about garden ponds
By Slacky41
United Kingdom 
is there enyone out there who knows
about ponds . i have just built one its 8 feet long 7 feet wide its 28 inches at its deepest point and 16 inches at shallow end with a shelf half wat around it this is 8 inch deep for plants and grasses . i have got pump running a fountain and waterfall and filter box on top of waterfall water is crystal clear fish a doing very well its been 6 weeks since i got it all up and running well pleased with it but i need more info on all aspects ie what fish plants to put in HERONS! CATS! how to deter predators . I did alot of planning before starting the pond and that would be my only advice to date plan it well . bill oddies web page was great in a word he said build it and they will come , . we have a wild side of the pond for hedgehogs frogs we have seen 2 diffrent type of bird since it was finished . hints and help would be great
6 Jul, 2009
Answers
if you want to stop the alge cover the pond but a couple of good size lillies will do.i would stick to goldfish type size or smaller.your pump will stop blocking if you take the sponge out.you then put the pump in a large lilly basket or tub with holes drilled in the sides.put the pump in and cover it with small gebbles or large gravel ,about 1" diameter.put it on a couple of bricks to as it will keep the mulm on the bottem from being sucked in.herons will totaly clear your pond even at night.cats can be a slight problem but not as commen as you would imagine.a dog will get rid of the heron or one of them wild life sensers that the human ear cant pick up.herons have to feal comfertable standing so you can make that difficult with wire or naturaly with plant.good luck any questions dont hesitate to ask.
6 Jul, 2009
lilies dont like alot of water movement though so perhaps plant away from the waterfall/fountain.
6 Jul, 2009
good thinking seaburn
6 Jul, 2009
fish realy i was a match fisherman what fish would you recomend want a natural pond ie look after is self , with a little help from me
6 Jul, 2009
If you want a wildlife pond for frogs and newts etc, it's best to have no fish at all, but if you really want fish, have small ones and hope they don't grow to a size where they eay all the frog and toadspawn as happened in my pond. Then a heron came and cleared out all the fish so now I have a widlife pond, plain and simple.
6 Jul, 2009
stickle backs are ideal and very interesting especialy if you have a little glass tank handy when there breeding as the males are stunning
7 Jul, 2009
the pond is a bit small for british natives really but rudd and roach would cope. as an aside we have a 28yr old tench a good foot long, that came into our possesion as a hatchling. we rarely see her as she is dark against the pond liner.
7 Jul, 2009
not to mention stickleback lol quite often you can catch them with a net along the river bank wear its a bit quieter
8 Jul, 2009
i have had a ponds for the last 30 yrs. i find the less you faff with it the better it is. let nature take its course and they usually settle well. there will be phases ie spring when it will go green then clear as if by magic.
we clean ours out every 5 yrs but do remove surface leaves in the autumn.
we remove oxygnators regularly through the summer and most of it in the autumn. we let the weed stand on the side to allow many of the creepy crawlies to escape back into the pond.
what other info were you after?
we dont suffer from herons but they do fly overhead to a local fishing pond.
6 Jul, 2009