Topic: Ponds - what sort do you have?

[Multiveg]

Still 7 weeks to the start of new allotment tenancy so just planning and after ideas. We would like to have a pond on the plot - what sort should we go for - one of the preformed things (my Dad originally had one of these in his garden all those years ago), or a pond made with pond liner (he then made his own rectangular pond with wooden plank for the froggies and newts to enter/exit as well as goldfish, fantails, comets, shubunkins which survived several winters and even made baby fishies!)?

[grawrc]

I have 2 ponds both with butyl pondliners. One is a wildlife pond with frogs and stuff but also fish - some of which I didn't put in. The other one is formal with a fountain and no fish because it is so clear that they get picked off by passing birds. The wildlife one is clear too but with lots of plants in it and around it so the fish and tadpoles survive

[telboy]

Also have a pondliner pool (not large). Used to have fish but we're blessed with herons - so that was that.
Love the frogs & the spawn/newts/bloody water boatmen & the lovely water creatures that I can't name. Two years ago we had a grass snake swimming across the pond - magic!

[mc55]

 ::) ::) I clicked liner with fish, instead of liner without fish

[BoardStupid]

A friend was sorting out the garden at the house he rented out. He was going to throw pond on skip. I took it off his hands and eventually put it into our garden. Seems to work ok and we've had comets, shubumkins and goldfish in it since last year. Please excuse the levels  ::)



and once my partner had moved some hostas

[Blue Bird]

Have a small wild life one in the children's patch just made from an upside down lid from a black bin.  The Grandchildren love it and it is surprising what uses it.

 ;D

[Magnolia]

I have a lined pond that came with the house.  It's more of a swamp than a pond and I'm reluctant to tamper with it as we have a couple of large frogs and loads of snails living happily in it.

[Sinbad7]

I have two ponds on my allotment.  One with fish, which happened purely by mistake and a pre-formed wildlife pond.  I much prefer the lined one as the pre-formed one has moved slightly.

I see more wildlife in my pond with the fish in than the wildlife pond.  But then my fish pond does have many more plants in it, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Sinbad

[Lady Cosmos]

Nine weeks ago I moved in my new house and in the garden is a large pool. Too large for me and I hope to find a way to make it smaller, but I have no idea how to do that. Half the size would be ideal.

[GrannieAnnie]

Nine weeks ago I moved in my new house and in the garden is a large pool. Too large for me and I hope to find a way to make it smaller, but I have no idea how to do that. Half the size would be ideal.

Do you mean a swimming pool eg concrete, or a pond-eg. natural with a mud bottom
 or man-made with a clay bottom or liner?

[Lady Cosmos]

It is a pond and I have no idea if it has a liner in it or not. Seize is about 30X 8 mtr and deep on one side 1mtr and the other side 2,5 mtr deep. I think there must be a line because two weeks ago after some rain the water was very high, just over te grass. It has a shape of an eight.

[Sparkly]

We have a koi pond dug into the ground and then built with concrete (in the garden, not the plot though!)

[GrannieAnnie]

The larger the pond the easier it is to get it in "balance" the pond experts say. Why not try the pond as it is one season and see how it goes.  Or put an island in it ;D and grow things there. If my pond were larger I'd do an island. Maybe put a tiny rowboat in it for fun. 8)

[Ishard]

I have 3 ponds in my garden 1 is a dedicated 5000 gallon koi pond, 1 is 500 gallons goldfish pond and 1 is 500 gallons wildife pond.  ;)

[star]

Welcome to the forum Ishard :D,

You must have a VERY large garden, its great to be able to have so much water. What do you have in the wildlife pond?

Have you any piccies for us nosy lot? I have to post some myself actually :-[

[grawrc]

Do you want some seed? If so pm me and I'll pop it in the post.

[Ishard]

Grannie Ill try to get my husband to take some pics and upload them here for you. :)

The widlife pond has newts, great crested and common browns and loads of frogs. I usually get back about 50 breeding pairs of frogs in a good year .

Last year we dug out the 250 gallon pre formed wildlife pond and made the new pond with a liner and better sloping sides and more places for the wildlife to hide and lots of native plants and counted 81 newts as we transplanted them to the new pond.
The pond has a layer of mud at the bottom cos frogs heal if they are injured in mud so the pump is off the floor of the pond or it would get blocked. I have a pressure filter on this pond that the water re enters the pond over rocks so it looks very natural. I also have a bog garden at the edge of the pond filled with native species plants and logs of wood all piled up (artistically lol) as a frog hide.

[Andy H]

We have koi pond with liner. the fish can eat a slice of bread in about 15 seconds!!!

They eat any frogs or birds that get in there sadly. Its about 12ft long and 5ft deep with a bottom drain that gravity feeds into settlement tank and then pumped upto BIG filter via a uv and still the sun turns the water green in summer.

Got a bridge over it and nets in frames to stop the Herons.

[nippie]

Unfortunately there wasn't a true option for me to click, which is.............a leaking one :'(
It was preformed, which was given to us, we suspected a leak so, belt and braces, we lined it with a liner. That was 7 years ago now. Last week it started leaking, then 3 days ago the water level dropped dramatically, we got the fish out,(4) and put them in a very large dustbin in the shade.
Today 2 were dead  :'( The other 2 we have given to a neighbour and this weekend will be spent relining the pond. Then we will have to restock.