Hi all

[Girlzorba]

Hello everyone! I'm a new pond owner, the hubs and I just dug our first 2 weeks ago. We wanted a place for frogs, so it's only 12 inches deep, but about 7 x 9 feet wide. Loving it, but the dunk tabs don't seem to be working fast enough for me. We have a LOT to learn, starting with how not to create a gross blob of water. So, hoping to find a lot of resources here to help us become pond gurus!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

Some water movement a bit of filtration will keep your pond nice
If you are fighting mosquitoes, get some rosey red minnows, they will eat up the biters.

 

[Girlzorba]

Thank you Addy1! Do you think the minnows will eat the tadpoles, once they start developing? I've seen frog eggs and collected a few in case the water was too cold for them to develop. Planning to add them back in once they hatch. We put in a small pump/filter. Also hoping that won't mess with the eggs/tadpoles.

 

[sissy]

Nothing will mess with frog eggs and unless a fish eats them .On a couple of weeks frogs can overgrow a pond and then move onto better ground to get more bugs and a new home .Welcome to the world of ponding

 

[addy1]

I have fish and tad poles tons make it to large tab pole size, then to frog

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! What a wonderful idea! We are between ponds at the moment, and I think I miss the frogs the most. We have our goldfish in 2 large outdoor tanks, but I think they are too high for the frogs & toads to get in.

Agree that water in motion is the way to keep your water fresh and oxygenated. Where do you live and is your pond in shade or full sun and is it lined? With a pond that shallow, I’m going to predict that you will have evaporation issues, especially during the hotter months. This means that you’re going to be adding water often — please be sure that you dechlorinate the water — and that the temperature of the water may get too high for the survival of any critters.

Have you seen the solar fountains they sell for bird baths and small bodies of water? If you have enough sunlight, something like this might work well to keep your water moving. It should also help keep out mosquitoes. Something like this....

 

[Girlzorba]

Hello and welcome! What a wonderful idea! We are between ponds at the moment, and I think I miss the frogs the most. We have our goldfish in 2 large outdoor tanks, but I think they are too high for the frogs & toads to get in.

Agree that water in motion is the way to keep your water fresh and oxygenated. Where do you live and is your pond in shade or full sun and is it lined? With a pond that shallow, I’m going to predict that you will have evaporation issues, especially during the hotter months. This means that you’re going to be adding water often — please be sure that you dechlorinate the water — and that the temperature of the water may get too high for the survival of any critters.

Have you seen the solar fountains they sell for bird baths and small bodies of water? If you have enough sunlight, something like this might work well to keep your water moving. It should also help keep out mosquitoes. Something like this....
View attachment 129364

Thank you! We live in NC, pond is mostly in the sun, but has some shade most of the day. Will do on the water. I actually have one of those fountains. bought it for my bird bath. doesn't work as well as I'd like, but we do have a little filter that we just added last night. I am curious to see what it does. Also, I saw a woman on Youtube who claims that wrapping a milk crate pump inside with polyester batting will clear a pond. I ordered the batting, we'll check it out soon!

 

[j.w]

@Girlzorba so nice of you to make a pond for the frogs.
Yep that batting will help but you will need to keep cleaning it out a lot over and over again as it clogs up fast.