Peter – I am interested in installing some sort of water feature on my deck. I have a space that i had prepared to support a 6×7 hot tub, but have since decided that i will probably not use the tub enough to justify the expense. Hence, i am interested in filling the space with plants and a fountain or waterfall-type feature to make that area pretty. any suggestions? are there free-standing pools manufactured so i dont have to cut a hole in the deck?? I am open to suggestions. Thank you for your comments. melissa
Melissa, I have only dabbled in water gardening. I once made an in ground pond in a dug holw with a flexible rubbe liner. The other was a free standing water feature made from two whisky 3 whiskey barrel halves. One sat on the ground and one was inverted on the ground behind the first. The third barrel sat on top of the inverted barrel. The top barrel had a plastic liner with a spout molded into ti that directed the water into the lower barrel that also had a plastic liner. The pump lifted the water to the upper barrel where it cascaded down the spout back to the lower barrel. Something like this could be done on your deck for an easy water feature. We also carry new plastic whiskey barrel halves that will be less expensive that the wood version with liner that I used. For anything larger than that you’ll need to build a strong-walled enclosure for the pond. Water is heavy and will need a super strong enclosure and the deck needs to be well supported. A pond above ground will also freeze solid over winter and expand. This will kill any fish in the pond and may force the enclosure apart. Our Clifton Park store stocks some pumps and liners but you might also contact a local pond store to see what else is available…Eddies Aquarium come to mind for instance.