New Wildlife Pond and Plants

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ok so I recently dug a hole in my garden and inserted a preform pond which measures approx 2ft x 2.2ft. I got a couple of buckets of water from my local pond and mixed this with tap water and let it settle for a few days. I then got myself 10 small fish (really small from petshop, look like neon fish but without the neon and they are coldwater). I also got approx 50 tadpoles from my local pond and put these in with the fish.

Everything was going well for a couple of weeks and it still is, so now I got some pond plants. At the bottom of the pond I have a thin layer of gravel and a couple of rocks and a piece of slate for things to hide under. The plants I got are one bunch of elodea canadensis, one bunch of elodea crispa, one bunch of milfoil and then a small bag of some type of long grass which stays together at the bottom of the pond (its dark green, i have no idea what it is sorry).

I wanted to know if this was too many plants, ive read various guides online and I understand plants are good in the daytime but not so good in the nighttime. Now I dont want to starve my pond life of oxygen so should I remove some of the plants?

I dont have a filter, but I do have a sola panel air pump which provides two airstones to the pond. But these dont work at night time so I guess this doesnt help. Also note that these dont work in the day time either unless the suns out - And theres not much sun in the UK at the moment!

Any advice would be much appreciated :)

I have added a picture of the pond (note that the two colourful plants on the right are plastic, i added these as they were full of algae and the tadpoles are in the process of cleaning them for me)
 

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j.w

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Cute little pond and I don't think you have too many plants. Just keep an eye on them and if they start overcrowding then give some away to friends. Do you use city water and if so do you use the dechlorinater to rid it of Chlorine and Chloromine? If you have a well then you don't have to add that. An airstone that would work all through the night would be good. If you can't then you could do a partial water change now and then. Do you have an electric hookup nearby? If so I'd suggest a plug in air pump for your air stone.
 
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Hi JW

Yeah I used tap water from the kitchen sink but im in the UK so I dont know if we have the same stuff i our water. I mixed it with some pond water and did add some of the dechlorinater fluid before adding any pond life.

Unfortunately I dont have anyway to get power to the pond, the sola panel was the best option for me. It would be nice if we had infra-red electric but I guess thats not going to happen anytime soon :)

Are there any other other methods of providing oxygen to the pond? I have been doing weekly bucket changes to the water (have let the tap water sit for a few days before adding it).

As for it being a cute little pond, unfortunately for us here in the UK many of us have cute little houses too. By the time you have a table and chairs, a kids trampoline, shed, recycle bins and somewhere for the washing line to go up then theres not much garden left! Thankfully I have a corner where theres a couple of wild trees and plenty of greens which the frogs should be quite happy in. Id have loved a big pond, but this one will have to do for now. It should give some experience for in the future as one day I would like a big pond full of life.
 

j.w

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You will be hooked now and want that bigger pond someday for sure! I think the weekly bucket changes are prolly good enough for that size of a pond. I don't know if you can get your hands on a battery powered air stone or how long of a life they have and expensive the batteries would end up costing you and never had one so can't say if they are any good or not. Your pond is no different than a fish bowl in the house just bigger w/ plants so just keep doing those water changes and it should be fine.
 
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Thanks for the advice. I was hoping when the sola panels kick in through the day it would enough oxygen to keep going through the night. But the battery powered air pumps are new to me - Im off to eBay to find one :)

A bigger pond is something id love to have, but at the minute were renting and with house prices being 8-10 times the national wage its going to be a few years until I own my own house!
 
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If you're serious about having a Wildlife pond rather than a Water Garden, the choices are a lot simpler. Basically you just add water, some soil, maybe a few plants, maybe a couple of minnow type fish and sit back and let nature do the rest. In small ponds you do normally have to control some things like removing some leaves. In a larger Wildlife pond leaves getting into the pond is a good thing, but in a small pond they can fill completely with leaves which isn't good.

It's really all about what kind of pond you want. For example people who want a Wildlife pond don't have a problem with low O2 because the pond is setup to function with low O2. For example going more for frogs and newts instead of lots of big fish. For a Water Garden low O2 is a big problem because they're trying to support a large fish load compared to what a Wildlife pond could support.

Didn't the pet shop know the species of fish?
 
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Hi Waterbug

They did know the species but I just forgot the name. Basically though they are the same size as neon fish, very small and they dont grow any bigger. Other than neon fish the only way I can describe them is as stickleback fish. Im not sure if that means anything to the US fish market though, sticklebacks are something we find here in the UK living in ponds.

All I can tell you about these fish is that they are about an inch long, live in cold water and through previous experience they are as tough as nails. I got a bag full from the pet store, theres about 10 of them. They are tiny though so I dont think they would eat much oxygen. I just thought it would be best having more life in the pond other than tadpoles.

Im looking for a wildlife pond which can look after itself, with the exception of myself going out everyday and removing any leaves etc and myself doing a bucket change every 1-2 weeks.

I just didnt want to fill it with plants and kill everything. After these tadpoles have grown I wont be getting any more (unless the frogs leave them) but I just wanted to make sure its safe for the tadpoles currently growing and the little fish that will have to live in the pond.
 
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I see, minnow type fish.

There shouldn't be any need to do a "bucket change" if that means water change.

Virtually everything that is bad for other types of ponds is good for a Wildlife pond. And everything good for other ponds types is bad for a Wildlife pond. For example, a Wildlife pond creates a food chain, when you change water you're removing food that something else needs. Algae is a problem in other ponds and very good in a Wildlife pond. Even fish dying in a Wildlife pond is a good thing for other creatures.

The only issue is really the small size may need a hand sometimes. Like if filled with leaves, or too much string algae.

Sit back and enjoy the show. You'll be amazed at the amount of life if you look close, as well as what creatures show up.
 
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anagrama,

I too am fairly new to "ponding". My pond isn't that big at just 600 or so gallons, but I have a small waterfall, so the water is moving most of the time. In the winter here I turn off the water fall and use a duel outlet airpump on an extension cord. With a few splitter valves on the two lines it lets me have 6 or 7 air stones to provide water movement (o2) for the fish. I had a few plants and thanks to a fellow here on this forum, I now have many more. From what I've learned here and from some other sources, to a degree, the more plants, the better off your pond will be. Even in the UK, with such a small pond your water temperature will get quite high on sunny days, so more plants = more shade. That helps with the water temps a bit and lets less UV light into the water,, keeping the algae down a little.

Unless you see your fish "gulping" for air at the surface, your o2 levels are probably good. One important thing I've learned here from many (waterbug especially as he's been an encyclopedia for me) is to get a really good test kit. I check my water quality once a week, and if you want wildlife, the quality of you water is the most important thing to consider. Too many plant? I don't think there is such a thing as long as you pond doesn't become clogged and over crowded. This is an on-going education for me, and the most important thing you can do is research something before you apply it. I'm having a blast in the new hobby, learning a lot, and enjoying watching birds visit, dragon fly nymphs develop, fish spawning, and even though I hate them, watching the black fly larvae develop. I'm about to have my first water lily blossoms as well.

Good luck with your pond. Mine has been a real joy to watch develop and a real source of pleasure. I hope yours treats you in the same regard.

Paul
 
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Wildlife pond...not Water Garden. Test kit isn't needed for a Wildlife pond. The last thing you want to do in a Wildlife pond is try and control the water. Suppose there are pH swings...good, you get a whole set of creatures who've evolved to live in those conditions. Suppose you get really low pH...good, you get a whole set of creatures who've evolved to live in those conditions. Suppose you get really high pH...good, you get a whole set of creatures who've evolved to live in those conditions.

All horrible things in a Water Garden or Koi Pond...just fine in a Wildlife Pond.

I know it's difficult for Water Garden keepers to understand Wildlife ponds just as it can be difficult for Koi Pond keepers to understand Water Gardens. These are all completely different hobbies. They all have only two things in common...a hole and water.
 
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I'm kind of trying to accomplish the best of both worlds..... maybe that's not achievable. I want the "water garden" but I also want the "natural pond" too. I try to have as little intervention as I can in hopes of having a somewhat natural environment. In my case waterbug, the only thing I really concern myself with is the ammonia levels, and the string algae. I've stopped adding "goodies" to my pond, and just scrub the algae from my water fall rocks. For the most part, all seems in balance.

In essence, I guess what I'm trying to say is that since this poster's pond is so small (preformed) that some work is going to be required whether trying to achieve a natural state or, a "water garden". No water in or out (other than bucket changes) means that if nothing is done with it, it'll just become a stagnant mosquito pool. I try to do as little as possible to mine in hopes of trying to achieve a somewhat natural state... that's my goal in any case.... but for such a small body of water, some intervention is always going to be required.
 

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Stickle backs would be perfect for a wildlife pond, They actually do good in low O2 ponds, they need leaf matter to build their nest and they don't overpopulate. Other than being hard to see they should be perfect for that pond. Plants, as long as the water surface isn't completely clogged I don't think you can really have to many plants, the more plants the more wildlife will be attracted, also the clearer the water should be. The biggest concern I would have with this pond is the small size and shallow depth for the area/zone you live in. If you get a hard freeze that small preform pond could split and if the ice gets deep enough I doubt most of the wildlife would be able to survive very long under a solid sheet of ice.
 
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I'm kind of trying to accomplish the best of both worlds..... maybe that's not achievable. I want the "water garden" but I also want the "natural pond" too.
I can appreciate that. But what you are defining is a Water Garden, at least by my definition. From your perspective I can understand why you would consider it a little bit of a Wildlife Pond.

I try to have as little intervention as I can in hopes of having a somewhat natural environment. In my case waterbug, the only thing I really concern myself with is the ammonia levels, and the string algae.
In a Wildlife pond pond algae is important to have. Important for the food chain and important as a way to remove ammonia. Algae is the Wildlife Pond's bio filter. It grows to handle ammonia load. That's pretty different from the way a Water Garden or Koi Pond works imo.

In essence, I guess what I'm trying to say is that since this poster's pond is so small (preformed) that some work is going to be required whether trying to achieve a natural state or, a "water garden".
Me too.

No water in or out (other than bucket changes) means that if nothing is done with it, it'll just become a stagnant mosquito pool. I try to do as little as possible to mine in hopes of trying to achieve a somewhat natural state... that's my goal in any case.... but for such a small body of water, some intervention is always going to be required.
And there's the problem...a problem that tweaks me a bit. I don't really like it when a Koi Pond keeper looks down their nose at a Water Garden. Calling Goldfish trash fish, calling Water Gardens sewage pits, etc. It's ignorant and self centered BS. They say they're just trying to "help" the pond keeper to "improve" their pond...so it can be exactly like their own pond. I don't think they mean to be judgemental, but then again they sure never stopped to think about what they're saying.

I doubt you would appreciate someone criticizing your pond only because it's different from the critic's.

...it'll just become a stagnant mosquito pool...
I appreciate you don't like "stagnant mosquito pools" and that you could never be able to imagine such a pond ever being of any use...but here's the strange thing...not everyone on the planet thinks exactly like you...I know, we all should, and someday we all may. But until that day don't be so judgemental on all our little quirks.

The OP may find someday they don't want a Wildlife pond any more. At that time the pond can be converted into a Water Garden, bog garden or removed. In the mean time they can enjoy the show mother nature puts on.

Every single pond forum from the beginning of time say they're a forum for all ponds...none are. Each is a forum for a specific kind of pond. This forum is only for 400-2000 gal water gardens which have a bog or Skippy. All other ponds are criticized as being "stagnant mosquito pools" or ponds for the super rich.

@anagrama, there are many places on the net which provide info on Wildlife ponds, just Google "wildlife pond". There you will find good info and support.
 
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Waterbug, I have a couple questions.
When I was a kid I use dig a hole in the ground and fill it up with the garden hose, then I'd get my turtles out of the house and let them swim and hang out in this little pond all day while I hung out in the yard keeping an eye on them. When it was suppertime I'd bring them back in the house and put them back in their little clear plastic turtle lagoon with the little plastic green palm tree for the night and do it all again the next day.

Would that hole in the ground I dug be considered a wildlife pond? And more importantly, would I be welcome in this forum if that's all I had?

Turtle12.jpg
 
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Oh does that turtle pond bring back some memories...right down to the plastic palm tree. Unfortunately my turtles never lived very long.

Of course you would be welcomed here...everyone is welcomed here. But you also have to hear about what a poor pond you have because it doesn't have a pump or a Skippy or a bog. If you added those you wouldn't just be welcomed, you'd be accepted too.
 

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