Clueless about ponds! Thought i'd ask! :)

[mekaneka]

Absolutely clueless about ponds and building this on a whim when the JCB man said he could dig a crater.. so don't judge my handy work (lol..)

i followed some how-to guide online that said pop sand in the bottom of the pond to encourage growth - but now i'vev gone from a clear pond to a brown one.

Will this clear on its own (i've no pump/etc, literally just the waterfall recycling its own water) or did i follow dud advice and need to do something to fix it!

Thanks alot!!

 

[j.w]

@mekaneka and if it was my pond I would not have put sand in there but you will need some kind of filter system in there. You can hook a pre-filter set up to the pump.
Something like this:

I bought this kind for my pond:

I bought it at Webbs: https://webbsonline.com/Item/Matala-EZ-Bio-Mechanical-Pre-Filter-99990

 

[mekaneka]

Thank you for your input

I assumed I didn't need a filter as I was planning to just pop some lily pads in there to help out some roaming frogs who get lost from a local stream!

 

[Stephen Noble]

Absolutely clueless about ponds and building this on a whim when the JCB man said he could dig a crater.. so don't judge my handy work (lol..)

i followed some how-to guide online that said pop sand in the bottom of the pond to encourage growth - but now i'vev gone from a clear pond to a brown one.

Will this clear on its own (i've no pump/etc, literally just the waterfall recycling its own water) or did i follow dud advice and need to do something to fix it!

Thanks alot!!

It will eventually settle but that will take a long time as long as nothing disturbs it. Even a hard rain will stir up a mess. If it were me, I would remove the sand.

 

[RobAmy]

That sand will eventually stink too, more so without filtration. The problem with sand is that its particles are too small to allow oxygen between them, and, therefore, prevent the colonization of beneficial microbes. That situation results in an environment where pond detritus rots instead of being ingested and broken down. When that happens, sand mixes with rotting matter and forms a muddy sludge. The pond can begin to stink as already said as well as attract mosquito larvae to its muddy bottom. You would be better off with a gravel. Certain pumps will not handle sand at all getting into them also.

 

[mekaneka]

Well, looks like i followed the wrong DIY instructions lol ...

Currently pumping the water out of the pond now - luckily there's only two bags of sand down there so should be quite a simple fix..

Thanks for all your help!

 

[JamieB]

A filter will pull out gunk, like frog poo, that will naturally build up. You’ll end up with dragon flies, which the nymphs will prey on other bugs, including mosquito larvae, which is a good thing.

 

[mekaneka]

Well at 9pm last night the pond got emptied, liner removed, cleaned and reinstalled and filled.

So hoping for better results now!

 

[addy1]

My fish less ponds get all sorts of growth, string algae, excess plant growth, but the frogs, toads etc love it.

 

[j.w]

Are you gonna put fish in there eventually @mekaneka ? You will need to wait awhile to allow your water to be right for the fish. This is called cycling your pond water. You should wait about 4 - 6 wks to add any fish and only add a couple to start with. I'm sure you will have lots of other questions and feel free to ask here w/any that you have as we are happy to help.

 

[LarryM]

If you plan on having no fish you might just get a supreme mosquito breeding habitat. Mosquitoes love to breed in still water. If that happens you might consider putting in some mosquito guppies to control mosquitoes. They are a very small fish that require no maintenance or feeding. Just a heads up for what might happen.