If you maintain your pond for the purpose of keeping fish then it can be guaranteed that you won’t be the only living being with at least a passing interest in the inhabitants. One certainty is that the other admirers will have less innocent agendas.

Some of the visitors who may choose to prey upon your fish stock are mink, cats, foxes and especially herons.

Quite simply, the typical garden pond lacks the deep water and variety of hiding places that a wild environment may offer as a method of protection for the fish. The fish in your pond are pretty much held captive in a conveniently sized receptacle and are fairly easy pickings for a natural predator.
There are however, a variety of measures and techniques that can be employed to minimize risks. A pond net is a fairly straightforward way of keeping cats and birds away from your fish. Pegged down securely and tightly this will form a good barrier for the less creative predator. In some cases the net may have limitations. Depending on the setting, it may be difficult to simply anchor the net effectively or quite simply you may wish to use a less conspicuous method for security; after all, one primary reason for the garden ponds existence is for its aesthetic qualities.

More modern equipment for deterring nuisance vistors may be the solution where a net is either undesireable or unsuitable. Rather than thwarting the predators efforts, these come in the form of movement activated, audio or water based deterrents. Upon detecting movement in the protected area, such a devce will either emit an offputting ultrasound alarm, that is not detectable by humans, or the water device will blast a spray in the direction of the movement. Either of these devices should provide an effective and less visible option for pond protection. There may also be some unforeseen benefits to the water based deterrent with the possibility to both water the garden and, for the light hearted pond owner to take the opportunity to surprise some guests that may be invited to your home.

There is absolutely no doubt that having a garden pond does give you an opportunity to share in a child’s natural fascination with both water and wildlife. Concurrently, it introduces a certain risk level to the garden environment. The risk of the water itself is the greatest for young children but some sensible precautions can make these risks more manageable.

So how can risks be managed for young children? The only way to be certain of safety without taking the difficult decision to fill in your pond is to ensure that young children do not have access. Whilst it may be the obvious solution, it may prove to be far from simple, if not impossible to achieve this outcome in many gardens. Even with a fixed barrier such as a fence there is still no guarantee that the enquiring young mind may not somehow circumnavigate the protective barrier or maybe a careless moment may see a gate left open with children in the vicinity.

To allow for such eventualities, the most sensible precaution is to install a rigid mesh cover over the top of the garden ponds in addition to any protective barriers you have in place to prevent pond access. Whilst this may have a detrimental effect upon the appearance of the pond, it will enable you to retain your pond with a degree of comfort that a simple trip or stumble shouldn’t result in a tragic outcome.

As with all child safety related issues it should never be assumed that any such cover will remove all risk. It does, however, provide an opportunity to maintain a desirable feature of your garden without undue risk. Any such cover must be strong enough to support the weight of a person. A light gauge mesh that may be suitable for protecting your pond from local wildlife cannot be expected to double as a safety cover for young children. Any protective cover should be above the water surface and possibly most importantly, securely anchored. If there is any possibility that something or somebody can get under the cover, it almost goes without saying that something or somebody eventually will.

Considering the number of tragic accidents involving garden ponds and young children, this is an issue that should never be underestimated. With sensible precautions though, the water garden can be an enjoyable feature for all the family.

If one of the reasons for having a pond installed in your garden is to attract frogs or other wildlife it is important that the design and the setting consider the needs of the desired inhabitants. The basic needs of any living creature revolve around food, shelter, water and a place to breed. Frogs require the pond environment for breeding and they desire the type of moist environment that can easily exist close by a pond. They will actually spend most of their time out of the water in a moist area.

Frogs can be a useful resident in the garden as they will help naturally manage insect populations such as mosquitoes, moths, snails and slugs amongst others.

In order to create a pond that will encourage frogs to stay it should ideally be between two and three feet deep. (60 – 90 centimetres). The pond will need at least one sloping side that will allow easy access in and out of the water and ideally there should be shaded areas close by. These will provide protection from the sun and hopefully maintain a moist atmosphere close by the water’s edge. The pond will benefit from being planted with native plants that thrive in pond water.

If you have successfully created an environment that will be welcoming to frogs, they will eventually arrive of their own accord but this may take some time. It is strongly advised not to collect and bring wild frogs to your pond as they will most likely leave and possibly die, having been removed from their familiar environment.

It is always a pleasure to create an environment that encourages wildlife to migrate of its own accord. Currently, at a time when ponds are disappearing rapidly and the UK frog population is reliant on household ponds, you will actually be helping to maintain Britain’s wildlife diversity.

There are three common forms of pond construction that represent vastly different undertakings when considering a new installation. These are concrete ponds, a pond using a flexible pond liner and finally a preformed pond liner. Selecting the construction technique that will best suit your proposed design will depend greatly on the intended use of the pond in addition to the obvious consideration of budget.

The concrete pond construction provides a vertical side wall and is inherently durable. These are the type of constructions that suit a more formal pond or a Koi Pond and are clearly a significant project to construct. Once the pond location is excavated the modern technique involves laying a concrete foundation around the perimeter onto which a vertical breeze block wall is constructed. The base of the pond is then formed by laying concrete and a reinforcing layer across the bottom of the excavation. The walls are subsequently covered with a cement mix and then sealed to protect the cement from water damage. The resulting pond is a robust and long lasting construction that should provide many years of low maintenance service.

At the opposite end of the scale, in terms of construction project, is the preformed pond liner. The preformed pond liner comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are also choices to be made in construction materials that will affect cost, lifespan, appearance and planting options.

The excavation for the pond should be carried out to follow the form of the liner as closely as possible. This should ensure that the pond is more easily supported when backfilling the excavation around the liner. Too much loose soil being used to fill the recess between excavation and liner will result in poor support for the liner when it is filled with water. The benefit of the preformed liner is the sheer simplicity of the project and minimal time dedicated to construction.

The middle way is the flexible pond liner. This is a very cost effective way of constructing a pond that could be a simple circle, a rectangle or a unique, bespoke design. It does require a careful approach to the construction process to ensure that the liner is laid with minimal folding and that potential for damage to the liner is minimized.

Whichever method is used the pond will then require edging. Straight sharp edges of paving stones or similar can give a neat or formal appearance. Alternatively, it is possible to create a more rounded edge using concrete, for a more natural shape and appearance. Whichever approach is undertaken, consideration should be given to both the safety of young children and visiting wildlife. This may prompt the creation of at least one escape route from the pond.

It is probably not too hard to imagine that during the Iron Age, around 3,000 years ago, approximately a quarter of the British Isles consisted of marshy wetlands and ponds. Today the situation is very different. Over time, drainage of land has steadily reclaimed much of the wetlands for agricltural and urban uses. The advent of plumbing and piped mains water has greatly contributed to the more recent demise of UK ponds which were once a primary source of drinking water for almost every farm and village. The resulting lack of usage frequently contributes to the stagnation of pond water and ultimately, in many cases, the disappearance of the pond.

Of the ponds that exist in Britain today there are a small number that date back to glacial formations from the last ice age but a staggering majority of the 400,000 or so ponds that currently exist are artificially created. Of these ponds it is estimated that more than half are in below optimum condition.

The threats to the existing ponds are multiple. Climate change, pollution and the presence of agricultural fertilisers all contribute greatly to their demise.

Whilst British ponds are primarily of artificial origins they are still able to support significant and diverse levels of wildlife. Whilst a pond in your own back garden may not support the broad spectrum of wildlife that a natural pond does with the likes of kingfishers, herons and voles it does still support a broad spectrum of amphibian and insect life.

With around 90% of British ponds being of the back garden variety, they are vital to supporting the existence of species such as frogs and newts into the future. The domestic pond is now an important asset in maintaining wildlife diversity.

The Palm House pond of Kew gardens took its current form as part of an extensive remodelling of both Palm House and the surrounding gardens in 1845. The vision of the pond setting comes from William Andrews Nesfield who was primarily responsible for the garden design and arrangement whilst Decimus Burton extended the pond to reflect the full length of Palm House.

The importance of the remodelling was to clearly link Palm House and the pond together as a combined feature. The pond clearly focuses and draws attention to the building. Images of majestic Palm House reflected in the pond’s waters have achieved iconic status and can be found readily in many forms of media from postcards to photography magazines.

For the observer focused towards the water there are splendid features to behold and the practice of changing planting themes over the years ensures that repeat visits after a long break will reap new rewards.

The central feature of the pond is a fountain depicting Hercules fighting the river god Archelous. The pond itself is home to both the ornamental wildfowl of Kew itself and visiting wildfowl.

Kew Gardens are also home to two other water features in The Lake and the Waterlily Pond.

The quality of the water in your pond is absolutely critical to keeping a healthy stock of fish. Poor water quality can be identified as a primary cause of health issues and mortality in pond livestock.

Assessing water quality cannot be done solely on a visual basis. The clearest water may not be conducive to keeping healthy fish whilst conversely, murky water may not necessarily be of poor quality to the inhabitant, obviously the most important assessor.

Beyond a visual assessment of water clarity, some key measures of quality are oxygen levels, ph, water hardness, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia levels. Coupled with temperature, all of these important components fluctuate continuously. These fluctuations can cause stress to your fish so it is important to maintain healthy levels to avoid the fluctuations causing severe distress.

Ammonia is present in pond water as a direct output of the fish themselves. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all have a direct relationship to each other in a pond system and ideally there should be no traceable levels of these toxic compounds in the pond environment. This is imperative with new ponds in avoiding new pond syndrome where the environment has not yet stabilised. It is possible to maintain minimal levels through the use of biological pond filters.

Different fish have different requirements for both ph and water hardness so it is important to either select fish according to the environment that you are able to provide or to specifically manage the environment to support your chosen stock. The ideal requirements for a species can fit into a very narrow spectrum and even fairly minor fluctuations can be stressful.

Oxygen levels are affected greatly by temperature and the chemicals present within the water itself such as ammonia and nitrite. Oxygen levels deplete in warmer weather and even the plants introduced to provide oxygen will use oxygen overnight. It is therefore important to ensure that water is aerated through use of a feature such as a waterfall or fountain.

Clearly there are many components of good water quality and maintaining it requires regular testing and careful management. Good water quality should eliminate one major source of health issues.