Pond, no fish?

[Lover of the Outdoors]

Hello. I'm new here. I've been researching ponds, water features, waterfalls for a while now trying to decide exactly what I want for my back yard, right off the patio. The conclusion I've come to is that I want to hear the sound of water, have a nice larger structure to look at and enjoy, am totally up to a DIY project, I love plants and beautiful gardens, never tried water gardening but would like to...but I really don't want fish. I've seen some raised ponds in the 100 to 125 gallon range that are built on top of the ground with landscape rocks to make a nice wall around it. A small waterfall is an option, so is a pump that makes a mushroom type spray. Some lighting and landscape too. Hubby is an electrician so he's handy for things like that. It seems that most people build ponds for fish. I'm really not interested in that. Am I crazy? Do I NEED fish in order to keep the water in balance? I've tried to talk myself into a nice store bought water feature but I really want something more like a small pond. I've attached a pic of something similar to what I have in mind. Any insight is appreciated!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! Notice the title of our forum is “Garden Pond Forum.” The “fish” part is purely optional. You may want something like a small fountain pump just to keep the water moving, but there is no reason that you have to have fish!

People might laugh at me because (and I won’t go into detail), the entire reason I have a pond is because I have box turtles. While they aren’t aquatic turtles, they still require a fresh source of water. Emptying water dishes several times a day (turtles are messy, messy) got old fast. Solution: a pond, with fish and plants and filtration to keep the water balanced and fresh for the turtles! So, you see, my pond is for my turtles, and my turtles aren’t aquatic. We all have our own unique story!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

The only thing you would want to make sure of is some way to control mosquitoes. Good water movement does a good job. OR chemicals.

 

[Lover of the Outdoors]

Hello and welcome! Notice the title of our forum is “Garden Pond Forum.” The “fish” part is purely optional. You may want something like a small fountain pump just to keep the water moving, but there is no reason that you have to have fish!

People might laugh at me because (and I won’t go into detail), the entire reason I have a pond is because I have box turtles. While they aren’t aquatic turtles, they still require a fresh source of water. Emptying water dishes several times a day (turtles are messy, messy) got old fast. Solution: a pond, with fish and plants and filtration to keep the water balanced and fresh for the turtles! So, you see, my pond is for my turtles, and my turtles aren’t aquatic. We all have our own unique story!

Thank you! I joined several Facebook pond pages so I could learn and it seems that the only reason people built ponds was for fish. I tried to talk myself into fish but it seems that fish require a lot more maintenance. Water balance, algee issues, slime...that seems like more than I bargained for. I just want water and beauty, the sounds to relax by. Perhaps I'll grow into the fish part but it doesn't sound like fun right now. Thanks for the feedback. So there is really no disadvantage to having no fish?

 

[Lover of the Outdoors]

Welcome to our forum!

The only thing you would want to make sure of is some way to control mosquitoes. Good water movement does a good job. OR chemicals.

I've seen mosquito dunks. Do they work? I plan to have water movement for sure. That's my entire purpose.

 

[addy1]

I've seen mosquito dunks. Do they work? I plan to have water movement for sure. That's my entire purpose.

Yes they do and water movement, they like still water to lay the eggs in.

 

[j.w]

@Lover of the Outdoors
Very nice pond!