Wildlife pond seeding in South Dublin

bullpost

I've just put a wildlife pond into the garden.

Filled it with water but it needs some water from an existing mature wildlife pond to help introduce correct nutrients etc.

Anyone know of a good source in the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown area?

Sonnenblumen

You could take small samples from various locations including People's Park Dun Laoghaire, Blackrock Park, Bird Sanctuary Wetlands Booeterstown, even the river Dodder in Ballsbridge.

I suppose if you leave the water alone for some weeks, nature will discover it?

bullpost

Thanks for that , though ideally its got to have been home to frogs, newts etc..
Think Booterstown is salt so best stay away from that one.

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

You could take small samples from various locations including People's Park Dun Laoghaire, Blackrock Park, Bird Sanctuary Wetlands Booeterstown, even the river Dodder in Ballsbridge.

I suppose if you leave the water alone for some weeks, nature will discover it?

paddy147

bullpost wrote: »

Thanks for that , though ideally its got to have been home to frogs, newts etc..
Think Booterstown is salt so best stay away from that one.

Booterstown is also protected land,so you cant take anything from it either.

You also need to consider 1 thing,potential diseases and viruses from the water samples.

My girlfriend has a large 10 foor by 8 foot wildlife pond in her back garden and its allways had mains cold water in it and then pumped through the filters and pumps.Bit of water treatment for good measure.

Loads and loads of frogs living it and the amount of frog spawn this year was unreal indeed.Various pond skaters,mayfly and dragon fly visit the pond too.

Absolutely amazing sight indeed.:)

muckyhands

bullpost wrote: »

Thanks for that , though ideally its got to have been home to frogs, newts etc..
Think Booterstown is salt so best stay away from that one.

Inevitably wildlife will find its way to your pond but it makes sense to add water from other freshwater sources that will help speed up the process.

I myself have a large wildlife pond, home to dozens of frogs but no newts as yet unfortunately, would love to have them as its an ideal spot and they would do really well here.

I bought live daphnia from a petstore and put them in the pond rather than feed to my tropical fish and they are thriving ( the daphnia). Cannot believe the amount of frogspawn we had this year, the tadpoles are having a field day eating the daphnia! Just a thought, as they are a great food source for larvae of all kinds.

Just to add, when adding water from unknown sources it could also lead to adding diseases and other problems so just be careful its unpolluted with no other problems etc.

muckyhands

Another thought too, its not all down to having a body of water thats right for wildlife. The type of plants in it are important too.

For example, it wasn' t until we put a Cyperus sp. into the pond that we had dragonfly' s visit. The larvae need a tall plant like this to emerge and moult. Consider also Irises, Iris pseudacorus and Waterlillies, Nymphaea sp.

redser7

Would love to see some photos if you have any. Thinking of making a small one (2 ft x 2 ft) for the plot. Tell me something, do the frogs hang around during the summer months? I read their habit is to head off and return for spawning. Thinking if they hang around they would be great for clearing up slugs. Cheers

muckyhands

They do come back to the pond they grew up in each spring and stay in the pond croaking their heads off for a few weeks, waiting for the females to arrive. After they spawn there are always adult frogs in and around the garden/ pond all year round and once the tadpoles turn into tiny frogs the place is hopping with them.

muckyhands

You can just about make out the frog in the middle of the first pic and a tadpole in the second. Sorry the quality isn' t great.

Rancid

muckyhands wrote: »

You can just about make out the frog in the middle of the first pic and a tadpole in the second. Sorry the quality isn' t great.

Looks like a great wildlife pond, muckhands!
I'd love to see a pic of the whole pond, if you have one handy, please!

What's the very green leaved plant covering most of the water surface in your first picture?
I'm always on the look-out for new plants for my pond.
Talking about Daphnia, they do a great job making the water amazingly clear, of course I don't have the tadpoles to eat them.

redser7

muckyhands wrote: »

You can just about make out the frog in the middle of the first pic and a tadpole in the second. Sorry the quality isn' t great.

Fantastic! Thanks a lot

paddy147

redser7 wrote: »

Fantastic! Thanks a lot

You would have loved it when they were breeding and croaking away like mad.

Ive never seen so many frogs and also frogspawn all together in 1 pond before.:eek::D

Discodog

I have built loads of wildlife ponds. I only use tapwater to fill & top up. I also run big pumps, waterfalls, biofilters & UV. None of this discourages or effects the wildlife. I have, when & where it is legally allowed, seeded ponds with amphibian spawn, natural fish, invertebrates etc when I want a faster start up.

The advantages are that you end up with a crystal clear pond with no blanket weed & visibility down to 3 ft. So you get to really enjoy the wildlife & it's fun spotting new arrivals.

Traonach

Discodog wrote: »

I have built loads of wildlife ponds. I only use tapwater to fill & top up. I also run big pumps, waterfalls, biofilters & UV. None of this discourages or effects the wildlife.

The advantages are that you end up with a crystal clear pond with no blanket weed & visibility down to 3 ft. So you get to really enjoy the wildlife & it's fun spotting new arrivals.

:eek::eek::eek:
I would disagree with practically everything you said there. Biofilters and UV will kill microscopic life (algae and tiny invertebrate life). That will inbitit all other lifeforms up the food chain damselfly nymphs, dragonfly nymphs, waterboatmen, great diving bettles, newt tadpoles and will restrict food supply to frog tadpoles. With pumps small creature will be sucked in and killed.

Granted fill your pond with tapwater (if there is not a natural water supply) initailly as you need large volumes. Leave for a couple of weeks to get rid of the chlorine. Don't top up with tap water though. Install a water divertor and collect water from your roof, use this water. Tap water is full of toxic materials to pond life eg flouride, chlorine.

The key to a wildlife pond is to use only native plants to stock your pond with. Make sure you have plenty of oxygenator plants. Make sure the sides are sloped so that animals like frogs, newts can get in and out. Top-up with water from stream or like myself from a water divertor. Wild ponds don't have pumps, filters, and certainly not harmfull UV filters.

Discodog

Traonach wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:
I would disagree with practically everything you said there.

Well I have built about 20 of them over the years & every one has been teeming with invertebrates. I should know as I studied freshwater ecology at Uni

Firstly the filter cycle is only partial so that only about 20% of the circulating water passes through the filter. Secondly the sole purpose of the UV is to control algae, by clumping it. There is plenty of natural bacteria in the water - I know because I have tested it. The advantage is that it is easy for the "owner" to turn a hidden tap & increase the UV flow if the algae becomes intrusive ie more than the wildlife can eat.

The pump inlets operate via a sand/sediment filter - a bit like an under gravel filter in a fish tank. The surface is quite large - I usually use a couple of fish boxes. This provides a bacterial substrate inside the Pond & ensures that nothing gets pulled into the pump. By the way you can get pumps that allow inverts to pass through unscathed.

Most of the Ponds that I have created are in public/business areas where the Pond has to be clean & not smell. Traditionally these Ponds would be purely artificial & not be the havens for wildlife that my Ponds always are. It's nice to be able to offer a client an opportunity to have a beautiful pond & encourage wildlife.

Topping up is done automatically via a sunken cistern & ball valve. People need to be wary about diverting natural water sources. It would be wise to check the legal status & right to water if, for example, you plan to divert a stream. In reality the microscopic amounts of Flourides, Clorine etc entering during a top up won't have any effect especially with an automatic top up where amounts are added gradually.

I have conducted research with fish that are very sensitive to chlorine. If the water is moving & well oxygenated (another reason for the pump) the Chlorine dissipates within hours. I have filled 2000 gallon trout tanks with tapwater, turned on the pumps & put fish in 2 hours later with no problems. A Pond has a high surface area to volume or it should have.

It's horses for courses. If you are very patient & don't mind some setbacks, like green pea soup , then you can allow a Pond to settle naturally. Not every wild pond is a balance of nature - some are smelly non oxygenated & choked. If it needs to always look it's best, many of mine have tables & chairs around them, then technology can help.

By the way another totally unnatural feature that enhances a wildlife pond are underwater lights as much wildlife is nocturnal. It's great watching peoples reactions as a frog or fish crosses a beam of light.

muckyhands

Rancid wrote: »

Looks like a great wildlife pond, muckhands!
I'd love to see a pic of the whole pond, if you have one handy, please!

What's the very green leaved plant covering most of the water surface in your first picture?
I'm always on the look-out for new plants for my pond.
Talking about Daphnia, they do a great job making the water amazingly clear, of course I don't have the tadpoles to eat them.

A couple of things about this pond, its some 25 years old, about four foot deep, several pumps on it/ topped up with tap water and that has never caused a problem for wildlife that I know of. Was built by my dad in the family home when I was very young and in it are koi carp, blue and gold orfe, black/ gold tench and various golfish.

Not wildlife friendly given those fish.

Having said that, we have a system that obviously works though, given the population of frogs now here. When spawn/ frogs first 'arrived' here we built a smaller, strictly for wildlife pond at the top of the garden. When spawn is laid in the main fish pond we move it to the top pond. This is because the fish will devour it- fact.

Reckon there may be a third pond in the pipeline.

The floating plant I cannot think of the name, its not native :eek: and very fast growing but serves a purpose here. When spawn is laid in the main fish pond its on top of this plant which conceals it for a short time from the fish, until we move the spawn to the other pond. Bucketfulls of the plant are removed every month or two to give other plants more room but in winter its left to grow coz it protects fish/ pond from the elements.

Rancid

muckyhands wrote: »

A couple of things about this pond, its some 25 years old, about four foot deep, several pumps on it/ topped up with tap water and that has never caused a problem for wildlife that I know of. Was built by my dad in the family home when I was very young and in it are koi carp, blue and gold orfe, black/ gold tench and various golfish.

Not wildlife friendly given those fish.

Having said that, we have a system that obviously works though, given the population of frogs now here. When spawn/ frogs first 'arrived' here we built a smaller, strictly for wildlife pond at the top of the garden. When spawn is laid in the main fish pond we move it to the top pond. This is because the fish will devour it- fact.

Reckon there may be a third pond in the pipeline.

The floating plant I cannot think of the name, its not native :eek: and very fast growing but serves a purpose here. When spawn is laid in the main fish pond its on top of this plant which conceals it for a short time from the fish, until we move the spawn to the other pond. Bucketfulls of the plant are removed every month or two to give other plants more room but in winter its left to grow coz it protects fish/ pond from the elements.

You seem to have a good system going there! Transferring the frog spawn to the smaller pond is and excellent idea, best of both, tbh.
I'm keen to keep to the native plants for my pond, and even those have to be thinned out regularly, but I can see how it suits yours to have that lush growth for protection, etc. Looks lovely, too!

muckyhands

Rancid wrote: »

You seem to have a good system going there! Transferring the frog spawn to the smaller pond is and excellent idea, best of both, tbh.
I'm keen to keep to the native plants for my pond, and even those have to be thinned out regularly, but I can see how it suits yours to have that lush growth for protection, etc. Looks lovely, too!

Thanks, I know its not ideal and if I had my way it would be a fish free zone in the main pond but at least the frogs are given a chance and it has/ does work thus far. In the last few years the frogs have started returning to the top 'frog' pond to lay their eggs, as well as the main pond too.

I will be doing a pond for myself and the other half at some stage, and I do want it to be for wildlife, you cant beat native plants. I cant imagine not hearing the frogs croaking away and would love to have a place for newts and other wildlife too.

Discodog

There are lots of different ways to protect spawn, tadpoles, fry etc. For example create a shallow "beach" & then use a line of stones to prevent the fish from entering it. I have also used plastic mesh stood from the base of the pond to just under the surface to fence off an area. You need to keep the water level pretty constant for these methods to work. Feeding the fish every day also helps.

Degsy

If anybody has any spare pondweed,daphnia etc i'd love to have some for my own pond.

paddy147

Instead of ......."the hills are alive with the sound of music".........


......."the pond is alive with the sight of Tadpoles"........


Loads of them too,as of this evening..

goz83

I just recently finished my pond. I live in a housing estate in Dublin and it's in the front garden. It's not exactly suitable for frogs, as they would have nowhere to go, even if I gave them an escape route from the pond. It looks like a jacuzzi its internal size is approx 6x4ft and is layered to approx 4ft deep. It's tiled with indian slate and I have a strip of led lighting under the inner lip to light the pond at night. I just fitted a big bucket filter the other day, because the water was full of single celled algae and visibility was poor. Now it's crystal clear. Tap water has not been harmful as far as i can see. I just keep a few gold fish and koi in it though.

wildlifeboy

plus one on the pond plants. I would love some floaters. some rushs or anything that will take really. if anyone wants to give me some i would drive anywhere to pick them up and sort you out with a few bob or a few mature tadpoles