Ducks and a pond are a match made in heaven. If you have a flock of domesticated ducks who prefer to spend their days swimming in the cool water, you might want to consider building them a low-maintenance duck pond on your property so they can enjoy the water without going far.
Are you wondering how to build a duck pond? While it might sound like a significant undertaking, building a duck pond on your own is a relatively simple DIY project that does not cost a lot, is easy to maintain, and brings endless happiness to your flock.
Below, we’re sharing the step-by-step process of building your own duck pond from start to finish, including how to install a self-cleaning filtration system and the most important considerations to make your duck pond great.
How to Build a Duck Pond
Not sure how to build a duck pond? Not to worry—these simple steps will walk you through the entire process with ease:
1. Plan Your Project
First, you’ll need to think through the construction project to ensure you can gather all of the appropriate supplies and prepare for what’s to come. Here’s what you should focus on the most during your planning stage:
- Plan to devote two to three days to your project and find at least one extra set of hands to help out
- Budget the appropriate amount of money, accounting for setbacks and inconveniences (should be around $500)
- Have a contingency plan if things go wrong
If you think about all of these possibilities, you will be better equipped to respond appropriately if things don’t go as planned right away.
2. Find a Spot for the Pond
Next, you will need to select the best spot to build the pond and ensure the land there is ready for construction.
The spot you pick should have a suitable temperature, potentially in the shade. You don’t want the area to go from extremely hot during the day to very chilly at night, as birds are sensitive to temperature changes. Try to put it in a place that maintains a relatively stable temperature and should never go below 20º Fahrenheit.
You don’t want to place the pond in an area where other pests may try to join in. Foxes, weasels, or even a high-traffic area for people won’t attract ducks, which is the ultimate goal.
Once you pick your spot, dig a bit into the ground to ensure no important pipes or wires in the location where you’d like to put the pond.
3. Sketch Your Dimensions
With a spot in mind, you can begin to sketch the dimensions and specifications for your pond. This is an extension of the planning process, but you’ll get into the nitty-gritty of the build, including dimensions.
For ducks, you’ll want the depth of the pond to be about 18-24 inches deep, so they have enough space to peddle their legs without touching the bottom. Then, ensure the pond is wider than deep to house as many ducks as you need in the pond.
Pick a shape for the pond—some ponds come in classic circular or oval shapes, while others come in more organic shapes that you might like.
4. Outline the Area
Then, transfer the sketch you have on paper to the land area using spray paint, rope, or markers so you can see exactly where the pond will go. Follow the specifications of your sketch as closely as possible to avoid accidentally over-measuring or under-measuring.
If you’re building the pond into the ground, you’ll want to try to create two levels in the hole so the ducks can step carefully into the pond, so outline both of these levels.
If you’re building the pond above ground, try to incorporate a few steps to make it easier for them to get in and out. You should outline all of these steps or levels as well.
5. Level the Area
With the outline and levels marked with rope or paint, it’s time to level the area to make sure it’s flat and ready for the new addition.
Begin by shoveling dirt and moving it into a few different piles. Once you feel like you’ve removed enough dirt, you can begin leveling the hole using string or a leveling to ensure everything is even and flat.
Notice that one area is too high or too low? Add or remove clay/dirt as needed to get a perfectly level surface across the entire area.
6. Lay Underlayment
Now that the area is smoothed out and flat, you can lay the underlayment beneath where the pond will go. Lay it down flat and make sure the dirt below it is soft and not compact, making the bottom of the pond feel lumpy.
7. Install a Filter
With the underlayment ready to go, you’ll want to set up a filter system before you install the actual pond. We will get more into how to create a DIY duck pond filtration system later in the article, so scroll down to learn more.
The filter lets the water drain and refills the pond with clean water regularly to prevent the buildup of debris or bacteria.
8. Install Pond and Decorate
With the filter ready to go, you can now install the pond into its final resting place and decorate the pond area as you see fit. Many people like to add decorative rocks and stones and some additional greenery to create a little oasis for their flock of domesticated ducks.
It’s best to pick plants that ducks like to snack on—you may even want to purchase and release some bugs in the area that ducks are known to eat.
What Do I Need for a Duck Pond?
While you may be able to find duck pond kits that include all of the most important materials you’ll need for this project, you can also purchase all of the items individually to complete the task.
Be sure to have:
- A few thousand pounds of rocks/sand (if needed for landscaping the area)
- 50-100 gallon pond tub liner
- 1 ½ inch PVC pipe
- PVC valve, tee, and elbows
- PVC Cement
- Cinder blocks if making a raised pond
- Utility knife or hacksaw
- Shovel
You can get most of these items from the hardware store or purchase them online.
How Deep Should a Pond Be?
Most Mallard ducks, in their adulthood, measure about 24 inches, usually around two feet. Since ducks often like to dive at least as deep as they are long, keeping a pond at least a two-foot deep is a good benchmark.
If you have the added depth and don’t mind paying for the additional water kept in the pond, there is no harm in adding more depth. However, a duck pond should not be more shallow than about two feet.
How Big Should a Duck Pond Be?
If you’re searching “how to build a large duck pond” on Google, chances are you expect a lot of ducks to be spending time in your pond.
It’s hard to know precisely how much pond per duck you’ll need; we can look at the recommendations for ducks kept in captivity and base our measurements on that information.
According to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, ducks should have a six- to nine-square-foot area per bird. However, this isn’t a hard and fast rule and should be considered since most backyard ponds are on the smaller side.
How big of a pond do you need for three ducks? If we’re using the same guidelines as above, that would mean a pond for three ducks should be around 18 square feet.
Duck Pond Filtration System
How do you make a cheap duck pond? You equip it with a self-cleaning filtration system, so you aren’t spending time and money having to deep-clean the pond or deal with issues from failing to clean it. Follow these steps to learn how to build a self-cleaning duck pond.
1. Cut Hole in Pond Liner
First, make a hole for the drain in the pond liner, making it about the size of your PVC piping. Once the hole is made, you can add the male and female couplings to create the base of your drain.
2. Add Drainage Cap
Now, put the male coupling on the inside of the pond liner and the female side on the outside. Twist until you join them together. Then, use waterproof PVC cement to seal the entire area and ensure a watertight seal.
3. Trim PVC Pipe to Appropriate Length
Now, go ahead and trim your PVC pipe to a length that works for your backyard area. If you want the water to drain just next to the pond, you can cut it off around the 12-inch mark.
If you want it to drain far away from the pond, however, you can easily cut it off ten feet away. You can always add more PVC piping to extend the length of the drain.
4. Add Shut-off Valve
Next, add the shut-off valve to control the water coming in and out. You can pay a bit extra for an automatic valve if you don’t want to remember to do it yourself or save money by sticking with the manual valve.
5. Drain and Refill as Needed
With everything set up, you can finish the construction of your pond and begin filling and draining the pond as needed. You can drain and refill every day, every few days, or as often as you’d like.
Now you know how to build a duck pond with a filter, so you’re ready to go.
What Makes a Good Duck Pond?
You want to give your ducks an excellent pond experience, right? If so, it’s going to take a little bit more than just digging a hole with a shovel and filling it with water.
Keeping filtration, cleaning, and aeration in mind will separate a perfect duck pond from the rest. We’ve already covered the basics of the filtration system.
Still, you should also keep in mind how filtration relates to cleaning and aeration, two other critical components of a good duck pond.
Here’s what you need to consider:
Filtration
Filtration is one of the biggest challenges that duck ponds face. If you leave the water pooled up, your pond will only collect debris, bacteria, and nitrates, creating a gross swimming environment for your ducks.
Use the filtration system process explained in this article to ensure proper filtration and cleaning.
Cleaning
Just because the pond is filtering and regularly refilling as it should doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s clean. When the pond empties, you will occasionally want to clean out the pond’s bottom to keep the liner clean.
Once a week may be enough in the spring and summer; you may need to clean it more as leaves fall during the Fall.
Aeration
Aeration keeps the water quality high and reduces the maintenance needs of your pond.
To keep it aerated, use rocks to break the surface tension of the water, which can create bubbles and deliver oxygen throughout the pond.
You could also install underwater bubbles to keep the water moving and prevent it from becoming stagnant.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know exactly how to build a duck pond, you can create the safe haven that your ducks deserve in the comfort of your backyard.
While it might seem like too big of a project to take on on your own, we hope that this article broke down some of the myths surrounding making your own duck pond and make it feel more approachable and realistic.
With just a little bit of money, a few days of work, and a little bit of inventiveness with your current backyard landscape, you can create a beautiful and serene duck pond for your flock to enjoy all year long.