Want to make my pond more shallow

[ItsBoTime]

I’ve had my pond for about 3 years. I wish I could start over and make it have less depth though. It can be a lot to clean up due to the amount foliage during fall and spring. I got a ton of muck last year and realized small pebbles were an awful idea to put at the bottom, it took me days to clean. I do see a lot of people mention pea pebbles though, I don’t know if I should do a certain one, I am kind of at a loss on knowledge. I removed them all and have big rocks and I have a lot of drift wood. I wish I would have just done normal liner I instead bought a 145 gallon polyethylene liner. Something I want to do though is make my pond have less depth. I feel I can make it look nicer this way, maybe line it will stone or something. Any suggestions of ways to make your pond more shallow, obviously less water but you know what I mean. Here is some pictures. Also, would like to know what others put at the bottom of their pond that works well.

*promise it doesn’t look so dirty all the time. Birds been perching like crazy which I love and been gone for two weeks*

Thank you!

80-in L x 54-in W Black High Density Polyethylene Pond Liner (145-Gallon)

 

[BKHpondcritters]

How deep is your pond now? Most of those pre-forms aren't very deep at all.... I'm not sure why you'd like to reduce the depth. 145 gallons is pretty small, and (unfortunately) small ponds are much more difficult to keep in balance than larger ones (at least 1000 gals) What do you have in there plant & fish-wise?

 

[GBBUDD]

put a cover over the pond in the fall

 

[ItsBoTime]

How deep is your pond now? Most of those pre-forms aren't very deep at all.... I'm not sure why you'd like to reduce the depth. 145 gallons is pretty small, and (unfortunately) small ponds are much more difficult to keep in balance than larger ones (at least 1000 gals) What do you have in there plant & fish-wise?

My pond is like maybe 2 feet. I just have water Lilly bulbs, they bloom very strong. I have goldfish, nothing too much. I did have Koi but we have tropical birds that come and grab them. Any suggestions on plants to get? I want to know what substrate to use that works best against foliage.

 

[ItsBoTime]

put a cover over the pond in the fall

I agree.. problem is… it’s like year round almost besides a few months due to pine trees etc. coastal Georgia.

 

[GBBUDD]

put a shade over it

 

[BKHpondcritters]

My pond is like maybe 2 feet. I just have water Lilly bulbs, they bloom very strong. I have goldfish, nothing too much. I did have Koi but we have tropical birds that come and grab them. Any suggestions on plants to get? I want to know what substrate to use that works best against foliage.

You definitely don't want it any shallower than that if you intend to have fish in it. And, for better or worse, it's probably a good thing those birds made off with your koi - 175 gallons is WAY too small to support them. A couple of goldfish should be OK, though.

If the problem is stemming from excessive debris constantly dropping in, then I like GBBUDD's suggestion to put up some sort of shade sail/cover to help keep it cleaner. Just keep in mind, it's a pond not a hot tub. Some level of algae & 'gunk' is natural. As long as it's not excessive & you don't have pea-soup green water (which you absolutely do *not* in that picture! your water looks beautifully clear!) it isn't going to be pristine.

Plant-wise, water lilies are beautiful, but they aren't the best at sucking excess nutrients out of the water (which is how you naturally battle algae - starve it out with more desirable plants) Since your pond is small you will want to stick with smaller, easier to contain varieties. Iris are nice (Black Gamecock is one of my favorites) corkscrew rush is well behaved & super interesting, arrow plants are nice, maybe some bog bean or parrot's feather trailing out over the surface? In the summer months you could throw in a couple of floaters like water celery or water hyacinth (if they are available in your area? some places ban them as invasive) but you'll need to be diligent at thinning the herd on a regular basis since they multiply FAST!

Normally I suggest to have a gravel substrate (small/mixed river pebbles - maybe 3/4" diameter, so a bit larger than pea gravel) covering shelves & the bottom of the pond & plant directly in that, but a pre-form doesn't lend itself to that very well (IME). I assume that your pre-form has 'shelves' built in around the edge? If so, then just set your pots of plants on those. Otherwise you'll have to get a bit creative & use something to build "shelves", since most aquatic marginal plants like to have their crowns right at the surface of the water.

I would still suggest leaving a thin covering of gravel on the bottom to give additional surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize. Just be diligent about using a debris net to scoop out any larger things (leaves, etc) that fall in. Make sure you have a good liquid water test kit (API is a good brand) and keep on top of your numbers. In a larger pond, once everything is established & balanced, it's not quite as critical to test water regularly, but in a small pond such as yours, things can go bad really quickly & your fish could develop problems.

 

[WaterGardener]

I think that most people here would say that your pond is already too shallow.

Predators have an easier time of snagging fish in shallow water than in deeper water. You have already had that experience.

Shallow water heats up and cools down faster and easier than deeper water. Where you live, that water must get awfully hot in summer, adding stress to your cool water fish.

My pond has a bare liner bottom. I don't even see it and it gives a nice background for the brightly colored fish. It's easy to vacuum on the very rare times that is needed.

It's an easy thing to do to put up shade sails to help keep out debris and give the pond some shade from the sun. Nets work very well for catching leaves.

I wouldn't want to make that pond more shallow. It would be a sushi bar for wildlife. If anything, in my opinion, it should be deeper.

 

[Lisak1]

Want to make my pond more shallow​

... said no pond owner ever. haha!

I get where you're coming from, but let me suggest a few things:
1. This is a pond, not a pool. Don't let the natural look of a pond give you the heebie jeebies.
2. You can easily clean a gravel bottom by just swishing the gravel around with your feet. Bigger rocks would be harder, not easier as they will trap debris that you CAN'T shake loose. Making the substrate deeper to make the pond more shallow may help you think it LOOKS cleaner, but the reality will be toxic waste building up under that substrate.
3. Gravel bottoms are part of your natural filtration system. Not 100% necessary, but extremely useful if you do it right; ie, the not too deep

 

[ItsBoTime]

You definitely don't want it any shallower than that if you intend to have fish in it. And, for better or worse, it's probably a good thing those birds made off with your koi - 175 gallons is WAY too small to support them. A couple of goldfish should be OK, though.

If the problem is stemming from excessive debris constantly dropping in, then I like GBBUDD's suggestion to put up some sort of shade sail/cover to help keep it cleaner. Just keep in mind, it's a pond not a hot tub. Some level of algae & 'gunk' is natural. As long as it's not excessive & you don't have pea-soup green water (which you absolutely do *not* in that picture! your water looks beautifully clear!) it isn't going to be pristine.

Plant-wise, water lilies are beautiful, but they aren't the best at sucking excess nutrients out of the water (which is how you naturally battle algae - starve it out with more desirable plants) Since your pond is small you will want to stick with smaller, easier to contain varieties. Iris are nice (Black Gamecock is one of my favorites) corkscrew rush is well behaved & super interesting, arrow plants are nice, maybe some bog bean or parrot's feather trailing out over the surface? In the summer months you could throw in a couple of floaters like water celery or water hyacinth (if they are available in your area? some places ban them as invasive) but you'll need to be diligent at thinning the herd on a regular basis since they multiply FAST!

Normally I suggest to have a gravel substrate (small/mixed river pebbles - maybe 3/4" diameter, so a bit larger than pea gravel) covering shelves & the bottom of the pond & plant directly in that, but a pre-form doesn't lend itself to that very well (IME). I assume that your pre-form has 'shelves' built in around the edge? If so, then just set your pots of plants on those. Otherwise you'll have to get a bit creative & use something to build "shelves", since most aquatic marginal plants like to have their crowns right at the surface of the water.

I would still suggest leaving a thin covering of gravel on the bottom to give additional surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize. Just be diligent about using a debris net to scoop out any larger things (leaves, etc) that fall in. Make sure you have a good liquid water test kit (API is a good brand) and keep on top of your numbers. In a larger pond, once everything is established & balanced, it's not quite as critical to test water regularly, but in a small pond such as yours, things can go bad really quickly & your fish could develop problems.

Great suggestions thank you. I have one shelf so I will do that with potted plants!

 

[ItsBoTime]

Want to make my pond more shallow​

... said no pond owner ever. haha!

I get where you're coming from, but let me suggest a few things:
1. This is a pond, not a pool. Don't let the natural look of a pond give you the heebie jeebies.
2. You can easily clean a gravel bottom by just swishing the gravel around with your feet. Bigger rocks would be harder, not easier as they will trap debris that you CAN'T shake loose. Making the substrate deeper to make the pond more shallow may help you think it LOOKS cleaner, but the reality will be toxic waste building up under that substrate.
3. Gravel bottoms are part of your natural filtration system. Not 100% necessary, but extremely useful if you do it right; ie, the not too deep

You are right! I will go back too it!

 

[ItsBoTime]

Want to make my pond more shallow​

... said no pond owner ever. haha!

I get where you're coming from, but let me suggest a few things:
1. This is a pond, not a pool. Don't let the natural look of a pond give you the heebie jeebies.
2. You can easily clean a gravel bottom by just swishing the gravel around with your feet. Bigger rocks would be harder, not easier as they will trap debris that you CAN'T shake loose. Making the substrate deeper to make the pond more shallow may help you think it LOOKS cleaner, but the reality will be toxic waste building up under that substrate.
3. Gravel bottoms are part of your natural filtration system. Not 100% necessary, but extremely useful if you do it right; ie, the not too deep

You are right! I will go back too it

I think that most people here would say that your pond is already too shallow.

Predators have an easier time of snagging fish in shallow water than in deeper water. You have already had that experience.

Shallow water heats up and cools down faster and easier than deeper water. Where you live, that water must get awfully hot in summer, adding stress to your cool water fish.

My pond has a bare liner bottom. I don't even see it and it gives a nice background for the brightly colored fish. It's easy to vacuum on the very rare times that is needed.

It's an easy thing to do to put up shade sails to help keep out debris and give the pond some shade from the sun. Nets work very well for catching leaves.

I wouldn't want to make that pond more shallow. It would be a sushi bar for wildlife. If anything, in my opinion, it should be deeper.

i think the winter / fall foliage got me down lol. I forget in spring and summer it looks a lot cleaner, so was trying to think of ways to make it look better.

 

[GBBUDD]

i think the winter / fall foliage got me down

Good grief, I have two giant silver maples hanging over the pond plus an acousa dogwood tree and i am literally 50 times the size of a preform. That's a little bit of work

 

[ItsBoTime]

Good grief, I have two giant silver maples hanging over the pond plus an acousa dogwood tree and i am literally 50 times the size of a preform. That's a little bit of work

Yeah

You definitely don't want it any shallower than that if you intend to have fish in it. And, for better or worse, it's probably a good thing those birds made off with your koi - 175 gallons is WAY too small to support them. A couple of goldfish should be OK, though.

If the problem is stemming from excessive debris constantly dropping in, then I like GBBUDD's suggestion to put up some sort of shade sail/cover to help keep it cleaner. Just keep in mind, it's a pond not a hot tub. Some level of algae & 'gunk' is natural. As long as it's not excessive & you don't have pea-soup green water (which you absolutely do *not* in that picture! your water looks beautifully clear!) it isn't going to be pristine.

Plant-wise, water lilies are beautiful, but they aren't the best at sucking excess nutrients out of the water (which is how you naturally battle algae - starve it out with more desirable plants) Since your pond is small you will want to stick with smaller, easier to contain varieties. Iris are nice (Black Gamecock is one of my favorites) corkscrew rush is well behaved & super interesting, arrow plants are nice, maybe some bog bean or parrot's feather trailing out over the surface? In the summer months you could throw in a couple of floaters like water celery or water hyacinth (if they are available in your area? some places ban them as invasive) but you'll need to be diligent at thinning the herd on a regular basis since they multiply FAST!

Normally I suggest to have a gravel substrate (small/mixed river pebbles - maybe 3/4" diameter, so a bit larger than pea gravel) covering shelves & the bottom of the pond & plant directly in that, but a pre-form doesn't lend itself to that very well (IME). I assume that your pre-form has 'shelves' built in around the edge? If so, then just set your pots of plants on those. Otherwise you'll have to get a bit creative & use something to build "shelves", since most aquatic marginal plants like to have their crowns right at the surface of the water.

I would still suggest leaving a thin covering of gravel on the bottom to give additional surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize. Just be diligent about using a debris net to scoop out any larger things (leaves, etc) that fall in. Make sure you have a good liquid water test kit (API is a good brand) and keep on top of your numbers. In a larger pond, once everything is established & balanced, it's not quite as critical to test water regularly, but in a small pond such as yours, things can go bad really quickly & your fish could develop problems.

I wanted to thank you again for your suggestions. I am revamping my waterfall this weekend! Also, going to try a variety of plants around it and see if I can get it looking nice for spring. I ordered some hyacith, which should do good as well!

 

[addy1]

All above very good suggestions!

Good luck!