Rescuing a poorly pond
HyppyByker
Posts: 146
Put a pond in 6 years ago and in my innocence read too many different articles and got it wrong. It's a wildlife pond and due to various reasons I didn't clear the dead foliage out for a year or so.
I've done that now (very smelly!) but the water is very brown - bits in suspension. Many of the plants have died and bog bean took over - I've pulled out as much of that as I can.
I'm looking to replant and see there are plants that are good at taking up nitrates - will these help clear the water?
I put gravel of various sizes in the bottom of the pond and I have a 'soft' liner on top of the butyl. Should I remove the gravel?
There's various products for clearing the water but as it's a wildlife pond I want to be careful - I don't need it clear for aesthetics but I'm sure the wildlife isn't happy with it as it is - I've lost most of by frogspawn in the last 2 years.
Any help and advice gratefully received!
Posts
We have a very successful wildlife pond (frogs, pond snails and newts, grass snake visiting etc).
I occasionally use Blagdon barley straw extract and Blagdon sludge buster ... both harmless to wildlife but useful in a pond which gets dead leaves and blanket weed from time to time.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanx Dove - I've used both of those before as well but I'm not getting blanket weed and haven't for some time (just duck weed)
Will try the Sludgebuster again tho
We find the pond snails munch the duckweed ... we bought some online and they've had babies so now we have loads ... we lay on our tums and watch the upside-down snails munching away
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Your water may clear as debris settles. Either way, I have never found that wildlife objected to muddy water, it is humans who value a crystal clear pond. Oxygenating plants should improve water quality but duckweed is natural and will do no harm. We net ours if it gets too bad and leave it to drain for a day or two before it goes on the compost. As to the frogspawn - do you get newts in the pond? They will eat the frog part of the spawn as soon as it appears and that may be where yours is going. I have taken to removing a clump, putting it in a bucket until it is swimming strongly and then popping it back in. It's the only way to save them. Toad spawn must taste bad, it is never touched.
Thanx everyone, I'll do what I can and see what works
I don't have newts though I wish I did!