Do you like the sound of running water? Do you find the sound relaxing? Well, you can easily create the sound of moving water in your own garden. You can put in a fish pond or a water garden. So, if you think that your garden requires landscaping, it might be a good idea to consider a fish pond or water garden.
People think that a fish pond takes lot of looking after, but that is not inevitably the case. The truth is that the bigger the fish pond, the less work you have to put into it. This is because a large pond can create its own ecosystem, whereas a small fish pond requires help.
The ways that you can help a small fish pond be a decent environment for your fish are as follows:
Pond Filters – use a pond filter with a good pump. Do not forget that you could use a solar powered pump. It will save on the environment and on your wallet. You should use a pond filter on a small pond, because the ecosystem cannot cope with all the plant waste of a small ornamental pond on its own. A pond pump will feed the filtration system and a waterfall or fountain if you want.
Your pond filtration system should be left running twenty-four hours a day, but you can not just set it and forget it. Make sure that the pump is running daily and keep the filter as clean as necessary for it to do its job. You may find that you have to clean it two or three times a week in the summer and autumn but only once a week in the winter and spring.
Leaf Netting: stop leaves from clogging up your pond in the autumn. The net should be poised a foot or so above the pond to prevent autumn leaves falling into the water and rotting.
Feeding: all fish should be fed fish food, not bread or scraps. Some fish ought to have specific fish food in order to preserve their colour. When you buy your fish, the salesperson should inform you what they eat. In general, the larger the pond the less trouble feeding becomes as they will eat natural food like insects, grubs, larvae and flies.
Fish need less food in the winter when they become semi-dormant and live off the fat reserves that they built up in the warmer months, so give food often in the summer and autumn, but less often in the winter. You must look to see if surplus food is left floating on the surface.
Winter: make sure that there is a hole in the ice so that the water can take in oxygen and the fish can feed if they wish to. You can buy a floating de-icer or some people float a round football in a hoola-hoop, which seems to work unless the temperature gets very low.
In fact, the hoola-hoop is a good idea all year round really. If you place the food in the hoop, it stays in one place and you can see if you have given too much. It also makes a nice site to see all the fish feeding in a group.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently concerned with water garden pumps. If you are interested in a Solar Powered Pond Pump, please go to our web site right away for some extra special deals.
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September 25 2010 | Gardening | No Comments »
Pond building is a difficult but rewarding task that has found a place in the hearts of many home gardeners. There is a unique joy that can only be found when creating and cultivating a balanced ecosystem of plants and aquatic life in the comfort of your own backyard.
Most home pond builders build clinical ponds. They just have a ditch filled with water, add in some plants, fish and a pump for good measure. It’s clean and safe, but if you think about it, it’s nothing more than a fish-inhabited swimming pool. Although there are many water garden enthusiasts, few ever want to make more than a simple, manageable backyard pond.
Every once in a while though, you’ll find an enterprising pond builder who goes against the flow and builds their own wildlife pond.
What Makes a Wildlife Pond
What makes a pond a true wildlife pond? The keyword is life! It is like a natural living thing, an ecosystem capable of keeping itself alive for years. Even the water is full of life.Unlike the clean and clear filtered water of a clinical pond, the water of a wild life pond is “dirty” yet nutrient rich water. Shortly after you finish it, your wildlife pond will transform your backyard into your own personal bog.
Wildlife ponds attract dozens and dozens of insects, birds and other creatures. If you pay close attention, you’ll find that it’s easy to control the pond environment and in so doing, control the organisms that live in your pond!
But how do you start your wildlife pond? The basics are important of course. Build the pond with sloping banks. Line it with natural rocks. Make sure that it receives ample sunlight and shade. All these contribute to the pond’s effectiveness, but it’s still missing one element; the water.
And last but not least, the most important ingredient to making your pond as lively as can be: water from a naturally occurring pond. Just take a quick road trip, find a natural pond and take a bit of water. When you get home, add that water to your own pond. It may not sound like much, but that bit of water makes all the difference.
Phases of Pond Life
So what exactly grows in a wildlife pond? The first members of your pond community will usually be bugs. Drawn by the rich water, dragonflies and other insects will soon find their way into your pond.
Of course, this does have a drawback.
Never fear! Mixing a couple of snails into the mix takes care of some of the mosquitoes that will inevitably spawn in your pond. It’s not enough to really limit the pest population, but that’s where the next part comes in.
As soon as the insect population starts growing, insect predators will start to appear. Frogs, newts and toads will move in to your pond, snacking on the bugs and the bug eggs. They add diversity to your pond life and also serve as natural pest control.
A wildlife pond is a lot messier than a traditional outdoor pond, but maybe that’s just the challenge you need. It’s a rare pond idea that can reward you with a pond that espouses harmony and peace. A place full of life, beauty and balance that’s right outside your window.
Looking for some ideas and inspiration for your outdoor pond, then visit pond-building-mastery.com to find essential tutorials, know-how and tips about pond building.
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November 26 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »