How to make a pond from the old bath

Do not rush to throw away the old bath, it can still be useful to decorate the garden or cottage. You can make an interesting pond from a bath with your own hands, for this you need a minimum of materials and a maximum of imagination.

Bath requirements requirements

In order for the water reservoir from the bath to serve as long as possible, it must be placed on the site correctly:

1. The pond should not be under the straight rays of the sun most of the day. It is desirable that it be lit no more than 8 hours a day.
2. But too darkened the pond also does not need to be built. If, with high illumination, he can degenerate into a swamp slide, then during life in the shadow all living things will simply die in it.
3. It is not necessary to cost a pond under the trees, otherwise leaves and garbage will constantly have in it.
4. No need to build a pond in places where there are strong drafts.

Experts advise making a pond from a bath near the building or in the farthest corner of the garden. In a low -powered area, it is also not necessary to install it and is extremely undesirable for underground waters to pass nearby. The place should be with hard soil, it is good if it is clay and sand. And in winter, snow should lie at the place of installation of the reservoir so that the fish in the water does not freeze.

Materials and pit for the pond

To realize the idea of \u200b\u200ba pond from the old bath into reality, you need:

1. Bath for the pond.
2. Cement.
3. Sand.
4. Crushed stone or gravel.
5. Metal mesh.
6. Clay.
7. Steel wire.
8. Large stones.

The depth of the pit should be 30 cm larger than the height of the bathtub itself, so that it completely plunges into the soil and does not look out. Especially this fact must be taken into account when building a pond on a lawn or other flat surface. The earth must immediately be taken out as the pit is dug, if it is fertile, then you can sleep in flower beds with it. If the soil is clay, then it must be assembled in a heap and covered with rains, in the future it will be needed.
After the pit is dug, it is necessary to remove the turf around it and dig a ditch about 30 cm deep and width. Place the container in the pit. To do this, you will need the help of friends or winches. After the bathtub is in place, you need to check with the level of whether it is installed horizontally. If everything is fine, then fill the cracks with sand so that the container stands tight.

Bath transformation in the pond

You will need:

• cement stirring capacity;
• bucket;
• scoop or trowel;
• passatigi for wire;
• scissors for cutting the grid;
• glue with which the tile is glued.

The course of work:

1. Dilute with water, according to the instructions, glue with a cement base. If you have a white glue, you need to put a dark pigment to it. As a result, you should have a mixture of a test -shaped consistency. Please note that it will stomake very quickly, because work should be carried out without being distracted.
2. Put gloves and manually apply glue on the entire surface of the bathtub, first on the walls, and then what remains - to the bottom. Do not worry particularly that the glue lies with uneven layers, it will even be better. All actions can be performed either at the bottom of the container, or lying on the basis near it. You can spread the surface with glue before lowering the bath into the pit, but then there is a possibility of damage to the surface. The meaning of the whole procedure is that the bath becomes natural earthen color, and is more like a natural pond. As an option, instead of glue, you can take a solution of cement, but this work is more complicated, since the mixture will drain along the walls.
3. Now you need to lay the net. You can take a continuous piece, or you can small pieces. It depends on the shape of the grid. It needs to cover the upper edge and walls to the middle of the container.
4. At the corners of the bath, tie the wire rings perpendicular to the wall perpendicular to the wall, and the shelves will be attached to them in the future.
5. Pour dry clay on the bottom of the bath, the thickness of the layer is 3 cm.
6. Dilute the clay of water to get a thick gruel, and coat the walls of the bath.
7. In clay, plant moisture-loving and not very whimsical plants, such as mint or coltsfoot in the upper part of the wall of the future pond.
8. Wait a few hours while the clay dries and you can fill the bath with water. Water must be launched with a thin stream from the hose, you can put on a spraying nozzle, putting on the bottom so as not to destroy a layer of clay.
9. In a ditch, which goes along the perimeter of the reservoir, you need to place marsh plants that love moisture and put stones that will create a feeling of coasts. When the water is added to the pond, part of it always shimmers through the edges and moisturizes these plants.

Decoration of the pond

The pond from the old bath in itself is a decoration of the site, these can be seen in the photo, but it can be made even more interesting. For this you need:

1. Carry out underwater backlight, then the pond will fascinate with its lights in the dark. This effect is achieved thanks to mini-sectors, they are placed under water, they are not expensive, and the mood creates excellent.
2. Carry out surface lighting. To do this, you need to install LED lamps next to the pond, and halogen illuminators can also be used. In addition to the fact that they meet safety requirements, they are also the most economical lighting devices.
3. To build a fountain inside the pond, for this you need a pump, which is surface and underwater and differs not only in the place where it is located, but also with the height of the jets.

Any, even the most beautifully decorated pond in the cottage from the bath will not look as picturesque as the one in which there is something from wildlife. You can plant plants in the soil on the bottom of the container, or you can leave them the top on the water, and hide the roots in pots with the ground. High plants need to be planted near the pond, it is good if you have reeds, then the reservoir will take a natural look. Lilies and water lilies look harmonious on the water, they have one more dignity: they do not need earth, they grow on the water.

The business card of any pond is duckweed, even artificially created ponds are not insured from its appearance. Nobody plants a duckweed specifically, it over time grows from flowering of water. And if the duckweed appeared, it must be controlled, because it will capture the entire pond.
Always collects a reservoir with fish around him. You need to choose them in a specialized store and, before buying, be sure to ask the consultant what types of fish can live in a small water space and not be enlightened with each other.
Do not forget to constantly care for the pond. It must be cleaned from excess vegetation and garbage and leaves are removed from the surface.

Pond in winter

An artificial water pond from the bath, as a rule, freezes in winter to the bottom. Therefore, with the onset of the first night frosts, all living creatures and vegetation from it must be moved to winter to another place. After that, to pump out all the water from the pond. If there are any pipelines, then they need to be blown and clogged. And clean the walls and bottom well. After that, leave the pond until spring alone.
If for some reason you cannot drain the pond to the cold or you want to leave it unchanged, then experienced owners of such reservoirs are advised to score in several plastic bottles of sand to half, tighten the cork and put in the bath. In frosts, these bottles will take the pressure of ice, and the pond will remain intact. 1 sq.m. The reservoir needs one such bottle.
In specialized stores, you can find such a device as a aerator, it enriches water with oxygen, which is especially important in winter. You can also place a special heater in the pond, then the water in it will definitely not freeze. If you do not have the opportunity to buy the news of the technique, then it is enough to constantly observe the pond in severe frosts and add hot water to the wormwood so that it does not freeze to the bottom, so you can save the fish life. And be sure to see that the pond is under a large layer of snow, under it is always a plus temperature even in severe frosts.

Useful tips

1. Do not buy and do not settle in a reservoir of snails, these mollusks will clean the walls of the bath, and the pond will lose its naturalness.
2. No need to remove and change water too often, your pond is not an aquarium with perfectly clean water.
3. No need to buy crucian carp for the pond, they prefer to burst into the clay at the bottom, and the water from them will become cloudy.
4. For an artificial pond, fish are ideal - supreme, they purify the surface of the water surface, including mosquitoes, jumping out of the water behind them.
5. It is not necessary to drain the water in the pond, it only needs to be added once every two weeks. Let the water pour over the edge to moisten the plants around the reservoir.
6. The pond from a small children's bath looks unusual in the garden. Its creation will take twice less time and effort.
7. If you have several bathtubs, then you can arrange a cascade of ponds on your garden plot.

In a word, if you have an unnecessary cast -iron bath and a bit of free time and fantasy, then with a minimum of financial costs you can create a beautiful place to relax.