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first time making a proper pond
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Posted by aaron1123 Warwickshire l,spa (My Page) on Tue, Apr 10, 07 at 14:14
| hi all this is the first time on here for me im 18 and since i was 9 i was always making little ponds with bubble wrap and a straw pointed over it and shooting a water pistol through it.
after many times going for it this time im going to do it properly unlike the tub in the ground as you will see in a pic i will post. I want to make a natrul (spelling?) pond for frogs i want to make this pond area in memory of my mum who died of cancer back in august.
basically theres a shed at the bottom of the garden with space behind it witch is usally used as a dumping ground a few problems are for me is the next doors tree and hedges ive tried to cut these back as much as i can without being caught lol and the hedge does cast quite a shadow.
when we first moved in the house was abandond and the garden was overun with brambles and i mean overun it was above your head! so the garden was a proper nature zone we used to see headgoges (spelling?) newts lots of newts and lots and lots and lots of frogs everywher but not anymore since the garden was done up and its even more urgent for a pond now since my neigbour filled in his fish pond a few weeks ago and this was home to many frogs and newts. so here are some process pics of what ive done today!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u277/archyopterix/DSC00173.jpg?t=1176228544
BEFORE
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u277/archyopterix/DSC00177.jpg?t=1176228593
AFTER
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u277/archyopterix/DSC00176.jpg?t=1176228633
one of the frogs i found during the clear out of the twigs in the corner ther was also a smaller one but it was of like a shot before it could snap it..darn celebritys.
i will be making a blog soon on freewebs to document my process so stay tuned if anybodys on this forum anymore looking at positng dates!.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: first time making a proper pond
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Hi Aaron
Well Done. My garden started off in very much the same way as yours. I had an old run down shed where things were dumped behind and the rest of the garden was used as a bonfire a playground and bike track for my 3 boys. When they grew up and left home I started to make the first pond. You can see it and other pics of all the frogs, fish and ponds in my garden if you go to the link below.
Is this the only place for your pond as it seems quite a small area, but there again for the frogs it would be ideal. Are you going to dig it down or build up a raised pond. The main thing you have to remember for the frogs is to make an area suitable for them to get easily in and out. I have found though that they can manage to climb well as they get over my stonewall at the highest part all the time. Why they do this when there are lots of easier ways to get in and out I can't imagine, but they just do.
Good luck with it all. I am sure that your mum would be really proud to know you are doing this for her.
Alison |
Here is a link that might be useful: Alisons pond and garden
RE: first time making a proper pond
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| i want it to be sunk in and yeah its the only place unfortunatly but the shed does provide good security for the frogs as it as a crawl space underneath it ive seen frogs do it before vanish underneath the shed. Your pond looks like it takes alot of maintaining, Thats what casued my neigbour to fill in his he was tired of taking care of it with the filters and pumps always packing up |
slow
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| i tried your forum but its realllyyy slow im unable to register |
RE: first time making a proper pond
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| well ive done more work on it im having a bit of a problem getting all the soil level its so anoyying http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u277/archyopterix/DSC00616.jpg?t=1176313625 |
RE: first time making a proper pond
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Hi Aaron it is looking good so don't be disheartened. You should be fine now on mine so try again, you have been activated. I must admit it has been slow for me lately but it isn't generally.
My pond has two good pumps one for the filterbox (UV) and one for the waterfall. They are both OASE products and hardly ever need any maintenance but before I got them it was hard cleaning most days the sponges of the ordinary pumps, so I can understand why your neighbour got fed up. The filterbox pump has only been cleaned twice in 3 years, but the waterfall pump gets cleaned maybe every 6 months or so. It has made such a difference. I really enjoy the pond so never feel it is hard to maintain. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Alisons pond and garden
RE: first time making a proper pond
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Hi Aaron,
Good luck with the pond.
By law, as long as your neighbour's trees don't have a TPO on them or you are in a conservation area, you are allowed to cut them back at the side to the site boundary, but you are obliged to return the prunings to them. If you can, it's best to get their agreement to avoid any nastiness.
The best place for a pond is where it will get some sun. Does it get any sun at any time of he day? If not, then plants will not grow well, and oxygenating pond plants won't produce enough oxygen to keep the water healthy.
Anyway- make it as big as poss, but allowing room to walk all round, or at least to walk where you will need to to maintain the shed and the fence.
Make it deep in the centre- 18 inches if poss.
Make a shallow sloped access point in one place, and shelves at the side for pond plants.
If you can, have a log pile and or rock pile for your amphibians to hibernate in.
If it is a wildlife pond, you probably won't need filters and pumps.
Make sure you add lots of plants, especially submerged oxygenating plants. You can also add marginals.
I'm sur it will be fantastic, and it will be very rewarding. In fact you will probably want to build another one next year too!
The link below leads to some BBC pages. The links at the bottom to "build a pond" are very useful. |
Here is a link that might be useful: BBC pond making site
RE: first time making a proper pond
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| hey cheers for the info but i have encounterd yet another problem thats stopped this dead in the water, I have nowhere left to dump all this soil ive been going round me garden filling up old planpots and hiding it in nooks and crannys heres some pics so far and you can see the amount of sun i just about get http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u277/archyopterix/DSC00617.jpg?t=1176380986 http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u277/archyopterix/DSC00618.jpg?t=1176381031 |
RE: first time making a proper pond
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Hi,
Do you have space in the garden to build a rockery or a raised bed?
It might be possible for you to heap the soil you dig out around the pond (taking care not to go above the bottom of the fences) and build so that it is part above and part below ground.
Otherwise you will need to hire a skip, but that can be pricy.
Alternatively, you could build up the sides using a wooden framework (posts at the corners and planks for the sides), so you only need a smaller hole, then line the whole lot with pond liner, and fill behind the wall with some of the soil you have dug out.
If you look in the GALLERY (look at the top of the list of messages for this), there are picures of lots of different ponds. |
Here is a link that might be useful: gallery
first time making a proper pond (raised edges)
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| This link is the sort of thing I mean- but a lot bigger than you have room for. |
Here is a link that might be useful: a raised timber pond framework
RE: first time making a proper pond
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- Posted by kazzie SE England (My Page) on
Fri, Apr 13, 07 at 21:22
| Actually, it's nice to sit on the edge of a raised pond. My small pond is half above / below ground. Not the best pics, but it's late and I can't be asked: 
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RE: first time making a proper pond
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| Hi Aaron, Best wishes in your efforts to help the amphibians in your garden. It is really sad when ponds get filled in as wildlife does need all the help it can get. While your site is not ideal, it will be a little oasis! So dig as deep as you can, and do have a shallow bit. A bit of the poor soil on top of your liner will also help to get the bug and food population going inside the pond too. Putting a rockery type of thing around the pond will also provide some shelter for the newts and frogs too. In winter the male frogs hibernate in the pond, so that is why it is useful for it to be as deep as you can manage, and if it freezes gently melt the ice by putting hot water in a bowl on the ice (don't crack the ice as they really don't like the shock waves). In a small pond frogs can suffocate if it is frozen over for too long. Perhaps by you continuing to do such a good job with your behind the shed pond, you can convince your family to put an ornamental pond in the garden? A nice round pond in a lawn with lovely planting is so attractive. I don't have a filter in my pond, which is purely a wildlife pond, and it isn't hard to maintain. Best wishes again with your efforts---I am sure your froggy friends will really appreciate it!! Quite pleased this weekend as there are two toads who seem to like to sleep in the pond on warm days--and they have just come back this season. And as they say, always best to let sleeping toads lie.... Chip
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