Fantastic thanks so much - I feel I can keep this pond going and that would be amazing.
I also have a fish/wildlife pond. I stop feeding my fish when the weather turns cooler and the fish begin to disappear, down into the sludge and plant roots in the bottom of the pond. I do not start feeding them again until I see them appearing near the surface, usually in April/May time. Be guided by the weather and the fish, not a calender date. I have frogs, toads, and newts along with shubunkins, comets, and Orfe. I do not have koi because they tend to root around in plant pots and would grow too big for my pond. It sounds as if your pond is well-balanced and working well so leave it alone until the Spring when you can wait, watch, learn and enjoy.
We had a very large pond at the last house - complete with koi and other fish. It also had loads of toad/frog spawn etc. Much easier with a large area. The algae and blanketweed were minimal as it was spring fed, so that helped. Fewer nutrients, despite the fish. Once weather warms up, if you have any problems with algae etc, you'll get plenty of help in dealing with it @lynwzeKhtb1, but it's all part of the natural process in a wildlife pond.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Perhaps the fish in mine are shubunkins and not koi. They look similar and I just assumed I was looking at koi. I will not take all the algae out, but check on levels in the spring. For now I will just watch for possible beings in there. Not sure that I would get newts in a city pond but wish it were possible.
Perhaps the fish in mine are shubunkins and not koi. They look similar and I just assumed I was looking at koi. I will not take all the algae out, but check on levels in the spring. For now I will just watch for possible beings in there. Not sure that I would get newts in a city pond but wish it were possible.
Koi have long whiskers which trail from near their mouths. They can grow to several feet in length. There are 4 in a local clay pit which measure around 3/4 ft long. Shubunkins are rather like goldfish in shape and behavior but coloured predominately grey, silver, black, and or red/orange speckles, and blotches.
I've turned those to make it easier - there's a permanent glitch which is a pain. You have duckweed in there - not algae, which you'll need to keep scooping out with a net. It's quite a common problem for many people, but isn't hugely damaging in any way. The pieces of ash foliage could be removed too. If there's an ash tree close by, netting in autumn will help with that The more worrying thing is the liner. It looks as if the pond hasn't been very well constructed because you shouldn't be able to see great swathes of it. All those big folds should be smoothed out during construction, before filling. That may need addressing at some point. The water level is also very low which could be because of ongoing drought from earlier in the year, although that shouldn't be the case by now unless you're in a very, very dry part of the country. If it's only at one part - it suggests the pond simply isn't level. That's also a bit of a problem because you're seeing a lot of liner etc that you shouldn't see. Unfortunately, it would mean quite a bit of work to sort it all out.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
At this time of year, all I would do is skim the fallen leaves and duckweed from the surface of the water. It is not the time of year to be doing anything else.
I've turned those to make it easier - there's a permanent glitch which is a pain. You have duckweed in there - not algae, which you'll need to keep scooping out with a net. It's quite a common problem for many people, but isn't hugely damaging in any way. The pieces of ash foliage could be removed too. If there's an ash tree close by, netting in autumn will help with that The more worrying thing is the liner. It looks as if the pond hasn't been very well constructed because you shouldn't be able to see great swathes of it. All those big folds should be smoothed out during construction, before filling. That may need addressing at some point. The water level is also very low which could be because of ongoing drought from earlier in the year, although that shouldn't be the case by now unless you're in a very, very dry part of the country. If it's only at one part - it suggests the pond simply isn't level. That's also a bit of a problem because you're seeing a lot of liner etc that you shouldn't see. Unfortunately, it would mean quite a bit of work to sort it all out.
Thanks so much for all your advice. There is a lot of liner showing all around the pond which is ugly and did make me wonder about how sound the construction is. The ponds at the back are more “thrown together”. The pond isn’t even, it’s on a steep slope in the front garden, as my house is quite a bit lower than the road. This also worries me in case the liner fails and I get a flood of water.
My options are:
1. drain it (after spring to avoid killing froglets?) and move all contents to a better constructed pond in new location. I think I would have to get landscape help for this. Would the frogs find the new pond?
I want to use back garden mostly for growing veg and fruit - but can’t see a pond affecting that? 2. drain and don’t replace. How sad for wildlife though. Not my preferred option and I have a fairly large back garden to combine all three current ponds
It's possible to empty ponds and sort out the existing site then put everything back in, but it's a tricky time of year to do it. However, it may be the case that you just have to do it. It can be very difficult to level up a site. Just looking at your pic above - it seems like a hole's just been made and the liner just shoved randomly into place with those bits of rock/paving holding it in place, so it does look like a very poor job indeed. I'd be inclined to get stuck in and sort it asap, but others would probably say wait. Frogs and toads only hibernate in ponds for a short time - they don't live there permanently. If you decide to make a new site [the best solution] the frogs will find it, so don't worry about that. If you have the room to do that - then go for it Later in the year is a better time for decanting and sorting the existing one, but no matter when you do it, there will be casualties. The more of the bottom layer of 'stuff' you can shift, the better, as there will be all sorts of stuff in there. A pond can actually be an asset if you're growing veg, because you'll attract pollinators, but of course - it can also attract less desirable things like slugs/snails. That's gardening though!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
thanks so much - I feel I can keep this pond going and that would be amazing.
I do not start feeding them again until I see them appearing near the surface, usually in April/May time. Be guided by the weather and the fish, not a calender date.
I have frogs, toads, and newts along with shubunkins, comets, and Orfe. I do not have koi because they tend to root around in plant pots and would grow too big for my pond. It sounds as if your pond is well-balanced and working well so leave it alone until the Spring when you can wait, watch, learn and enjoy.
The algae and blanketweed were minimal as it was spring fed, so that helped. Fewer nutrients, despite the fish.
Once weather warms up, if you have any problems with algae etc, you'll get plenty of help in dealing with it @lynwzeKhtb1, but it's all part of the natural process in a wildlife pond.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I will not take all the algae out, but check on levels in the spring.
For now I will just watch for possible beings in there. Not sure that I would get newts in a city pond but wish it were possible.
Shubunkins are rather like goldfish in shape and behavior but coloured predominately grey, silver, black, and or red/orange speckles, and blotches.
I've turned those to make it easier - there's a permanent glitch which is a pain.
You have duckweed in there - not algae, which you'll need to keep scooping out with a net. It's quite a common problem for many people, but isn't hugely damaging in any way. The pieces of ash foliage could be removed too. If there's an ash tree close by, netting in autumn will help with that
The more worrying thing is the liner. It looks as if the pond hasn't been very well constructed because you shouldn't be able to see great swathes of it. All those big folds should be smoothed out during construction, before filling. That may need addressing at some point. The water level is also very low which could be because of ongoing drought from earlier in the year, although that shouldn't be the case by now unless you're in a very, very dry part of the country. If it's only at one part - it suggests the pond simply isn't level. That's also a bit of a problem because you're seeing a lot of liner etc that you shouldn't see. Unfortunately, it would mean quite a bit of work to sort it all out.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
1. drain it (after spring to avoid killing froglets?) and move all contents to a better constructed pond in new location. I think I would have to get landscape help for this. Would the frogs find the new pond?
2. drain and don’t replace. How sad for wildlife though. Not my preferred option and I have a fairly large back garden to combine all three current ponds
I'd be inclined to get stuck in and sort it asap, but others would probably say wait. Frogs and toads only hibernate in ponds for a short time - they don't live there permanently. If you decide to make a new site [the best solution] the frogs will find it, so don't worry about that. If you have the room to do that - then go for it
Later in the year is a better time for decanting and sorting the existing one, but no matter when you do it, there will be casualties. The more of the bottom layer of 'stuff' you can shift, the better, as there will be all sorts of stuff in there.
A pond can actually be an asset if you're growing veg, because you'll attract pollinators, but of course - it can also attract less desirable things like slugs/snails. That's gardening though!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...