Wildlife pond, what to do next ?

[Christy053]

Hello all !

Basically we have built a small pond in the garden, it isn't very impressive and was just inspired after watching the RSPB adverts about inviting wildlife into the garden. I don't know the exact dimensions however I have uploaded a photo just after we finished filling to give a rough idea. We lined the pond by using old magazines, topped with a large tent bottom sheet and then a layer of soil. We filled with tap water and have let that settle for over a week. I have noticed slight green on the water and lots of little black bugs which I now think are skeeter larvae ?

Anways, today I went to the garden centre and bought two oxygenating plants which are submerged in the water, can anybody else give any tips ? I am hoping to add my friends tadpoles in the next couple of day and some plants from their pond, is this wise ? Also if there is oxygenating plants in the pond is it okay to add fish/snail to help keep the pond clear of waste ?

I am a complete beginner when it comes to ponds so if I am talking rubbish I apologise, looking forward to hearing some helpful responses

Thank you

Christy :alieneyesa:

 

[adam9280]

The green is algae. Suggest getting a pump with filter to get the water moving. Stagnant water is bad. Oxygenating plants are good and so are water lilies, hyacinth and water lettuce. They will "eat" the nutrients in the water that the algae is feeding on.

 

[dieselplower]

Yes you are really going to need a water pump or at least an aerator in there. Keep in mind that any fish or snail etc you put in there to consume waste will also make its own waste so you will want a filter. also remember plants make oxygen during the day but they use it up at night.

 

[Christy053]

Thank you for the responses, I was really hoping to not have to use pumps because of the cost, is there no cheaper alternative or would I be best just letting nature take its course and not bother with fish etc

 

[Nepen]

If you just want a few fish, small pump should be enough. Do you have Harbor Freight Tools around? They sell cheap pump (and they have 20% off coupon all the time). My pump is from there and it's totally fine. You can even make just a little fountain.

 

[dieselplower]

Thank you for the responses, I was really hoping to not have to use pumps because of the cost, is there no cheaper alternative or would I be best just letting nature take its course and not bother with fish etc

If you want a swamp you could just leave it. If you can plant it like 100% it might be ok although u will have tons of bugs.

 

[gardengimp]

Hi Christy, and welcome to our forums.

You might want to go take a look at Figgy's wildlife pond. As I recall, she doesn't use any pumps. You won't want any fish though, unless they happen to be local native still water minnows. Snails, tadpoles and such are fine. Frogs, snails, dragonflies and such usually move in of their own accord; once they find you. Sort of like birds and a bird feeder. Just because you don't have a pump doesn't necessarily mean you will have a swamp.

 

[dieselplower]

Hi Christy, and welcome to our forums.

You might want to go take a look at Figgy's wildlife pond. As I recall, she doesn't use any pumps. You won't want any fish though, unless they happen to be local native still water minnows. Snails, tadpoles and such are fine. Frogs, snails, dragonflies and such usually move in of their own accord; once they find you. Sort of like birds and a bird feeder. Just because you don't have a pump doesn't necessarily mean you will have a swamp.

That is a good example of 100% planted. So many plants she is removing piles of them. Pretty cool.

 

[addy1]

I put minnows in some of my small ponds, they do a good job of taking care of mosquitoes.

Welcome to our group!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

It may not be impressive just yet but you're definitely headed in the right direction!
Get a pump. They really aren't expensive if you look around, you've got a smaller pond so that'll even make it cheaper, and many pumps aren't too bad on the electric bill either.

A pump and some plants will help the pond stay maintained. You should get wildlife in no time once the water is clean. Add some fish so they'll eat mosquito larvae. I have a small pond too and was surprised to see frogs, toads, birds, and dragonflies all show up within two months!

 

[Waterbug]

Unfortunately each pond forum is primarily focused on a single type of pond. For example the focus of this forum is Water Garden type ponds, pump, minimal filter, plants, goldfish, maybe a couple of Koi. There are forums that focus on Koi ponds and those members look down on Water Gardens and consider these to be "swamps", "toilets", and other negative connotations. Members in this forum tend to look down on Wildlife ponds and call them swamps, toilets, and other negative connotations.

The trick is to find a place that understands the kind of pond you have or want .

What you've created is indeed a Wildlife pond. That means nature does whatever nature wants. That can be all kinds of different things. Life begins right away, as you have found. That will lay a foundation for other life. You can speed things up by adding stuff and you can try and move nature in a certain direction. In a Wildlife pond most of the control is given to nature. In Koi pond humans take most of the control. Water Gardens are in between.

You can't beat going to a local stream, lake, your friend's pond and bring back some water, plants and algae. Some things will live, some will die and become food for other things.

Algae is probably the best possible living thing in a wildlife pond. Most everything else depends on algae for food. Algae is also normally the largest "plant" mass in a pond, even a Water Garden or Koi pond.

The pond will never stop changing, but you should expect 1 or 2 years before the pond starts to have some serious bio diversity.

However, you have a pretty standard disconnect with how ponds work and how most people think ponds work. That can really mess you up. For example, "oxygenating plant" is a term invented by people because it sounds nice, sells plants and makes people feel good. However they don't have anything to do with oxygenating water, or "cleaning" water, or using up nutrients, or any one of the many myths available. At night plants consume oxygen, only when the sun is out do they produce O2. And plants produce organic waste (dead leaves) which consume O2. So even when the sun is out plants are generally a net consumer of O2. At best it's a zero net.

O2 enters the pond at the surface, no movement is required. Creating water movement, like with a pump, can increase O2 levels by mixing the low O2 water at the bottom with higher O2 water near the surface. But for a Wildlife pond high O2 levels aren't required or desired. Creatures that live in these environments are evolved to handle that environment.

Also, adding fish will not clear the pond of waste. Animals add waste, they don't remove waste. They convert organic stuff into waste...which other creatures convert into other stuff, so on and so on. Calling this stuff at each stage waste or food depends on your personal perspective.

However, adding stuff to a Wildlife pond is almost always is a good thing. If you add oxygenating plants and they die there are creatures ready to feast on the dead matter. If you add fish and they die, more food for other creatures. It's kind of an expensive way to add food however. And you may not like the type of life created by lots of decaying matter.

Any creature that can survive in your pond will take its place in the life process. That can vary over time, creatures come and go.