Ponds are found throughout the British Isles in woodlands, farmers fields, village greens and back gardens amongst other places. Natural ponds can form in natural dips and hollows or they can form themselves after a change to the landscape, as has happened following peat removal in the Norfolk Broads. Man made ponds have been created for many centuries for both functional and aesthetic reasons. They can range from agricultural watering holes to decorative fish ponds and anything in-between.

No matter what the original purpose of the pond it will inevitably attract some wildlife. The more features that a pond possesses, the more wildlife that will be attracted. One important feature that is essential for a pond to attract wildlife, particularly birds, is a gently sloping beach. This will give birds somewhere to access the water safely and does also have the added benefit that any wildlife falling into the pond does have an opportunity to escape.

If you wish to attract wildlife to your pond then the types planting and surrounding areas of the pond will have a strong influence on what type of wildlife thrives. Amphibians will thrive in a marshy wetland type environment surrounding a pond. This can be encouraged through the use of plants that will provide shade and a marshy surround rather than concrete. Certain plants such as reeds and rushes provide this habitat perfectly and also provide stems that are essential for emerging dragonflies.

In nature, a well established pond will have achieved a self contained eco-system that supports the life held within it and possibly around the pond itself. This balance will have been achieved over many years and more importantly without an agenda. The life that is supported in and by the pond will be the life that has found its way there and found that it fits in with balance of the environment. Any organism that doesn’t thrive in the environment will either quickly leave or die. Alternatively an organism may thrive on the pond environment rather than as part of the environment. Examples of this would be a new predator which quickly overhunts or excessively destroys plant life and destabilises the environment. An aggressive algae can have exactly the same effect, and a pond could very quickly become stagnant and die.

When creating a garden ponds environment there are two fundamental choices you can make. You can either create a wildlife pond where you just make it and leave it to develop of its own accord, or quite likely you will have an idea of what you wish your pond to be and will introduce life accordingly. The important concept to understand is that every single life form introduced to the water will have both a beneficial and a negative effect on the water environment. To maintain a healthy environment for the life you have introduced requires either extremely modest desires, or a touch of genius to create a self contained eco-system or an understanding of what pollutants you will need to manage artificially and how you will achieve this.

An issue that is regularly covered in relation to having a pond is pond safety. With distressing stories of children drowning in the family pond it is an issue not to be taken lightly. In addition to these reported stories there are numerous small creatures that meet their ends across the country every year.

As a pond owner these are very relevant issues that should not be dismissed if you wish to enjoy your water garden. A related issue that gets significantly less press are the threats to the safety of the pond itself along with its inhabitants.

One of the biggest modern threats that has played a significant part in the loss of so many ponds on agricultural land is also a significant threat to domestic water gardens. This particular threat is the use of chemicals on surrounding areas that ultimately end up polluting pond water. It is probably no surprise to think of farmers polluting a pond that is highly likely no longer of practical use. As a domestic pond keeper you are probably far less reliant on large scale chemical use but it is still important to minimise the threat to your pond. Even if you yourself do not use chemicals, there is a very real possibility that water run of from a neighbours garden may be introducing fertilisers and other chemicals such as pesticides to your water.

Some simple best practice techniques can minimise much of the risk. This could be ensuring that when it is necessary to use chemicals that you choose a still day. This will avoid chemicals being blown into the water. Even if only spraying downwind then an enclosed garden is probably prone to swirling air currents which may still see your pond contaminated. It is good practice to adopt more natural methods for weed control whenever possible. If you do have the advantage of planning a new pond installation, then give some consideration to its location to minimise the risk of rain water draining towards your pond.

Most pond owners, whether they are keep fish or are water gardeners would prefer to have pristine clear water. Maintaining such a thing will require both management of the water itself and also some consideration of the environment surrounding the pond. One of the primary challenges to your clear water regime will be the existence of algal pond weeds.

An occurrence of pond weed will blight your clear water. However, if your pond left unchecked for long periods in the warmer, sunnier months then very quickly the entire pond surface can be covered in a solid green blanket that is both visually unappealing and also a very real threat to other pond plant life.

The two forms of algal growth which you should prepare to commence battle with are green water and blanket weed. Green water is common in new ponds where the water is finding a natural balance of chemical constituents. If present, the biological filtration system will be developing its bacterial elements whilst at the same time, the plants of the pond will be establishing themselves. Throughout this time the water is a subtly shifting mix of chemicals and possibly unable to self contain this algal growth.

Working on the principle of prevention is better than cure, it is wise to provide some shade around the pond. This simply limits the sunlight available to promote such growth. It is also sensible to ensure that the pond is well stocked with plants that will compete with the algae for the existing sunlight. In tackling an existing issue there are two approaches, UV light and chemical treatments. Whilst chemical treatments are effective they can be expensive and also pose some risk to existing fish and plant life. UV treatment is a simple non-invasive method for tackling this problem.

Blanket weed can again be tackled by competitive planting. There are also other methods available such as electronic systems. One very effective method is simply physically removing the weed. Whilst this approach is never going to tackle the root cause of the problem it is a very effective starting point.

If you’ve never contemplated that question, it may seem like a silly one. There are however many different types of pond. Not just from a construction perspective, but how do you propose to fill your pond?

If your vision is one of a beautifully planted pond that is a host to all manner of wildlife and prized ornamental fish…it may be time to think again! Quite simply your fish will take great delight in feasting on tadpoles, and a healthy stock of Koi will make a meal of much plant life. It is therefore necessary to make some decisions about what you hope to achieve.

Assuming it is your desire to keep fish in the pond, rather than just having a water garden, then it is important to consider carefully how to design the pond for the fish you want to keep. In contrast, if you only want a water garden, then ensure that you choose plants according to the environment you have created, and enjoy the wildlife that will inevitably want to share your creation.

The keeping of fish does place a number of great demands on the pond environment. Fish bring with them a whole chemical process initiated by their own creation of polluting ammonia. Ammonia requires treating through filtration, to ultimately form nitrates. Whilst nitrates are hugely beneficial to the pond plant life they can promote excessive growth of algal blooms and undesirable weeds.

To the novice fish keeper the art of keeping a koi pond may seem like a dark art to be mastered. With many books and websites dedicated to the subtleties of the art it may feel like a very daunting area to understand.
Whilst the value of some basic knowledge on how to identify and manage health issues should never be underestimated, the real art in successful fish keeping is in disease prevention. The sign of a skilled koi keeper is not an intricate knowledge of every treatment available but one who has few health issues.

One of the primary appeals of keeping koi is the attractiveness of their vibrantly coloured markings. In order to appreciate these markings it is desirable to have a clear water environment. This clear water environment contrasts greatly with the environment they will inhabit in nature where there would be high concentration of both organic and inorganic matter suspended in the water.

One of the key elements to a natural pond is the balanced and self contained eco system. Due to the high levels of stock held in all but the most modest of fish ponds, it is impossible to achieve a self contained eco-system in a manmade pond. In order to maintain healthy fish as opposed to managing ailments it is therefore imperative to maintain a high level of water quality. To do this requires a biological filtration system.
In the early days of your koi pond, it is important to test the water regularly and resist any temptation to rush out to over stock the pond. The new pond will take a good while to find a balance with the necessary bacteria and micro organisms for a balanced water environment taking a time to establish themselves.
As a koi pond becomes more heavily stocked the necessary skills of the keeper also increase. It is wise to carefully assess what stock you can manage safely in order to avoid you fish suffering for your mistakes.

With heron numbers gradually on the increase and an ever diminishing number of garden ponds in the UK some simple maths indicates that the risk of a heron taking an interest in your pond, or more importantly, on the inhabitants is on the increase.

In all likelihood, a number of herons are probably well aware of the location of your pond and will probably visit with some regularity. The heron will actually prey on small mammals in addition to fish and one of the key attributes of its technique is to remain motionless for long periods of time.

Should a heron be actively hunting in your pond it may seem that your entire stock has been taken. It is highly likely that your fish will have taken whatever shelter they can following attack by any predator and they will slowly emerge from some very unlikely hiding places over a period of time. In the event of repeat predator assaults on your stock, not only will you suffer the loss of the unfortunate few but, the remaining fish will become more nervous and tend to stay closer to the bottom of the pond. With the increased stress that will be caused to the fish there will also be a negative effect on the water environment with increased levels of ammonia being secreted.

Herons are generally solitary creatures and it is common to employ the use of a plastic or concrete decoy herons at the pond edges. These can be very effective but their use should be managed. During the winter and spring seasons when herons are more desperately seeking food and then latterly looking for a mate the presence of the decoy may actually prove to be an open invite to the unwanted heron.

In order to help your pond thrive despite the presence of herons there are a number of actions to use. Firstly, try to introduce more hiding places within the pond such as pipes and rocks. Should you become aware of definite heron activity then cover the pond with a net to deter the heron. A common tactic is to use a trip wire placed at a low level close to the pond. The bird will put to flight having had surprise contact to its leg but will eventually dismiss this as not being a threat. If you catch a bird in the act then make an effort to scare the bird. In the eventuality that you do lose many or possibly all your fish then do not restock immediately. Give time for the heron to take your pond off its list of targets. A motion detector deterrent that will spray the visitors is one effective way to scare off the visitors too. Unfortunately ultrasound deterrents will not work on herons as they cannot hear them.