Well, my fish don't eat frog tadpoles. They never get the chance because the newts eat the spawn as soon as it appears. The pond is packed with wildlife, much more than the pond over the hedge which is natural and has no frogs, toads or newts, as well as no fish. It has lots of mosquitoes, which I don't have.
Leaving aside what you put in it, planning a Wildlife Pond is a nice problem to have. I run a large, mature pond (Koi, Rudd, Tench, Goldfish) but if I were setting up a small, quick, WP from scratch I would go for a plumber’s plastic(*) Header Tank, about 3 x 2’, 18” deep, set into the ground, with turf to the edges. Turf helps amphibians come and go. Add bricks and rocks to create a shallow end so you can watch birds having a bath (make sure you can watch from your window). You could even cut an edge in the tank and overlap to another and using a pump, create a flow circuit. I had a friend who did this - the top tank was choked with creepy crawlies and plants - a great natural filtration system, while the lower tank had fishes. You could add a small fountain if you like a bit of bling. Maybe link shallow tank to deeper tank with a ‘stream’ lined with concrete or vinyl. At 18” deep you CAN grow small Lilies (I've done it) and also loads of plants that encourage wildlife. I say just go for it. Experiment, watch what happens, learn, then tweak it to emphasise what you like. It's not a once-only scenario. LIke any garden you can change things. Within a year or two, you'll be an expert, tweaking your pond to suit your preferences.
(*) Before I get flamed on industrial plastics leaching hydrocarbons, volatile compound contaminants, destroying wildlife habitat and environment, I should add I helped a friend with this very project. It has been wildly (wild-lifely) successful for ten years. Not a mutant toad in sight and so many Blackbirds wanting a bath he's thinking of installing a Take-a-Ticket and wait for your number system! So spare me the lectures.
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Well, my fish don't eat frog tadpoles. They never get the chance because the newts eat the spawn as soon as it appears. The pond is packed with wildlife, much more than the pond over the hedge which is natural and has no frogs, toads or newts, as well as no fish. It has lots of mosquitoes, which I don't have.
Leaving aside what you put in it, planning a Wildlife Pond is a nice problem to have. I run a large, mature pond (Koi, Rudd, Tench, Goldfish) but if I were setting up a small, quick, WP from scratch I would go for a plumber’s plastic(*) Header Tank, about 3 x 2’, 18” deep, set into the ground, with turf to the edges. Turf helps amphibians come and go. Add bricks and rocks to create a shallow end so you can watch birds having a bath (make sure you can watch from your window). You could even cut an edge in the tank and overlap to another and using a pump, create a flow circuit. I had a friend who did this - the top tank was choked with creepy crawlies and plants - a great natural filtration system, while the lower tank had fishes. You could add a small fountain if you like a bit of bling. Maybe link shallow tank to deeper tank with a ‘stream’ lined with concrete or vinyl. At 18” deep you CAN grow small Lilies (I've done it) and also loads of plants that encourage wildlife. I say just go for it. Experiment, watch what happens, learn, then tweak it to emphasise what you like. It's not a once-only scenario. LIke any garden you can change things. Within a year or two, you'll be an expert, tweaking your pond to suit your preferences.
(*) Before I get flamed on industrial plastics leaching hydrocarbons, volatile compound contaminants, destroying wildlife habitat and environment, I should add I helped a friend with this very project. It has been wildly (wild-lifely) successful for ten years. Not a mutant toad in sight and so many Blackbirds wanting a bath he's thinking of installing a Take-a-Ticket and wait for your number system! So spare me the lectures.