No more fish, definitely. I mean no ornamental pond fish, maybe some tiny sticklebacks or something? I already have a wildlife pond so i really dont know what to do. Wish i had never started, of course!
The shelf is wide and leans backward. I could take the stones off and put gravel and plants on. I think i had better go see some other ponds and work it out.
In pic 2 there seems to be quite a height above the edging rocks? Is it the same height all the way round your pond? I think your idea ? of rock edging is a good one but you have just underestimated the size of the rocks required. What you need are muckle big flattish stones sitting on that shelf - ideally ones that sit proud of the surrounding ground. Just as if you are building the first course of a dry stone wall. I will get a pic tomorrow and show what I mean. Then fill the water up until it covers the base of the stones.
To give your fish a hiding place in the meantime put some lengths of plastic pipe into the pond - something with a diameter of around six inches and a few feet long. You can always remove them when the plants grow and provide cover.
Don't despair!
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Ah ok yes im with you, so maybe the shelf is too deep. I have loads of stone, i suppose i was using little ones first as they will be covered by bigger.
I don't know if these pictures of biggish rocks around the edge of our pond/waterfall will help at all a1154. Some are mortared in and others not, but it would take more than a gentle kick to dislodge them. Our liner is very, very thick, so hopefully it won't pierce easily.
Sorry about your fish a1154. It is easy to make mistakes, ponds can be quite complex to make - ours certainly was!
Mine is a very simple pond - about 10ft by 9ft, 3 ft deep. Dug it myself. Has two shelves, the lower one for plants, the higher one for the edging rock. A little beachy bit at one edge. Here is a pic of the stones I used - the majority I lifted myself, a couple of them I needed a hand. It was done about 16 years ago. The furthest away side I kept the surplus liner with holes in it to make a bog garden. The planting changes over the years - some years the pond looks quite overgrown and then I fall out on it and it takes a further few years to grow back.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
I tried to find a pic of it when it was first done which would have been clearer but can't - sorry! My stones came from a drystane dyke in the garden so they were fairly rectangular in shape with a flat bottom.
I started off my pond with six goldfish at £1 each so they were tiny. Get some of those and put the plastic pipes in the bottom of the pond. I'm sure they will survive the otters if that's what it is.
I'll go out tomorrow and take a better picture.
Last edited: 06 May 2017 00:17:28
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
I can hardly wait for our pond to look more natural hogweed, as yours does now. I take my hat off to you for making this beautiful addition to your garden - we had to admit defeat and bring some garden people in to finish ours off - I just can't lift heavy stone anymore - or my back won't let me. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
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No more fish, definitely. I mean no ornamental pond fish, maybe some tiny sticklebacks or something? I already have a wildlife pond so i really dont know what to do. Wish i had never started, of course!
The shelf is wide and leans backward. I could take the stones off and put gravel and plants on. I think i had better go see some other ponds and work it out.
In pic 2 there seems to be quite a height above the edging rocks? Is it the same height all the way round your pond? I think your idea ? of rock edging is a good one but you have just underestimated the size of the rocks required. What you need are muckle big flattish stones sitting on that shelf - ideally ones that sit proud of the surrounding ground. Just as if you are building the first course of a dry stone wall. I will get a pic tomorrow and show what I mean. Then fill the water up until it covers the base of the stones.
To give your fish a hiding place in the meantime put some lengths of plastic pipe into the pond - something with a diameter of around six inches and a few feet long. You can always remove them when the plants grow and provide cover.
Don't despair!
Yes its a biggish drop all round.
Ah ok yes im with you, so maybe the shelf is too deep. I have loads of stone, i suppose i was using little ones first as they will be covered by bigger.
i think a pic would help thanks.
All the fish are killed.
Sorry about your fish a1154. It is easy to make mistakes, ponds can be quite complex to make - ours certainly was!
Last edited: 04 May 2017 23:36:52
Mine is a very simple pond - about 10ft by 9ft, 3 ft deep. Dug it myself. Has two shelves, the lower one for plants, the higher one for the edging rock. A little beachy bit at one edge. Here is a pic of the stones I used - the majority I lifted myself, a couple of them I needed a hand. It was done about 16 years ago. The furthest away side I kept the surplus liner with holes in it to make a bog garden. The planting changes over the years - some years the pond looks quite overgrown and then I fall out on it and it takes a further few years to grow back.
I tried to find a pic of it when it was first done which would have been clearer but can't - sorry! My stones came from a drystane dyke in the garden so they were fairly rectangular in shape with a flat bottom.
I started off my pond with six goldfish at £1 each so they were tiny. Get some of those and put the plastic pipes in the bottom of the pond. I'm sure they will survive the otters if that's what it is.
I'll go out tomorrow and take a better picture.
Last edited: 06 May 2017 00:17:28
I can hardly wait for our pond to look more natural hogweed, as yours does now. I take my hat off to you for making this beautiful addition to your garden - we had to admit defeat and bring some garden people in to finish ours off - I just can't lift heavy stone anymore - or my back won't let me. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Thanks for pics hogweed and GD, very useful. I will try the muckle big stones and remove the smaller ones, see how that looks.
Im an indoor fishkeeper, so losing these was really upsetting, so no more. The otters keep returning to check, so its not a good idea.