First Time Pond - Fill With Water, Then What??

[Tp4321]

My husband and I have built a small pond, 10'x15' and not very deep, only 14" at its deepest spot. There is a waterfall but no filter. At this time we are not intending to add fish. The pond's purpose is mainly aesthetic. We only plan to add some plants and maybe some tadpoles once the pond water is appropriate for their survival.

I am confused about what to do after filling the pond. I've scoured the internet for answers but all the information I find discusses fish ponds.

My first question is regarding filtration. I read several articles that stated a filter was not necessary. Is this correct and if so do we need to add anything to the pond to filter the water? Since we are not adding fish is the circulation of the water from the waterfall enough?

My second question is what to do with the water once the pond is filled? We have well water and will be filling with the garden hose. I can find plenty of information on what is needed for a fish pond but nothing for a non-fish pond. There are so many products out there and it's all very confusing! What products do we need to add to the water after filling the pond for the first time? Any tips on keeping the water clear?

Many thanks to anyone willing to share their knowledge and help us out!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! Not by any means an expert, so disregard if someone else has better advice. As long as you have good water movement, you should be OK without a filter. Of course, some sort of mechanical filtration won’t hurt — at least it will help prolong the life of your pump (a pre-filter). If you’re using well water, you shouldn’t need to add a dechlorinator, which is the only type of chemical we recommend. If you have enough plants, they will help keep algae down. Algae isn’t a bad thing, though, so don’t obsess on it. Frogs and toads are natures bio-indicators of good quality water, so you would want the pond water to be as natural as possible — let Mother Nature do her work at keeping the water balanced (IOW, don’t add chemicals, especially not algaecide).

Please post pics: before, during, and after! Where are you located?

 

[addy1]

If you have mosquitoes around I would add some movement, aerator, filter etc.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[TheFishGuy]

I agree with what Mmathis said, you may want to add some filtration to keep leaves and debris under control, but a good ole fashioned net works great for that too. As far as biological filtration goes, in a non-fish pond, I would simply stock it up with plants. When you are filling with well water you don’t need to add anything, the less chemicals the better!

 

[bagsmom]

Mosquito dunks are helpful, too!

 

[j.w]

@Tp4321
You can put a prefilter on your pump like I have. They aren't very expensive and do a good job especially if you have no fish in there. You just need to pull them out and spray off w/a hose and put back. You could just try the pond w/o filtration and plenty of plants and later if you decide you need a filter or prefilter you can grab one up.

This is the one I have but I took the middle core media out of mine as it got filled w/muck too fast as I have fish.

Here is the core I removed:

Here it is at work:

This is how you can set it up:

You don't have to have a box filter like it the diagram just connect it to your waterfall tubing.
I got my prefilter from Webb's online: https://webbsonline.com/Item/Matala-EZ-Bio-Mechanical-Pre-Filter-99990

There is a smaller version also, just check out the other choices and maybe check the prices on Amazon also etc.

 

[Tp4321]

Hello and welcome! Not by any means an expert, so disregard if someone else has better advice. As long as you have good water movement, you should be OK without a filter. Of course, some sort of mechanical filtration won’t hurt — at least it will help prolong the life of your pump (a pre-filter). If you’re using well water, you shouldn’t need to add a dechlorinator, which is the only type of chemical we recommend. If you have enough plants, they will help keep algae down. Algae isn’t a bad thing, though, so don’t obsess on it. Frogs and toads are natures bio-indicators of good quality water, so you would want the pond water to be as natural as possible — let Mother Nature do her work at keeping the water balanced (IOW, don’t add chemicals, especially not algaecide).

Please post pics: before, during, and after! Where are you located?

Thank you so much for your knowledgeable response! Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. We've been outside working on the pond all day. Your response is great, I don't have to do anything!!

I don't have a before pic but here is a pic of our progress. We're almost done, just need to add more rocks to the entrance and the outside then finish filling. I am located in Maryland.

Any recommendations on how many plants needed for the size of our pond? Also do I just use a pond testing kit to monitor the water quality? I don't want to hurt the tadpoles with bad water!

Thank you again for your help!

 

[Tp4321]

If you have mosquitoes around I would add some movement, aerator, filter etc.

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you!

We have a waterfall to create movement. I'm hoping that will ward off the mosquitoes!

 

[Tp4321]

View attachment 150132@Tp4321
You can put a prefilter on your pump like I have. They aren't very expensive and do a good job especially if you have no fish in there. You just need to pull them out and spray off w/a hose and put back. You could just try the pond w/o filtration and plenty of plants and later if you decide you need a filter or prefilter you can grab one up.

This is the one I have but I took the middle core media out of mine as it got filled w/muck too fast as I have fish.
View attachment 150133

Here is the core I removed:

View attachment 150134

Here it is at work:

View attachment 150135

This is how you can set it up:

View attachment 150136



You don't have to have a box filter like it the diagram just connect it to your waterfall tubing.
I got my prefilter from Webb's online: https://webbsonline.com/Item/Matala-EZ-Bio-Mechanical-Pre-Filter-99990

There is a smaller version also, just check out the other choices and maybe check the prices on Amazon also etc.

Thank you for the recommendation and for taking the time to post so many pics to help me understand the product and set up. I was feeling so overwhelmed with all of this but not after posting here. I'm amazed by all the responses.

That filter is very affordable!

 

[Tp4321]

Hello and welcome! Not by any means an expert, so disregard if someone else has better advice. As long as you have good water movement, you should be OK without a filter. Of course, some sort of mechanical filtration won’t hurt — at least it will help prolong the life of your pump (a pre-filter). If you’re using well water, you shouldn’t need to add a dechlorinator, which is the only type of chemical we recommend. If you have enough plants, they will help keep algae down. Algae isn’t a bad thing, though, so don’t obsess on it. Frogs and toads are natures bio-indicators of good quality water, so you would want the pond water to be as natural as possible — let Mother Nature do her work at keeping the water balanced (IOW, don’t add chemicals, especially not algaecide).

Please post pics: before, during, and after! Where are you located?

I forgot to post the pic!

 

[poconojoe]

I forgot to post the pic!

Wow! You did a very nice job building it!

Agree with everything said.

Plants and more plants!

No chemicals please!

I hope you are as lucky as me when it comes to frogs. I didn't add any, they just naturally found my pond. They are there every year. They produce millions of tadpoles every year too!
I love the sounds they make in the summer.

 

[addy1]

Great job! I use the same little filter on my deck pond that JW showed. I have a 325 gph pump running to just circulate the water. Twice a day I pump water up from the big pond to run the stream.
That filter gets rinsed off once a year. ow it just runs.

 

[Tp4321]

Wow! You did a very nice job building it!

Agree with everything said.

Plants and more plants!

No chemicals please!

I hope you are as lucky as me when it comes to frogs. I didn't add any, they just naturally found my pond. They are there every year. They produce millions of tadpoles every year too!
I love the sounds they make in the summer.

Thank you!

I hope they just show up too! I've always loved watching tadpoles change into frogs.

 

[Tp4321]

Great job! I use the same little filter on my deck pond that JW showed. I have a 325 gph pump running to just circulate the water. Twice a day I pump water up from the big pond to run the stream.
That filter gets rinsed off once a year. ow it just runs.

Thank you! I'm definitely going to have to purchase that filter now that 2 have recommended it. You can't beat the price.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome to the GPF! Very pretty pond... that I predict will be home to a few pretty goldfish before the week is over!