Renovating and extending my wildlife pond
Discussion
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
How’s the digging going?
It's done, thanks for asking! I'll get my photos sorted out and a proper update posted later in the week.I lost a few weekends due to family events, coming down with a bad cold and the hole got half full of rainwater during a storm and it took a week to dry out.
I got the liner in and filled it a week ago and planted it yesterday. The water level has dropped about 2 inches in a week of dry weather, which seemed like a lot. I wondered if there was some initial compression due to the weight of the water as we as normal evaporation. We are due a lot of rain on Tuesday. I'm hoping the new water butt I fitted yesterday will fill up enough to top the pond back up.
I like those tall reeds you've got in yours. Some of the plants I got look a bit boring, like normal land plants, so I might swap some of them if I find some better.
Two inches is more than I’d expect for evaporation, so perhaps you’re right that the liner has settled.
The reed-like plants are reed mace. You need to choose the species carefully, because many of them are very invasive and will take over a pond. The one I’ve got, which I managed to preserve from Pond v1.0, is Typha shuttleworthii, which is a less invasive species. I planted it in a bucket of pond soil with no holes in it, which limits its ability to spread. It produces attractive brown seed heads later in the year.
I also have a recently planted Typha minima, which is a dwarf species as its name suggests. That might be a good choice as well.
The reed-like plants are reed mace. You need to choose the species carefully, because many of them are very invasive and will take over a pond. The one I’ve got, which I managed to preserve from Pond v1.0, is Typha shuttleworthii, which is a less invasive species. I planted it in a bucket of pond soil with no holes in it, which limits its ability to spread. It produces attractive brown seed heads later in the year.
I also have a recently planted Typha minima, which is a dwarf species as its name suggests. That might be a good choice as well.
Very nice, I'll look out for some of those.
So here's the build. The pond in its finished state is 1.25m wide by 2.75m long. 0.5m deep. I intended to go to 0.65m, but I encountered a layer of pebbles and sand that was really hard to dig out, so I decided that will have to do. I planned it as a rough curvy triangle so it would suit my plan of having something at each corner of the lawn. I had to dig out some border plants and a prickly bush as I was worried about the roots.
A storm in the night left it half full of water and it took about a week to drain. The left and closest sides are the marginal planting shelves. The right side is a sloping beach so wildlife can get in and out.
Underlay going in on top of weed membrane as cushion for the liner. There was supposed to be root barrier as well, but it was so awkward to place it properly due to the shape with the curves and the shelves, I gave up on it. The EPDM feels tough, so hopefully it will be ok. Most roots that I dug out nearby were quite shallow, so I might try to make a separate perimeter cut into the ground and push in the root barrier as a perimeter wall.
Filling up and trying to avoid creases, which proved as difficult as I expected. As the OP mentioned, a round pond would definitely be easier.
The shelves were supposed to be 20cm deep, but they ended up 17cm due to the narrower end of the pond being slightly lower and it should be.
Trimmed off the liner and replacing the turvs.
Added play sand, pebbles and random bits of wood to hide the membrane folds in the shallow sections. Here you can see the water level has dropped quite a bit after a week. The OPs idea of siliconing ridges of pebbles in the beach area to stop them sliding into the deeper section is a good one. I'd hoped my slope would be gentle enough that it would not be needed, but that only half worked. My plan is to tuck small loose plants in the folds held down by weights. As the water is colouring up, they aren't particularly noticeable anymore anyway.
I also added dechlorinator and filter bacteria to start off the nitrogen cycle. I'm not planning on having a filter, but for a tenner for the bacteria, I thought it can't do any harm.
A few days later it got really foamy after raining on and off all day. I topped it up with rainwater from my new water butt. I was really pleased with how quickly the butt filled up with rain.
The foam went in a couple of days, but we are certainly in the algae bloom phase now. It should settle down when the nutrients in the tap water from the original filling have reduced.
When the plants get bigger, I'll probably remove a few and just keep my favourites. I really like the lilly pads. I need to put in some more ground cover and hidey holes too.
So here's the build. The pond in its finished state is 1.25m wide by 2.75m long. 0.5m deep. I intended to go to 0.65m, but I encountered a layer of pebbles and sand that was really hard to dig out, so I decided that will have to do. I planned it as a rough curvy triangle so it would suit my plan of having something at each corner of the lawn. I had to dig out some border plants and a prickly bush as I was worried about the roots.
A storm in the night left it half full of water and it took about a week to drain. The left and closest sides are the marginal planting shelves. The right side is a sloping beach so wildlife can get in and out.
Underlay going in on top of weed membrane as cushion for the liner. There was supposed to be root barrier as well, but it was so awkward to place it properly due to the shape with the curves and the shelves, I gave up on it. The EPDM feels tough, so hopefully it will be ok. Most roots that I dug out nearby were quite shallow, so I might try to make a separate perimeter cut into the ground and push in the root barrier as a perimeter wall.
Filling up and trying to avoid creases, which proved as difficult as I expected. As the OP mentioned, a round pond would definitely be easier.
The shelves were supposed to be 20cm deep, but they ended up 17cm due to the narrower end of the pond being slightly lower and it should be.
Trimmed off the liner and replacing the turvs.
Added play sand, pebbles and random bits of wood to hide the membrane folds in the shallow sections. Here you can see the water level has dropped quite a bit after a week. The OPs idea of siliconing ridges of pebbles in the beach area to stop them sliding into the deeper section is a good one. I'd hoped my slope would be gentle enough that it would not be needed, but that only half worked. My plan is to tuck small loose plants in the folds held down by weights. As the water is colouring up, they aren't particularly noticeable anymore anyway.
I also added dechlorinator and filter bacteria to start off the nitrogen cycle. I'm not planning on having a filter, but for a tenner for the bacteria, I thought it can't do any harm.
A few days later it got really foamy after raining on and off all day. I topped it up with rainwater from my new water butt. I was really pleased with how quickly the butt filled up with rain.
The foam went in a couple of days, but we are certainly in the algae bloom phase now. It should settle down when the nutrients in the tap water from the original filling have reduced.
When the plants get bigger, I'll probably remove a few and just keep my favourites. I really like the lilly pads. I need to put in some more ground cover and hidey holes too.
Turn7 said:
Nice job Alex….
Thank you. It certainly was one of the harder projects I've done at home, though not as ambitious as the OPs! I made the deep section of my pond all the way along to get a few more litres in and make up for the pond not being very wide.Looking at the photos, I think I will remove most of the colourful large pebbles I bought for the beach edge as they are making it look a bit cluttered and detracting from the natural look I was trying to achieve.
Looks great!
It definitely will go through phases as it settles down; the water will go murky but then quite abruptly clear.
Has the wildlife started moving in yet? Pond skaters are usually first, but you’ll probably also see damselflies and dragonflies soon. Amphibians will move in early next spring.
It definitely will go through phases as it settles down; the water will go murky but then quite abruptly clear.
Has the wildlife started moving in yet? Pond skaters are usually first, but you’ll probably also see damselflies and dragonflies soon. Amphibians will move in early next spring.
I saw a couple of what looked like small beetles diving to and from the bottom, however it mainly has attracted these tiny things, which I believe to be mosquito larvae 
I'm not sure whether or not to get a fine fish net to try to scoop them out with, or leave them to try to attract predators. Getting a bubbler or a small fountain to deter mosquitos from laying is something I need to seriously think about now.
I'm not sure whether or not to get a fine fish net to try to scoop them out with, or leave them to try to attract predators. Getting a bubbler or a small fountain to deter mosquitos from laying is something I need to seriously think about now.
Yeah, those are mosquito larvae. All part of the ecosystem. They’ll be kept in check once you’ve got some damselfly and/or dragonfly nymphs in there, which will happen in due course. I’ve been seeing damsels, but haven’t yet seen any dragons - probably a bit early yet.
If you introduce too much agitation to the water surface it may also deter the damsels and dragons from laying their eggs, which would be a shame. Some dragons lay their eggs by flying low over the water and dipping their tail to release an egg. A fountain might make it impossible for them to do that.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the mosquito larvae. When they turn into adults on the wing, they’ll encourage dragonflies into your garden to eat them. Swifts will have them as well.
Whether to add a fountain is a fundamental choice: is your pond primarily an ornamental feature, or is your main aim to attract wildlife? If the latter, I personally wouldn’t - but it’s your choice!
If you introduce too much agitation to the water surface it may also deter the damsels and dragons from laying their eggs, which would be a shame. Some dragons lay their eggs by flying low over the water and dipping their tail to release an egg. A fountain might make it impossible for them to do that.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the mosquito larvae. When they turn into adults on the wing, they’ll encourage dragonflies into your garden to eat them. Swifts will have them as well.
Whether to add a fountain is a fundamental choice: is your pond primarily an ornamental feature, or is your main aim to attract wildlife? If the latter, I personally wouldn’t - but it’s your choice!
AlexC1981 said:
I'm not sure whether or not to get a fine fish net to try to scoop them out with, or leave them to try to attract predators. Getting a bubbler or a small fountain to deter mosquitos from laying is something I need to seriously think about now.
Not read all of this thread so I don't know if yours is a wildlife pond but I'd leave them be as its just part of having pond and attracting wildlife, everything plays a part and those larvae won't be there foreverIt is supposed to be a wildlife pond, but it is also quite near the house. This was intentional so I can watch the wildlife through the patio doors from my settee. Having seen how many larvae are in there, I'm worried I'll get clouds of gnats flying in when I open the windows in the summer.
My original intention was for a fountain or some sort of water feature because I like the sound they make, but I went off the idea when I read about the affect on wildlife. I might put a small one up the far end to make a nice sound and to reduce the area gnats, dragonflies etc. can lay eggs in, but not eliminate it completely.
Something like this maybe:
My original intention was for a fountain or some sort of water feature because I like the sound they make, but I went off the idea when I read about the affect on wildlife. I might put a small one up the far end to make a nice sound and to reduce the area gnats, dragonflies etc. can lay eggs in, but not eliminate it completely.
Something like this maybe:
That would be fine. Also, because it’s not spraying water up into the air, you won’t get as much evaporation as you would with a fountain.
The other risk of a fountain is that a windy day could blow some or even all of its water out of bounds, thus draining the pond.
I quite like the idea of having water flowing through a pot like that.
The other risk of a fountain is that a windy day could blow some or even all of its water out of bounds, thus draining the pond.
I quite like the idea of having water flowing through a pot like that.
They will certainly eat some things, they are predators of small invertebrates and will likely nip the tail off the odd tadpole. But I take the view that they are part of the species assemblage we would find in natural waters and deserve a place as much as anything else. And I really hate mosquitoes.
I also hate mosquitos. One damp evening when I was still digging the pond I got bitten twelve times. I must have been showing some builder's bum as two were just in at at the top of the crack 
The following night in bed was terrible! I bought antihistamine tablets the next day, which really helped a lot.
Anyway... I visited a couple of pot shops over the weekend and set up a little waterfall. It's only temporarily positioned at the moment. I need to get a narrow slab to set the pot slightly further over the pond so water does not splash out.
Alternatively I might use the tall pot you can see behind in this photo. The downside of this pot is the bottom sticks up quite high when the opening is tilted downwards, which is necessary stop the water trickling underneath and out of the pond.
Making the pump safe for wildlife with two plant baskets and a filter media bag:
The following night in bed was terrible! I bought antihistamine tablets the next day, which really helped a lot.Anyway... I visited a couple of pot shops over the weekend and set up a little waterfall. It's only temporarily positioned at the moment. I need to get a narrow slab to set the pot slightly further over the pond so water does not splash out.
Alternatively I might use the tall pot you can see behind in this photo. The downside of this pot is the bottom sticks up quite high when the opening is tilted downwards, which is necessary stop the water trickling underneath and out of the pond.
Making the pump safe for wildlife with two plant baskets and a filter media bag:
I do like the pot waterfall idea.
Before you finalise it, I would recommend you coat the inside of the pot with something to make it waterproof. Perhaps a couple of coats of PVA or some other kind of sealant? Earthenware being porous, the pot will absorb water and it’ll continually evaporate through the outer sides of the pot.
Before you finalise it, I would recommend you coat the inside of the pot with something to make it waterproof. Perhaps a couple of coats of PVA or some other kind of sealant? Earthenware being porous, the pot will absorb water and it’ll continually evaporate through the outer sides of the pot.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff