Heron Proofing & Pond Upgrade

Following a devastating Heron attack we decided we needed to evaluate our pond design before we restock it.

Materials: Half Round Fencing Rails, 2x3" Lengths, Wood Screws, Cable Ties & Acrylic Windows

Tools: Tape Measure, Chop Saw & Battery Drill

Other items were used during the upgrade, so I've mentioned these in the steps below.

We striped everything out of our pond.

We noticed the edges weren't straight and some areas had dipped, we straightened all the edges using concrete curbs (available from any builders merchants)

We dug out the ledge to make it more difficult for a Heron to enter the water. We kept a ledge at each end for plants but made them a bit deeper.

The underlay sits between the soil and the liner, this gives the liner protection as the water presses it into the ground. We brought the underlay from Amazon.

Fitting the liner is the tricky part, as it is all in one piece and needs to fit neatly into the corners, also great care muct be taken to ensure it doesn't get damaged.

We put in the gravel - you can use any gravel or stones but always ensure you pick smooth edges types as you don't want anything sharp pressing on the liner. It is a good idea to wash it in a wheelbarrow first. Gravel and stones can be purchased from most garden centers or DIY stores. We re used our existing filter with new piping, we also added a UV filter which - all parts are available on Amazon.

We filled up the water and tested the filtration and lighting and put our survivors back!

Fence rails are sized at 3.6M which is ideal for 600mm high, so you get 6 pieces per length. We screwed these into the 2x3 timber to form a wall, we did this for all four sides with the ends being made so the cross bars sit inside the longer sections. We put small spaces in the end slats to allow newts to come and go.

We decided where we wanted the windows and cut them out accordingly. For the acrylic windows, we had them cut to size from HFE Signs (UK) your local sign maker will be able to sell you some 5mm thick acrylic, mainly used for Printed Signs we screwed in the windows from the inside using small wood screws.

We fixed all sides together using cable ties, the reason for this is that we want to easily take it apart for maintenance.

This construction is ideal for covering with netting during autumn to prevent the leaves falling into your pond.

Since we've completed this, we've seen the Heron several times and not lost any fish!

Any questions or comments are most welcome :)