Garden Pond

Half-cocked

I am currently building a large patio to replace a rotten deck in my garden. I am going to incorporate a rectangular pond 3m x 1.6m stocked with native pond life. I am designing it with a 'shallow end' to allow amphibians etc to climb out easily and move out into the garden via a couple of passages under the patio slabs (this will also be an overflow if the water level gets too high).

If I build in some extra 'voids' under the patio slabs accessible from the pond, would they be suitable for amphibians to hibernate in? Any design features I should be thinking about? Obviously they would need to be a bit higher up than the overflow to prevent them filling full of water. Any ideas welcome!

magicbastarder

i can't see voids doing any harm; AFAIK frogs will often hibernate under stones.
how deep do you plan on making the pond?

Half-cocked

magicbastarder wrote: »

i can't see voids doing any harm; AFAIK frogs will often hibernate under stones.
how deep do you plan on making the pond?

About 70cm in the centre with a ledge 30-40cm deep running all around for shallow water plants.

magicbastarder

sounds about the same depth as mine; i created two shelves for plants, one about 15cm deep, the other about 25cm. the pond seems happy enough.

recedite

Critters will be able to climb out no matter what. I'd advise shallower at the edges, but for the safety of kids more than anything.

Your tunnels down to the water sound like a rat tourist attraction.
The best thing for amphibians is to allow land vegetation grow right up to the water, and spill over into it, at least on one side of the pond. Then a pile of rotting logs just beyond that.

magicbastarder

yeah, we have a ground cover that's perfectly happy growing into water, which is great for masking the edge of the pond. can't for the life of me remember what it's called - small leaves, yellow flowers.

Half-cocked

recedite wrote: »

Your tunnels down to the water sound like a rat tourist attraction.

The local urban foxes take care of any rodent issues around here:D

Capercaillie

Set up a water diverter. Had one for my ponds in my previous house. Water diverter collected rain water from roof. Stored water in a water butt and had a hose pipe from water diverter to pond. It kept fresh water going into the pond constantly. I never had as problem with algae.

After you fill your pond leave it settle for a few weeks, till chlorine evaporates. Then source some water from a wild pond. I collected around 50 litres of pond water from pollardstown fen. The water will be full of tiny invertebrates and pond micro-organisms. It "seeds" your new pond. Just be careful, you can't take plants from pollardstown fen, but no harm taking some pond water.

I got great enjoyment from the ponds, newts and frogs, damselflies. I hope they haven't been filled in by the new house owners.

Only use native plants in your ponds, provides for a better pond eco-system. Be careful with plants like bulrush, they can take over a small pond

magicbastarder

i have bulrush in my pond, but it's in an old cat litter tray, so the roots can't get out. and i don't think it's just a case of them taking over, i was warned some species have spear like roots which could potentially puncture a liner.

i found some tiny clams in my pond last summer. how they got there, i could only guess at it being a pond plant.

Half-cocked

Capercaillie wrote: »

Set up a water diverter. Had one for my ponds in my previous house. Water diverter collected rain water from roof. Stored water in a water butt and had a hose pipe from water diverter to pond. It kept fresh water going into the pond constantly. I never had as problem with algae.

Great idea. There is a drain pipe nearby. Easy enough to run a pipe under the patio from the downpipe to the pond.