Need advice on inherited pond!

[Newt19]

Hi there,
I'm in the UK and have inherited this pond when I bought my house.
Hoping the photo's have uploaded with this!
It has a big filter, I've bought new filter pads for this (not yet changed). It also has around 10 fish...large Goldfish (I think?). It currently also has newts.
I know that one of the plants is a Marsh Marigold which is stunning in the Spring/Summer months. Everything else seems to have turned to mush.
What can I do to help bring this pond to life and look after the pond life and the Goldfish?
Any help much appreciated. Also, is that filter too big??

 

[bagsmom]

What a beautiful pond! I think one of the best things you can do is net out any debris - if there is an accumulation. With little newts and other aquatic life undoubtedly living in the debris, you probably want to go a bit carefully. But an excess of decaying materials can throw off your water quality - so a good netting out of the excess crud can help a lot. When Spring really gets going, so will your plants! They will do so much to bring the pond back to life! I don't know about filter size -- but better to have more filtration than less, especially if your fish are growing and reproducing. I can't wait to see more pictures as the season progresses!

 

[Newt19]

Hello bagsmom, what a lovely positive response! Thank you so much. I really want the pond to come back to life. So on your advice, I will definitely begin to net out the crud. I'll be super careful with the pond life. I guess testing the water at some point soon is a must?
Many thanks for your post

 

[bagsmom]

I am not one of the long-time ponders on here. I'm still a relative newbie. I am bad about doing water tests. I have a kit but don't use it often. I do know one rule of thumb with pH. A steady, consistent pH level is more important than reaching a magical number. Big swings in pH can really stress your fish. If you are in a safe pH zone and the pond stabilizes at that level, it is fine. For example, mine is almost always right around 8 and all the fish are healthy and happy. I am sure others will hop on here and add their valuable advice! @addy1 @Lisak1 @GBBUDD

 

[poconojoe]

Marsh marigold is one of my favorites. We have a few of them and they come back bigger and better every Spring, even with our harsh Winters.
We originally had only one, but somehow two others popped up out of nowhere.

 

[j.w]

@Newt19
Nice setup you have going for you there. You will love it when you get it all working just fine and dandy!

 

[addy1]

When I used to net out my pond I would dump the stuff on a net over a bucket and sit down and save every critter I could find. It took time but I could not stand killing the pond life.

You could clean out some of the dead plant matter, it does turn to mush when it is winter. Looks like you have a grass type plant, is that a under water plant that you pulled up? or a surface plant. You could clean some of it out. Just remember plants help the ponds water a lot.

Welcome! Love your pond!

 

[poconojoe]

When I used to net out my pond I would dump the stuff on a net over a bucket and sit down and save every critter I could find. It took time but I could not stand killing the pond life.

I have saved many fry and trapdoor snails doing that.

 

[Newt19]

Thank you everyone who's replied! We are super careful with all lives, no matter how tiny they are in size and stature. I save LITERALLY everything I possibly can. I have pulled out some of that plant as it was over taking the pond. It's a surface plant, I believe. The marsh marigold is in-between it. Whatever I've pulled out, I've been through with a fine tooth comb and left over night, on the side of the pond, so the all creatures can place themselves back in, should they wish to do so. I'd like to have lots of plants/grasses but as a beginner, I have very limited knowledge. Roughly what percentage of the pond should be planted? Thanks so much all!!

 

[brokensword]

aim for 60% surface cover. As you exceed this, just thin and compost. If you mean marginals, that's up to you but obviously the more the better re filtration.

 

[JamieB]

Just read your intro, welcome! Do you know how big your pond is? There’s free pond volume calculator online, just input length width and depth. Also, does it have any shelves? The shelves would provide space for potted plants to grow as marginals.

 

[poconojoe]

The more plants, the better. They help with filtration.

 

[GBBUDD]

I myself would fill the bottom with Pure clay plant the most beautiful lilies i could get my hands on and fill the whole thing with them a line of lilies all in bloom yeah dady...

i'd use that as a bog and start a pond but thats just me i like a big feature,,,,, rocks on the brain

 

[Newt19]

Thanks for the ideas! I don't believe there are any shelves, but I have found lots of old, empty pots in the bottom that were obviously filled with something beautiful. I've also found lots of hardcore..not beautiful but I'm guessing it was something at some point. I'm a bit miffed by the filter..it looks huge. There's a bird bath in there too. Lilies sound lovely...do you mean water lilies? It already has about 10/12 large Goldfish in there so I'm making sure not to disturb them too much. I'll have to do a measurement of the pond and use that calculator.

 

[GBBUDD]

yes water lilly