ensure that it stays in place when your pour the concrete slab.
Do the piping from the bottom drain to the area where your settlement and filter chambers are going to be build.
Place DPC plastic at the bottom to keep the moist in the concrete as long as possible to ensure a strong concrete base.
Cut a hole to expose the bottom drain.
Put iron support (brick forcing is sufficient) at the bottom, especially where the walls are going to be build.
Pour the concrete and distribute and level it until the concrete bed is approximately 110 mm thick and on the same level as the top of the bottom drain.
Leave the concrete bed for 48 hours to dry properly to enable you to start with the walls.
Build the walls up to the required high with 190 building blocks. 140 blocks can also be used if the pond is going to be below the surface of the land. Put at least two 50 mm PVC pipes through the walls to accommodate your inlets. One high (for a venturi) and one low (to circulate the water at the bottom also).
Screed the bottom with a plaster mix, mixed with Sikalite, a water proof chemical available at most hardware shops and salt. The corners must be at least 50 mm higher than the bottom drain, to ensure a slope towards the bottom drain. Break the sharp corners with the plaster mix to ensure that debris do not collect in the corners.
Plaster the walls with the same plaster mix, mixed with Sikalite and salt. (Minimum 20 mm thick)
Do the bio filter in the same way although it does not have to be as deep as the main pond. It must be at least 1 meter deep.
Connect the pipes.
Place iron rods in the holes of the building blocks (at least every second one) and fill with very soft concrete. Ensure that the concrete goes right down to the bottom. If the walls are going to be all above the ground and higher than 1.3m, fill every whole.
Paint the inside with a water proof paint after three days or until completely dry. Use matting on all the edges and possible bad spots and around your piping going through the walls. Durapond from Duram works quite well and is a unique polyurethane waterproofing paint that is non-toxic, odourless when dry and will not taint water and is non toxic.
Backfill up to the level of your inlet pipes with stone and sand mixed with a bit of dry cement at a rate of 1-8-8 and lightly wet it so that it compacts and reacts with the cement.
Wait for the required period depending on the paint used and fill with water. Acrylic and polyurethane paints normally requires 4 days and Bitumen type of paints usually require 14 days.
Check for any leaks, especially on the PVC fittings. If none, complete the back fill and wet the backfill properly.
Let the water in the pond stand for a few hours, circulate the water, empty the pond and replace the water to flush any possible toxins.
Let the water circulate for at least a week, test the PH, seed your filter, add salt and add some fish gradually after your are absolutely sure that there are no leaks and the PH of the water is correct.
Paint the outside or tile it, do your coping, do the final touches and enjoy your fish.