Preformed Ponds – Rigid Pond Liners
<p>These ponds are pre-cast ‘finished’ ponds – ie, three dimensional ponds not sheet linings. They are usually manufactured out of HDPE. These ponds take away the problem of designing the shape of your pond as they come in a range of pre-cast shapes.</p>
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<li>They will usually come complete with planting shelves – a considered design feature that saves you the challenge of digging your own.</li>
<li>They are much thicker than flexible pond liners which means they are less prone to puncturing – a handy fact if you expect domestic animals or wildlife such as foxes drinking/swimming in the pond.</li>
<li>preformed pond liners have a perfect finish as there is no danger of the pond liner creasing. No matter how carefully you lay a flexible pond liner – a flat square of fabric will never sit perfectly into a three dimensional hole, some overlap/creasing is unfortunately inevitable.</li>
<li>Being of thicker construction means that preformed ponds can be cleaned more riguorously so it is easier to keep this pond liner in tip-top condition.</li>
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<p>Unfortunately, there are limitations with preformed ponds.</p>
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<li>They are of fixed design so your choice of shape is limited to the manufacturers imagination.</li>
<li>Preformed ponds are usually limited in dimension and of shallow depth. Typically, a preformed pond will be less than 2 feet deep (60cm) and if positioned in a sunny position you may find control of green water a problem. However, there are now stunning pre-formed ponds in fibreglass that are absolutely huge (3.6 x 2.4m). We can order these in from a company called Atlantis but prices can reach £1500.</li>
<li>Preformed pond liners are more expensive than our bestselling flexible pond liners (at least double our bestselling <a href="http://www.pondkeeper.co.uk/flexiliner.asp">flexiliner pond liner </a>and matching pond fleece underlay). They are about the same price as a rubber pond liner.</li>
<li>Preformed pond liners can also be tricky to fit. A top tip is to turn the pond over where you want it to be positioned then mark out the perimeter using sand. The marked out area will be a perfect guide to excavation. Unfortunately it isn’t easy getting the hole the perfect shape – all you can do is get as close as possible then back fill with sand. You will find that some pre-formed ponds are stronger than others – some will need to be buried or half buried. Often they can be supported by a wooden framework. We stock some really strong formal looking rectangular <a href="http://www.pondkeeper.co.uk/preformed-pond-liners.asp">preformed ponds</a> from Laguna which are strong enough to be self-supporting – these deck ponds look fabulous on a garden deck.</li>
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