Adding a pond to your garden has many benefits for the homeowner: it will provide you with a serene and beautiful sanctuary to enjoy, plus if you have a water feature installed, the sound of the trickling water can be both soothing and relaxing.
Installing a garden pond requires a bit of thought and care though. With these tips on components and general care, you will be well on your way to building a pond that the whole family will enjoy.
Building Your Pond:
Building a garden pond is really quite easy. All you need are a few basic components that work together to clean and filter the water. Fish and plant life will thrive in a well-circulated pond. Without water circulation and filtration, your pond could suffer from a lack of oxygen, which then leads to poor water quality.
Here’s what you need to have and some things about each component:
- Pond Filter: At the heart of having a happy, healthy pond is a high-quality pool filtration system. Larger garden ponds really need a tank filter to regularly clean the water. The filter system helps to remove any impurities from the water and anything that could make the water toxic. You can choose a mechanical filter or biological filter for your pond, depending on the size, needs, and location of your garden pond. There is also chemical filtration, but this is not recommended if you plan on having fish or plant life in your pond.
- Pond Pump: If you have a smaller garden pond, you can use a pond pump to filter the pond water. Select a pump based on what you will need it to do. Some are made just to handle a pond while others can do more like take care of a waterfall, fountain, or ornaments. Clearly, the more you want it to do, the more powerful it will need to be in order to handle pumping all of that water. Calculate the total gallons of water in your pond, the head height of any fountains or waterfall, the width of any waterfall, and the total length of hosing. Always go bigger than you think you need with your pond pump so you can add features later if you want.
There are three types of filtration systems that incorporate one or more of the above. This includes an external filtration system that has a filter and submerged pond pump, a skimmer filtration system with a basket that removes debris along with a bio-filter, and a submersible filtration system where the tank and pump is underwater with the pond.
Personalising your Garden Pond:
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to building a pond, it can be whatever you want it to be! Your pond can be completely tailored to your specifications: based on what you like, how much room you have, and how much time you are willing to invest into caring and maintenance.
Here are some ways to personalize your pond:
- Plants: Plants go a long way to creating a healthy pond for the critters that live in the water. Consider using a combination of native aquatic plants that float as well as those that can grow underwater. Putting plants around the sides of the pond can also help to filter the water, attract animal life, and shelter any fish you plan to incorporate in the pond. However, trees make a pond too shady and lead to too many leaves. And, that means more maintenance!
- Fish: Fish are always a favourite in garden ponds, including koi fish, goldfish, and mosquito fish. Larger fish like koi need a depth of at least one meter to swim around and be content. If you do not want to make your pond too deep, then select smaller fish like mosquito fish or goldfish.
Your local garden centre should provide some good advice on both fish and plant life for your garden pond.
Taking Care of your Pond:
Remember, your primary task with garden pond care is to keep the water clear (thanks to the right pond pump and pond filter!) and to keep the plants balanced so that they do not take over the entire pond. This keeps the right chemical and oxygen levels as well as attracts wildlife and creates an idyllic scene in your garden.
We hope you enjoy your new pond!
