[Euan Buchan]

Finially my parents have decided to get a pond sometime this year does anyoe knowany good sites about how to make them etc?

[Egret]

Plenty of good cheap books in the "bargain bookshops" and Chris Packhams "Back Garden Nature Reserve" has a useful section.

First make it big; as big as you can fit in and then a little bit more. Any pond is good but big is better. Do think about how you will reach every square inch to maintain it - good ponds are maintained! Lots of shallow margins but Edinburgh has cold winters so you a need a good sized area two feet deep.

Plant in containers; it's easier to control growth andto trim back the vegetation. The conventional wisdom says you cannot have wildlife an Goldfish. You can; I do but my pond is loaded with plants and has hardly any open water. That means that the tadpoles, damsel flies etc. can hide from the fish.

I have no ramp to let creatures in an out but I do have a log pile at one edge and lots of plants frowing up and around the rocks around the edge of the pond. That creates lots of nice sheltered byways for wildlife.

Plants grow well in ponds so there is no need to overstock.

Have a waterfall; they are great fun and if you make it nice an long with cascade over rocks and pebbles the filtration effect is great fun

Did I mention make it as big as possible?

Andy

[Sleeper]

Hi Euan

I would agree with the comment from Andy about making the pond as big as possible as when you plant it up it will very quickly look a very small space.

I really would not recommend that you rush your choice of plants and do as much research of this area as possible as the wrong plants can be a disaster.

Leave plenty of large and gradual slopes leading to the pond where birds can bathe safely and other mammals can make the most of the shore line.

A book I found quite good for plants and what the plants do regards size etc is "the wildlife pond handbook" by louise bardsley and the wildlife trust.

I really enjoy the pond in the garden but even after I did a lot of searching and researching I still would do things better next time round.

[Euan Buchan]

be getting a few things for my pond today

[snowyowl]

Plants are the secret to a successful pond. Aim to have 60% of the surface covered by plants. If you do that then algae growth will be far less. If you plan to have fish make sure there is enough depth in case there is a hard freeze. That's a major issue here but may not be one in your area.
Water lilies don't like water in motion so try to put lilies in an area away from waterfalls etc.
Buy a pump that can be repaired. Too many of them are essentially throw aways. The impellor (sp?) breaks or something similar and you have to buy a new pump.
Have fun!

[Reader]

Hi Euan

I only moved into this property last November and at the end of January decided to build a pond myself. The size of my pond I decided would be about 10 feet long by about seven feet wide at the far end narrowing down to just over 3 foot at the narrow end.

I had never built a pond myself before so this was a challenge to me as I am not a gardner of any sorts. My missus loves gardening so I end up doing the back breaking stuff.

Anyway, I digress. I had also decided to dig it fairly deep one end and to shallow it up slightly at the other end. My depths in the end ranged from 3 foot six down to 2 foot six at the shallow end. I made sure I had ledges of varying depths and widths all around so I could place various types of plant containers in & around the pool.

I purchased a good size piece of Butyl Liner plus some undelay. I also added loads of old carpet onto the bottom area where the most water pressure would be.

Regarding size of Butyl Liner to purchase. Well first of all decide the size of pond you want then go to a decent Aquatics centre and they will be able to work out how much you need to purchase from your sizes.

You will need a good pump and I would also recommend a box Filter with an UV light. This helps to keep the pool looking clear. Don't forget that pools require regular maintence to keep them in tip top condition so don't think you can just build a pool and it will look after itself.

I have bought a fair amount of plants plus 3 different Water Lilies.

I also wanted to have plenty of water for the birds to bath and drink so I have made a stream and a waterfall. The birds love it there and many a time I have found a mixture of birds bathing and drinking from the stream.

I have attached 5 photos in varying positions of our pond for you to look at. Baring in mind that this is still a young pool, having only been filled with water in February.

The water might not look too clear at the moment but that is because I have just cleaned the pumps and filters. I run two pumps and two filters in this pond by the way.

I will attach 4 more photos showing the types of filters I have used and how I have hidden them.

Don't forget also that you can buy the pipes to run the water from pump to filter at any length you want so you could have a pump at one corner of the garden and lay a pipe just under the surface of the eath (which I have done) to the other end of the garden. This in theory could give you a very long stream if you wanted one.

[Reader]

These are the photos of the filters I use and their positions in the garden.

They are largeish files as I have written some text on them but you should be able to see what I have used and where I have put them.

[snowyowl]

I built my 9' x 9' by 4' pond five years ago. I used old fleece from my sheep under the liner as well as some fibre glass pink batting. Maintenance is fairly light, I change the water once year in the Spring and add fertilizer to the lilies. My pond doesn't have completely clear water and I don't really want it to because with pristine looking water you can see the hoses and plant baskets etc. I prefer the natural look.
I keep goldfish and koi in it to eat the mosquito larvae but I don't use snails. Once snails get into a pond they are impossible to get rid of. Don't start with too many fish because they usually breed and quickly over-populate a pond.
You don't need to buy too many waterlilies because they need to be divided after about the second year.

[Euan Buchan]

my pond is now complete it's watered & everything we will be getting some fish etc in it so hopeully soon our pond will be full of wildlife. Unless Fish eat frogss or toads I will post pics of it soon

[Reader]

Well done Euan.

Your fish won't eat the frogs but they will eat their spawn.

We have planted quite thickly at one side of the pond and our frogs have lain their spawn there. Result, we have quite a few baby frogs hoppping around our garden now.

[Euan Buchan]

get the fish & some warer lilly's at Dobbies tommorow should be good fun

[Euan Buchan]

Just been to the Garden Centre to get a few stuff for the pond a book water lillys,floating plants etc & some pond snails have to wait a few weeks till we get the fish. So fasr it's looking good

[Euan Buchan]

birds have been loving the pond yesterday a Magpie had a drink & today some Sparrow's were batheing in it

[Reader]

Originally Posted by Euan Buchan

birds have been loving the pond yesterday a Magpie had a drink & today some Sparrow's were batheing in it

It gives you a good feeling when something you have created gets used by the wildlife that visit your garden. Now all you have to do is sit back and enjoy it.

It will get better as the pond matures. We have quite a few frogs and have had Damselflies and Dragonflies visit the pool vegitation from time to time.