Garden Ponds: Basic Pond Setup And Maintenance (Garden Ponds Made Easy)
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The best ones have a year warranty and to year life span. Filters need frequent cleaning. Meant to blend in like an integral part of the landscape, this kind of pond has free-form edges that don't follow a straight or predictable course, and incorporates stones and plants native to the area. Taking cues from the existing hardscape around a home, this most popular pond type has free-form edges set next to a brick, concrete, or stone patio. The plants can be native or not. Defined by geometric shapes, this style of pond is often edged in expensive mortared stone or poured concrete.
Perfect for a reflecting pool in a formal garden, it also makes a fine showcase for fish. Plantings are sparse or nonexistent. Ideally, ponds should receive sunlight in the morning and shade in the afternoon. This keeps the water cooler, discouraging algae blooms. What about overhanging trees? A tree's afternoon shade is welcome, but a pond directly under a tree's branches will quickly clog with leaves, seeds, or needles unless given constant maintenance. If a nearby tree is young, factor in its mature spread before settling on the pond's location. How far from the house?
Ponds that are out of sight tend to get neglected. And if they're farther than 20 feet from your patio, you likely won't hear the gurgling of a waterfall or fountain. What do the codes say? Ask your local building department about how far a pond has to be set back from property lines.
What Kind of Pump Do I Need for a Small Fish Pond?
Where are the utility lines? Dial to have their location marked. This is a free service.
- Tips for a Low Maintenance Backyard Pond?
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- Tip #2: Determine Depth.
Use these formulas to calculate how much material you'll need all dimensions in feet: Multiply liner length by liner width to get total square footage. Synthetic rubber The best choice for most ponds, mil-thick EPDM comes in sheets up to 50 by feet. Durable, UV resistant, and flexible to degrees F.
Not to be confused with roofing EPDM, which has additives that kill fish.
Tip #1: Plan the Pond
About 67 cents per sq. Sizes up to 40, sq. Like EPDM, they carry a year warranty. Avoid PVC liners; they have a short life span when exposed to sunlight. At minimum, the gallons per hour GPH rating should match the volume of your pond. A pump will need additional GPH to supply a waterfall or fountain, and enough "head" to push water to the top of that waterfall or fountain. Look for the unit with the lowest wattage; it will cost the least to run.
Direct drive These heavy-duty units, which were the first pond pumps, are able to move lots of water. They also use the most power, and if their seals fail, they can spill oil. Magnetic drive Much cheaper to buy and operate than direct drives but without nearly as much oomph. Hybrid drive Combines the power of a direct drive with the energy efficiency of a magnetic drive.
One type keeps water free of debris so that the pump won't clog. The other removes chemicals that harm fish. To sustain fish, you'll need both types or a product that puts both in one package. Mechanical Traps debris before it reaches the pump. Clean weekly in spring and fall, every other week in summer, monthly in winter. A filter in a waterfall or a surface skimmer will be easier to reach than one on a pump at the bottom.
Biological A must for ponds with fish. Bacteria living on a porous medium digest toxic nitrites and ammonia. Wait six to eight weeks for them to become established, or buy a starter colony. A pond will become a stagnant, algae-filled eyesore if you don't keep its water moving and aerated. Here are three ways to stir the pot:. Fountain Water shooting up from the surface of the pond or flowing from a man-made ornament is visually compelling and nice to listen to.
Available in a variety of sizes and shapes, each linked to a particular pump capacity. Waterfall To create the show you want, measure its width in inches at the point water spills out. Multiply by 50 if you want a trickle of water, by for a sheet of water, and by for Niagara Falls. The result is how many GPH your pump needs for the falls alone, not counting the pond. Bubbler An air pump, a separate device from a pond pump, produces bubbles that subtly ripple the pond's surface.
Most online retailers bundle the pond essentials. Or you can buy a prepackaged kit from a home center that includes a rigid plastic tub, flexible tubing, and a properly sized pump. These kits are small and manageable enough to install in a weekend, but they don't include the biological filter you need for fish.
Anatomy of a Pond
Though you could add such a filter, they're really intended to be low-maintenance water features for people who want the pleasant sound of trickling water near a deck or patio, not a full-fledged ecosystem. Do you want fish? If so, build your pond at least 24 inches deep. That depth keeps the pond from freezing in winter or overheating in summer. In extreme northern areas, the minimum depth should be 3 feet.
Perfect for a reflecting pool in a formal garden, it also makes a fine showcase for fish. Most online retailers bundle the pond essentials. One type keeps water free of debris so that the pump won't clog. The water has to be oxygenated if fish are to live in the pond. Pro advice Rather than slope the sides of a pond right down to the bottom, make a shelf about 18 inches wide and 18 inches below the water's surface all around the pond's edge. The trick with this one is to find the perfect shape for the look that you are trying to achieve and to lay out your rocks to make it look gorgeous. BowTie Press 18 May Language:
Will you need a fence? In some areas, local codes mandate that yards with ponds deeper than 18 inches be surrounded by a fence with a locking gate to keep out unsupervised children. How will it be refilled? Ponds must be topped off periodically to replace water lost through evaporation or splashing. You can do the job manually with a garden hose or have an auto-fill valve connected to a buried water line. When using city water, protect your fish by adding a dechlorinator directly to the pond.
What about the leftover dirt? That pump should be designed specifically to run continuously. Other kinds of pumps may burn out after a short period, such as a few months.
Follow the Authors
Use a pump powerful enough to recirculate your pond's entire water contents every two hours. Two main kinds of pumps exist: Although the kind for under the water is more subtle and leads to a prettier effect because it isn't visible, it is safer to use a pump that mounts above ground, outside the pond, for a fish pond.
Its use avoids possible injury to fish, the delicate parts of which may be sucked into the intake portions of a pump that is in the pond water. Usually, a pump mounted outside of the pond water has piping outside the pond as well. Many types just circulate the water in order to keep oxygen levels up and to provide the pleasing sound that many homeowners associate with ponds. Fish waste is high in ammonia, however; when it builds up, it can harm fish. Using a pump with a filtration system is wise, especially if your small fish pond tends to turn mucky quickly.
A filter, though, can be installed separately from a pump. Energy efficiency is an important factor when choosing a pump for a pond with fish in it.
Because the pond's pump must run continuously, using a high-wattage pump can quickly run up your energy bill. So choose a pump with the lowest wattage that can still handle your pond's amount of water. Take into account whether you need the pump to power extra elements such as waterfalls.