Easy Garden Pond

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Lillia
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Easy Garden Pond

Post by Lillia »

We do have a little frog pond. It is a plastic tub, about 1'x2', buried at ground level with grasses and plants growing all around. It's wild and we leave it be and the frogs are happy there.

My question is....at what size pond do we need to consider a filter?
We want a 2nd, bigger pond. We want easy.
We want it natural too.
Is there some point where you need a filter, due to size?
How big can you go without a filtering system?
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Steve the Gas »

How many filters do you see in natural ponds??

With the right plants/fauna and habitat it cleans itself, so any size you want imo.
Totally Scrambled
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Totally Scrambled »

Barley straw will keep algae down as well, just chuck a block in every few months. You can get them in most garden centres that have a pond section.
Dom
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Lillia
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Lillia »

Steve the Gas wrote:How many filters do you see in natural ponds??

With the right plants/fauna and habitat it cleans itself, so any size you want imo.


Well, that's just the thing...do we need to help it along to get it natural? For example, certain fish and snails, til it develops on it's own?
OR....can we just leave it be, totally~~
It won't turn into a mudhole?
And we don't want a breeding ground for pesty insects because we needed some kind of snails or something and didn't know...
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Lillia
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Lillia »

Totally Scrambled wrote:Barley straw will keep algae down as well, just chuck a block in every few months. You can get them in most garden centres that have a pond section.
Dom



Really? Thanks...this is what I need to know~
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madmum
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by madmum »

I have two ponds and have never put anything in them to clean them.The best way to start a pond off on the right foot is to use rain water from a butt or buckets to fill it with.Tap water does not have the right "stuff" in it )t' As Steve says natural ponds dont have straw or filters in.Plants and animals will do a better job and look better )t' You can add a couple of watersnails.....not many more as they breed really easily.They help to keep algae down as does the correct siting of the ponds in the first place There are lots of helpful websites to help create a natural pond )t'
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by LittleBrownFrog »

Bigger ponds should be more likely to balance themselves well because they'll attract the right kind of wildlife. There's lots around on the internet about ponds, but I expect you've been searching already. I think that if you just build the pond, then the right kind of wildlife will find its way to you :-D (don't put fish in though)
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Lillia
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Lillia »

madmum wrote:I have two ponds and have never put anything in them to clean them.The best way to start a pond off on the right foot is to use rain water from a butt or buckets to fill it with.Tap water does not have the right "stuff" in it )t' As Steve says natural ponds dont have straw or filters in.Plants and animals will do a better job and look better )t' You can add a couple of watersnails.....not many more as they breed really easily.They help to keep algae down as does the correct siting of the ponds in the first place There are lots of helpful websites to help create a natural pond )t'


Thanks :-D It's good to hear from someone who has a pond (or 2 :-D )
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Lillia
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Lillia »

LittleBrownFrog wrote:Bigger ponds should be more likely to balance themselves well because they'll attract the right kind of wildlife. There's lots around on the internet about ponds, but I expect you've been searching already. I think that if you just build the pond, then the right kind of wildlife will find its way to you :-D (don't put fish in though)


Yes, been looking around the net, but I like all your thoughts and opinions, as well~~ :-D
Thanks...and you are right about the fish. I hadn't thought about them eating eggs and they create MORE algae~
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by macleaf »

we have a larg pond which was filled with fish,but a heron cleared our pond of the fish,and since then the pond has been crystal clear so you really dont need fish as they are the culprets for causing algae,just instal some water plants and mother nature will do the rest,forget about straw etc,another little thing,if your pond have steep sides provide a ladder for the frogs to get in out
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Lillia
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Lillia »

macleaf wrote:we have a larg pond which was filled with fish,but a heron cleared our pond of the fish,and since then the pond has been crystal clear so you really dont need fish as they are the culprets for causing algae,just instal some water plants and mother nature will do the rest,forget about straw etc,another little thing,if your pond have steep sides provide a ladder for the frogs to get in out

Thanks, Macleaf, I appreciate :-D
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Mallard »

I begged an old attic plastic systern for my plot pond. The pic was taken last year and the plants are growing round it now. Someone gave me a bucket of pond weed, but as yet, no frogs (I may have to consider cheating) {warn}
The wire grill is now on to keep the mallards out! :shock:
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Lillia
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

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Mallard wrote:I begged an old attic plastic systern for my plot pond. The pic was taken last year and the plants are growing round it now. Someone gave me a bucket of pond weed, but as yet, no frogs (I may have to consider cheating) {warn}
The wire grill is now on to keep the mallards out! :shock:

Nice, Mallard. I cheated with one frog I found out front...took it to the pond 2 years ago and now have bunches~toads too.... :-D
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by legbar »

if your planning a second pond can you put it in a little higher,dig a shallow trench to join them,put pond liner in that and a pump in the bottom one with a hose from it to the top one so as the bottom ones water is pumped to the top one it overflows,down the trench into the lower one.
this will give you constant moving water so will stay fresher.
i did this along time ago,it takes a little setting up but works very well.i used barley straw too and its good stuff.
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Re: Easy Garden Pond

Post by Essex Bird »

[quote="legbar"]if your planning a second pond can you put it in a little higher,dig a shallow trench to join them,put pond liner in that and a pump in the bottom one with a hose from it to the top one so as the bottom ones water is pumped to the top one it overflows,down the trench into the lower one.
this will give you constant moving water so will stay fresher.
i did this along time ago,it takes a little setting up but works very well.i used barley straw too and its good stuff.[/quote
Thats exactly what I was thinking of doing, I made a natural pond with a preformed liner about 3 years ago and put 4 gold fish, now they have had babies so they must b happy:)
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