If you regularly visit publically accessible ponds you will find that many of them are a concrete construction. There are many reasons contributing to this but one of the obvious and most compelling is the durability of concrete constructions.

So is a concrete pond a sensible consideration for the domestic garden ponds?

Concrete is far less commonly used as a material for pond construction these days. This is primarily due to the cost that is involved and the extended construction time when compared to the use of either a flexible or rigid pond liner. It does however, provide certain design aspects that are less easily achieved with the other techniques and as stated earlier, their longevity is a strong advantage.

Concrete naturally lends itself to the vertical walls of a more formal pond design and is an ideal material for a Koi pond. Rigid vertical walls can be more safely constructed with concrete. Unless you have a very large area to dedicate to your pond, if you wish to have a deeper pond, sturdy, steep walls are essential. Whilst the construction of such a pond is more time consuming than other methods, the actual process is very simple.

A summary of the building process is as follows: Having excavated your pond pit, a trench must be dug around the ponds perimeter. Once the trench is filled with concrete, thereby creating a foundation, the perimeter wall is constructed on this foundation. Ensuring that all necessary plumbing and pre-wiring is in place, the base is then lined with concrete prior to lining and sealing all of the surfaces. The sealing of surfaces is absolutely essential to avoid any possible toxins entering the water.

Your new concrete pond may become a labour of love during the construction phase but will undoubtedly become the envy of many when completed.

Having designed and installed a pond, you will eventually have the opportunity to select your new fish. If you have particular desires for a specialist fish such as Koi, the pond should ideally have been designed with this in mind. For many pond owners with more modest aspirations, it will suffice to identify a fish that will fit well into the existing pond environment.

So what are the choices? Quite simply there is a wealth of choice from the familiar goldfish to the more exotic. Whichever fish, or combination of fish, you should choose, for a successful pond, it is important to consider the differing needs and traits of the different species.

Goldfish are always a popular choice for many ponds and do come in a variety of forms. Many of the more exotic types of goldfish are best avoided as they do not cope well with the fluctuations of water temperature. The more common forms should do very well in a typical garden pond.

Orfe and Rudd are popular with both exhibiting similar traits of swimming in shoals near the water’s surface. The Rudd, being the smaller fish is well suited to smaller ponds.

Tench are sometimes referred to as ‘pond cleaners’ due to their habit of feeding at the bottom of ponds. Whilst they definitely aid pond maintenance by eating food that may otherwise contribute to pond pollution, they are not really cleaning the pond. It is important to differentiate between their reducing, rather than actually removing waste.

Koi and other carp have a very definite appeal but are substantially sized fish with demands beyond those of the above breeds. With their striking markings, Koi will forever be popular with many but should only be considered where a suitable environment can be created.

When designing a Koi pond, it is sensible to have a minimum depth of feet (1.2 metres) although, if possible, an even deeper pond will be better. The benefit of a deeper pond is that you will have a greater volume of water for the same amount of space in the garden. More water means many possible outcomes; two of the most significant being a better environment for your fish and for yourself, the potential to have more fish.

When considering how many fish to stock in your Koi pond, there are many factors to consider. Not least of these factors is your own knowledge and experience. The other factors are the volume of water, filter size, the size of the fish and how often you will change the water. As a general guide, it is suggested that a beginner should be able to keep around 50 foot of fish per 1,000 gallons of water.

So many koi ponds are devoid of plant life and there is a good reason for this. They do like a good nibble and will quickly uproot most, if not all, plant life. As with many issues surrounding ponds, the density of fish stocking is so much greater than that found in nature. It is due to this imbalance that plants will find it very hard to survive whilst surrounded by so many willing diners. If you do wish to have some plant life within your koi pond, the best approach to this issue is to plant in shallow areas where the koi will not be able to reach.

Water quality is one of the crucial factors in successful fish husbandry. Whilst maintaining water quality in a well established pond should never be taken for granted, it should be a fairly easy job to do under normal circumstances.

When setting up a new pond you may well have done everything by the book and installed a biological filter to complement your carefully planted pond. Everything appears to be going great so you introduce your fish. Within a very short space of time you are faced with either health issues, or worse still, dying fish. This scenario is a perfect example of ‘new pond syndrome’.

So what causes new pond syndrome? A combination of factors may cause these issues and it is most likely not a measure of poor pond design or equipment. In most cases it will simply be that more patience is required to avoid such problems.

The environment required to keep fish is oxygenated water of a balanced Ph that is free from excessive pollutants. When you initially fill your pond with water you will almost certainly have achieved this. The issues arise the moment you begin to introduce your fish. In nature, the water borne plant life will be both well established and sufficient to maintain these essential water characteristics. In your brand new pond, the plant life will be busy using growing energy to establish itself and could quickly be overcome by the pollutants that fish themselves create.

The reality is that water quality in most garden ponds will never be sufficiently managed solely through planting. It is for this very reason that you installed a biological filter. The reason new pond syndrome is not avoided by use of a filter is due to one important trait of such systems. The bacteria in the filter system that perform the breakdown of harmful pollutants in the water take several weeks or even months to establish themselves. Therefore, in the early days of your pond, you have effectively very little protection and there is no shortcut to achieving this.

The approach to avoid such problems is to be patient. Fish should be introduced in small numbers over a period of time. It is essential to measure the water quality regularly and once quality stabilises at an appropriate level, it is safe to introduce more fish.

The answer is both yes and no! For the most effective employment of the fake heron as a deterrent to the living breathing article, it helps to have a basic understanding of the heron’s behaviour.

Whilst herons are undoubtedly solitary creatures for most of their lives, they are not renowned hermaphrodites. This important fact, coupled with the other significant fact that they are not extinct, pretty much indicates that at some points herons need to meet up to enable reproduction. With this in mind, there are key times of the year when you will probably be wise to remove the fake heron as it will probably have more of an appeal to other herons than act as an actual deterrent.

As with many animals, the mating season is generally late winter into early spring. One of the best heron deterrents during this period will be your own increased activity around the pond. With the pond coming out of its winter hibernation there will be many maintenance jobs to undertake and your own pond side activity will ensure no heron will be around at these times.

Obviously there will still be long periods for most pond owners when work or other less pleasurable pastimes distract you. This may be an ideal opportunity to temporarily use trip wires around the pond to protect against herons who do not like unexpected contact with their legs. Whilst trip wires are temporarily effective, the heron will quickly adapt and learn how to avoid the trip wires challenge if they are left in place. The option of an ever more intricate, spider’s web of wires is probably not the most desirable path down which to travel so this approach should not be viewed as a permanent solution.

If space is at a premium in your garden, or you simply have safety concerns due to the presence of young children, it may be the case that your desire for a water garden sees your focus shift to a more modest water feature rather than a full blown pond.

A water feature with a simple element of moving water is not necessarily the only option. Miniature ponds offer the chance to create a proper planted pond environment on a miniature scale. There are many readily available watertight containers that would make absolutely perfect miniature ponds, despite a (possibly) very different intended function. It is also common to see traditional garden ornaments such as half barrels made watertight and used for this purpose.

When setting up your miniature pond there are some important considerations, such as the location. The miniature pond should not be sited in direct sunlight as the temperature of such a small volume of water will vary much more quickly than that in a pond. Planting will need to be carefully considered so that any fast growing plants do not rapidly engulf the entire volume of water at the expense of variety.

It is quite possible to install a water feature and the required pump into this miniature garden, although it is important to ensure that such a feature is designed so that it will not rapidly drain the pond through splashing.

Basically, with forethought, there are few pond aspects that cannot be replicated on some smaller scale. Sensible choices will ensure that the pond is eaily maintained and a source of great pleasure.