BUILDING A FISH POND FOR YOUR OWN BACKYARD GARDEN

 

BUILDING A FISH POND FOR YOUR OWN BACKYARD GARDEN

DIYs

The process of creating the perfect pond for your backyard garden can be completed by you or by hiring a professional to do it for you. It's really not that difficult, but it does take some research and a basic understanding of landscaping in order to get it done correctly.

To get started, you should either get a decent book and read up on the subject, or talk to some friends and specialists about the possibility of creating an outdoor water feature for yourself in your garden. For the time being, here is a little explanation on how to construct that pond in your garden that you've always wanted to have.

Place the Pond in the proper location.

Essentially, the first step in creating a pond is to choose a good location in your landscape where you may dig a hole. The pond's size and depth should be proportional to the size of your garden. A pond liner will also be required for the pond project. You have the option of purchasing and installing a premade fiberglass piece, or you can free form your pond using rubber roofing material or something similar. In any scenario, a pond liner is required in order to prevent the water from draining away.

Choosing the appropriate depth for your pond is important if you intend to breed fish in it in the future. It is necessary to ensure that the pond is deep enough for the fish to live in. In colder locations, the pond should be deeper than the frost line, while yet providing enough space for the fish to move around in when they need to.

Ponds should not be located near trees, in shaded places, or in low-lying terrain. Plant life, particularly lilies, as well as fish, require the warmth of the sun. Falling leaves can also accumulate quickly, becoming a cleaning nightmare for the homeowner. Rainwater runoff from low-lying areas enters the pond in massive quantities, causing flooding. Water runoff from pesticides and fertilizers may contain compounds that are toxic to pond vegetation and fish, especially if they are not treated properly.

Filtration

It is also necessary for the owners to think about how they will filter out the garbage that accumulates in the pond while they are building it. It's important to note that the larger the water surface area, the greater the water's ability to handle the waste produced by the fish. Please keep in mind that you will require a substrate or gravel to be placed in order for a bacteria bed to develop and aid in the maintenance of healthy water quality in the tank. You may get high-quality filters and gravel at your local pet supply store.

It is best to wait until you have finished laying down the gravel on the bottom of the pond and installing a suitable filtering machine before starting on the rest of the project. You should introduce each fish to the pond one at a time, just as you would in an aquarium or a fish tank.

Allow for some adjustment time for the pond's ecology to accommodate the growing population. If you dump all of the fish you intend to put in the pond at once, it is likely that they will not survive since the natural filtering of the bacteria will not be able to handle the waste produced by the fishes and the food they consume.

Filters can also help to guarantee that your pond does not become a mosquito breeding ground by removing stagnant water. Mozzies deposit their eggs in stagnant water, therefore anything that disturbs the eggs will assist to prevent the pond from becoming a breeding ground for mosquitos. Filters assist in keeping the water clean, but regular cleaning is still required to keep the pond's quality high.