can i make a fish pond in my garden without using pumps,filters etc?
Posted by Pond Keeper
ok lets forget the fish bit, how about a wildlife pond for insects, frogs, plants etc if so anybody got details, thanks
you can but you will end up with a stagnate algae pit
Preformed Ponds for Wildlife
Posted by Pond Keeper
The Preformed Ponds option and Wildlife
I’ve written before about the different options – preformed ponds, pond liners, concrete and puddled clay ponds. The last is only an option in perfect conditions, but suppose you are not intending to construct a sterile koi fish pond but instead are more interested in native wildlife and amphibians?
Preformed ponds may be thought of as more formal than pond liners, since the design is fixed and there are so many rectangular and circular preformed ponds available but if your main considerations is to build a wildlife pond then it would be a mistake to rule out this option. For a start, just as there are many formal shaped preforms around, there are also just as many if not more, informally designed more natural looking designs. There are also some which have a carefully constructed shallow area with a ramp leading into and out of the pond, which is ideal for wildlife. This wildlife ramp built into a preformed pond would also have a rough, simulated stony surface unlike anything you can construct easily with a pond liner. In fact the ease of construction is a big factor in making your pond suitable for wildlife pond because the most frequent mistake made with wildlife ponds is not to start digging one!
Building preformed ponds for wildlife
The main consideration when buying a preformed pond to make a wildlife friendly garden will be the choice of design. A shallow sloping margin at some point is essential, the bigger the better. Depth in the middle should be at least 2 feet, to provide a good volume of non-freezing water in the winter and to act as a buffer against big temperature changes.
The usual advice when installing preformed ponds is to have the lip just above the surface of the surrounding ground. That’s supposed to be so that when it rains, the overflow tips out of the pond rather than back into it, bringing detritus into the pond. With a wildlife pond, I think it’s better to have the lip level or just below the surroundings, to provide a seamless path through for the tiny creatures from the land into the sunken pond area.
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