any low cost sugesttions for my pond?

[TheFishGuy]

here is my pond, do you have any sjjestions that could make it nicer but would be a pretty low cost?

I do have a UV clarifier that should hopefully get the water more clear sometime soon

 

[j.w]

@TheFishGuy Plants, lots of plants! They will help keep the algae at bay. Do you have fish?

 

[TheFishGuy]

View attachment 131414@TheFishGuy Plants, lots of plants! They will help keep the algae at bay. Do you have fish?

thanks so much! I do have fish, I currently have 2 small koi ( I am getting a bigger pond soon so they will be able to thrive better ) and I also have a few medium ( 6 inch ) goldfish.

which plants would you recomend? and again thanks so much! this place if packed with positive vibes!

 

[AlyssaFish]

Cute! You've done a pretty great job hiding the liner! I love the use of driftwood on the left there. For the areas that are still exposed, add a couple inches of dirt. I know that it creates a bit of a risk of the dirt getting blown into the pond, which is annoying, but in the end I think its worth it. A lot of natural banks have sand and dirt at the edges, not rocks. Additionally, if you grow plants on the outside of the pond, coming right up to those rocks, they'll help hold the soil in place. This helps the look of the rocks too, because putting dirt at the base of a stone helps create an "embedded" look, as though they're emerging from the ground.

If you have a small hammer and chisel, you could try re-shaping those waterfall ledges just a little bit. They are somewhat artificial and boxy looking. Beating up the edges a little bit, and even taking a chunk out of the bottom portion so that it creates an overhang for the water to spill off of could really help. I only suggest this if you have some experience working with stone (or you have spares to practice on) and consider yourself visually artistic. And physically strong.

You could also cover the square ledges somewhat by placing smaller rocks on top of them. The water will flow through the rocks on the way through the ledge, creating a lovely stream "trickling" sound, adding to the surface agitation for gas exchange, and give plants a place to root if you choose to add plants to the waterfall.

So there's three free ideas, assuming you have spare rocks and dirt!

Other than that, I definitely agree with j.w. that your pond is wanting plants! Sedge or reeds along some of those rocky banks! Creepers and runners for the waterfall! A lily and/or frogbit for the pool. Plants can run a little expensive, unfortunately. Especially if you find that you really, really enjoy adding new ones to your pond all the time like I have found...

Good luck! You've done a great job so far!

 

[TheFishGuy]

Cute! You've done a pretty great job hiding the liner! I love the use of driftwood on the left there. For the areas that are still exposed, add a couple inches of dirt. I know that it creates a bit of a risk of the dirt getting blown into the pond, which is annoying, but in the end I think its worth it. A lot of natural banks have sand and dirt at the edges, not rocks. Additionally, if you grow plants on the outside of the pond, coming right up to those rocks, they'll help hold the soil in place. This helps the look of the rocks too, because putting dirt at the base of a stone helps create an "embedded" look, as though they're emerging from the ground.

If you have a small hammer and chisel, you could try re-shaping those waterfall ledges just a little bit. They are somewhat artificial and boxy looking. Beating up the edges a little bit, and even taking a chunk out of the bottom portion so that it creates an overhang for the water to spill off of could really help. I only suggest this if you have some experience working with stone (or you have spares to practice on) and consider yourself visually artistic. And physically strong.

You could also cover the square ledges somewhat by placing smaller rocks on top of them. The water will flow through the rocks on the way through the ledge, creating a lovely stream "trickling" sound, adding to the surface agitation for gas exchange, and give plants a place to root if you choose to add plants to the waterfall.

So there's three free ideas, assuming you have spare rocks and dirt!

Other than that, I definitely agree with j.w. that your pond is wanting plants! Sedge or reeds along some of those rocky banks! Creepers and runners for the waterfall! A lily and/or frogbit for the pool. Plants can run a little expensive, unfortunately. Especially if you find that you really, really enjoy adding new ones to your pond all the time like I have found...

Good luck! You've done a great job so far!

thanks so much for such a considerate answer! I deffinitly agree with the boxy waterfall thing and indeed do have lots of extra dirt ( I mean we just got a retention pond dug out at the property and didnt get any dirt hauled away...... because I am bored as heck right now waiting for my new pump to come I am gonna go work on that now! and as for the driftood, If you look a little closer you can see because I didnt know what I was doing when I bought the equitment for my pond that is the entrance to my homade skimmer

 

[j.w]

I just posted in your other welcome post too. So many plants to choose from. I like the grassy Sedges put in pots, Parrots Feather, Mare's Tail, Water lilies, Creeping Jenny for the outside of the pond that will crawl into your pond, Dwarf Cat tails in pots or tucked in between rocks w/their roots in water.

Creeping Jenny

Dwarf Cat Tails in my bath tub pond

Ferns, they showed up on their own from somewhere

Mares Tail on the left, I found in a ditch up north of us and Parrots feather to the right.

A sedge tucked in between the rocks w/roots in water

My pond

So many more and you will see what others here have also.

 

[TheFishGuy]

I just posted in your other welcome post too. So many plants to choose from. I like the grassy Sedges put in pots, Parrots Feather, Mare's Tail, Water lilies, Creeping Jenny for the outside of the pond that will crawl into your pond, Dwarf Cat tails in pots or tucked in between rocks w/their roots in water.

Creeping Jenny
View attachment 131416

Dwarf Cat Tails in my bath tub pond
View attachment 131417

Ferns, they showed up on their own from somewhere
View attachment 131418

Mares Tail on the left, I found in a ditch up north of us and Parrots feather to the right.
View attachment 131419

A sedge tucked in between the rocks w/roots in water
View attachment 131420

My pond
View attachment 131421

So many more and you will see what others here have also.

Oh My Goodness! that is incredible! I love the look of creeping jenny as It seems like it would be good to cover the liner showing on the edges of my pond! thank you so much for the amazing plant options!

 

[AlyssaFish]

Ughhh! The envy is real, J.w! What a beautiful pond! Your red-eyed aligator is pretty fun, too!

 

[AlyssaFish]

thanks so much for such a considerate answer! I deffinitly agree with the boxy waterfall thing and indeed do have lots of extra dirt ( I mean we just got a retention pond dug out at the property and didnt get any dirt hauled away...... because I am bored as heck right now waiting for my new pump to come I am gonna go work on that now! and as for the driftood, If you look a little closer you can see because I didnt know what I was doing when I bought the equitment for my pond that is the entrance to my homade skimmer

I think that'a a great way to obscure the skimmer! I just have mine floating around at the surface, big black box. I keep telling myself sometime I'll disguise it as a giant lily pad or something. XD

 

[Lisak1]

Plants can hide a multitude of "sins"! Anytime you can make your pond edge "disappear" you create an illusion. Where does the pond start and the land end? Plants along the waterfall can make it look more natural. Plants outside of the pond can soften the look of the rocks. And that doesn't even touch on how good plants are for your water quality!

 

[TheFishGuy]

here is my pond, do you have any sjjestions that could make it nicer but would be a pretty low cost?View attachment 131406I do have a UV clarifier that should hopefully get the water more clear sometime soon

just letting everybody know, today after joining I got some extra motivation and a new pump, so now you can see the bottom of the pond! also, I added another fountian

 

[Mmathis]

Plants. How big is your pond?

 

[TheFishGuy]

Plants. How big is your pond?

around 600 gallons but I am expanding it to 1k gallons later this year

 

[poconojoe]

around 600 gallons but I am expanding it to 1k gallons later this year

Go bigger! 1,000 gallons seems much larger, but bigger is always better. Double that! 2k!
I went from 300 to 1600 gallons about 10+ years ago. Wish I did just a bit larger.

 

[TheFishGuy]

Go bigger! 1,000 gallons seems much larger, but bigger is always better. Double that! 2k!
I went from 300 to 1600 gallons about 10+ years ago. Wish I did just a bit larger.

holy cow! you really think so!, My only problem is that I have a apple tree near the pond and I cant take out too many roots