Water Pond Safety

While the fish will provide enough curiosity, remember that same curiosity may tempt them to get too close to the edge to get a closer look, raising the risk of them falling in, hitting their heads on the edge of the pond, or even drown. A child can drown in less than 6inches of water.

Reduce The Slippage Factor

Just like your local pool takes preventative action (such as enforcing a no running rule), you can also take action to ensure pond safety. Consider using a slip resistant material to ensure that smooth edges around your water pond are not a hazzard. You may also want to look at creating railings along walk ways. Ask your local building authority on suggestions on how to lower the risk of someone slipping on the edge of your water garden.

During the planning stages of building your water pond, you should have contacted your municipal building authority to ensure that your plans abide by the local building codes. Do you have to build a fence around your water pond (ponds built with a certain depth require fences). How large of an area can your water garden pond be, and what other legal considerations should you make?

Safety is something that normally doesn't immediately pop into your mind when building a water garden pond, however, it should. Its impossible to ensure that your water garden will be completely safe, however, will that be any consolation for your inaction if something were to happen? Plan ahead and you'll ensure that your water garden is accessible and a joy for friends and family alike.

Stocking A Water Garden

One of the basic rules for making a successful water garden is that stocking is not just up to you and your desire to have a beautiful pond. Stocking calls for bringing together a number of ingredients, both plant and animal, so that a healthy and stable balance is maintained. It will be necessary to introduce some uninteresting plants without any ornamental value because they help to keep the water clear. You will also have to make sure that a certain amount of the water surface is covered by foliage, whether you like it or not.

You will soon discover that choosing specimen from your aquatic centre or catalogue merely because it looks the most attractive can be a big mistake. The showiest fish will require a much larger than average pond as well as an ice-free environment in the winter months. Some fairly strict rules, then, for making the correct choice of stocking material.

In addition there are rules concerning the time for stocking the pond. First of all, plants should be introduced during the growing season and you should wait a few days after the pond has been filled with fresh tap water. This allows the dissolved chlorine to disperse. The second rule is that you should leave Four weeks between planting and the introduction of fish. The reason for this is that fish tug at submerged plants and nibble at the leaves, so Water Lillies, Marginals, Oxygenators etc. should be allowed to establish themselves before being exposed to Goldfish, Shubunkins or any other type of fish.

Creative Water Gardens

When considering water garden construction, take the time to pick out a design and suitable spot that will flatter the over all water garden design of your yard. Don't just simply grab that shovel in and dig on the first spot you can find. Do a little research and if you still feel that your own judgment and creative water gardens  design is not enough, ask some friends or family members to help you out. Remember two heads are better than one.

Second, consider the elements of your backyard. If you are considering breeding fish, you may want to rethink placing your pond in a shaded area. Warmth is an important element in maintaining the fish population. If the pond is placed near a tree, you may find yourself in a position where you are constantly cleaning leaves off the pond. The environmental surroundings of your backyard will have a great impact on the appearance and maintenance of the pond.

Another thing to consider carefully is the depth of the pond. This is especially true for landscaping water features in colder climates and the ponds that contain fish. If the pond is built too shallow, it could freeze completely. Proper depth should always be considered when talking about size.

Building landscaping water features in your backyard can definitely make it more attractive. It is a great way to make outdoor living more colorful and enjoyable. If built correctly, it can add a certain luster to the beauty of a property and can ultimately raise the market value of the property. However, if done poorly, your backyard garden pond could become more stressful and ultimately present an incredible nightmare.

Planning A Water Garden

Deciding on what size to make your pond is usually determined by budget, fish type and size of garden. If the fish can grow large, you will obviously need a pool that is an adequate size for the fish to exercise and develop to their full potential. Consider depth as well as width, as this may be important if keeping larger fish. When considering size, a good idea is to lay a hosepipe on the ground as a template. This will give an idea as to how the finished pond size will look. Maintenance of your pond should also be considered prior to starting. A large pool will require much more time and effort than a small fish pond.

If fish are to stocked in your pond, deciding on the varieties you wish to keep at the start will determine what size your pond needs to be and what equipment you will need for it to be efficient. Try to estimate how much the project is going to cost before you start to avoid any unexpected expenses. Download our checklist, which contains a list of areas you may need to consider.

Plants are a critical part of pond building, and play a part in the water quality and balance of your feature. If used properly, they also add colour, texture and provide a shelter for livestock and wildlife. You may be required to pre-build shelves for your plants. Different plants suit different requirements. Remember that koi eat some plants, so they may need placing out of reach from the fish. If you want to keep water lilies, try to avoid placing them near too much water movement as this may damage the plants leaves.

Ponds And Gardens

All gardening and gardeners know that there are a few things that can spice up their garden and upgrade their garden looks, some of these features are expensive and very hard to get, like complicated water fountains and iron structures and some are pretty easy to buy and install, this article talks about one thing that is not that easy to install but certainly will add a lot of class to your garden and upgrade you from a gardener to a landscape expert.

 A garden pond is the things these days, it is relatively easy to understand and not complicated to maintain throughout the year, and owning a pond holds in it wonderful possibilities and prospects, for some gardeners to have a pond in their own backyard is a rare opportunity to further exploring the power of their gardens, to others it is beginning of a love affair with nature as they start to grow their ponds into living habitats for fishes and plants.

The real purpose of a pond, some say, is to present a living environment by itself, regardless of the garden in which it is placed, because a successful pond will have its own plants and fish in it and even birds that will visit it during the different seasons. This is the reason that so many of the garden lovers that try and place a pond in their garden discover that they are quickly amazed and interested in a whole different thing then gardening, learning about fish and algae and water plants.

Koi Fish For Ponds

Koi fish make excellent pond fish because of their beautiful colorings and ornamental quality, many people choose to keep fish for ponds because they are quite easy to look after and make such beautiful features in the garden. However, fish need a lot of room to live and grow which means that Koi fish are better suited to larger fish ponds rather than aquariums because they will tend to thrive more in an open environment.

When it comes to fish for ponds, you should consider how much of a commitment this species can be. This is because fish will live for around forty years at the most which is longer than the average pet or fish so you need to be sure that you are going to be able to keep up with this commitment. However, sometimes the fish will outgrow their environment and most pet stores will take them on, so there is a fall back just in case you need it in the future!

Fish for ponds are easy to look after, but they still need a certain amount of maintenance and care like any other fish. You need to ensure that the pond is kept clean and the water is at a constant water temperature; this can be quite difficult to do as the seasons change but you can get some good advice from fish guides about maintaining the correct water temperature throughout the summer and winter months. You also need to ensure that your pond is covered with netting because this not only keeps out unwanted pests such as insects and the garden cat, but it also helps to stop the fish from jumping out of the pond as they are sometimes known to do.

Building A Backyard Pond

Having a pond in your backyard adds interest and invites butterflies and birds to visit. Your pond may be large or small but whatever size you choose will bring a focal point to your backyard.

You can decide to have either a water garden or a fish pond. You can choose to have prefab pond or dig a hole and add a pond liner. Or, you can build your pond in plant containers or barrels for your patio or deck. There are many different types to choose from and many accessories to make your pond unique and interesting.

Before you add your pond to the backyard pond you need to take some time to consider the location. You will probably want to place your pond in an area that allows you to view it from your deck or patio. But it will also need to blend into the natural setting in your garden. You will not want to place the pond in the too sunny a place or under trees. A pond is best in a shaded area so that the sun doesn't overheat the water; something that is important if you are going to add fish to the pond.

Landscaping around your pond should look natural but you can also add lights to make the pond more attractive at night. You will need to make sure you have electricity for the lights as well as filters and a water re-cycling device.

The Perfect Water Garden

A water garden can be the most enjoyable investment you could ever make, or the biggest wet nightmare. A recent phone call from an angry water garden owner prompted this article. What she was describing to me was just the opposite of what would be considered the ideal water garden experience.

She began by telling me the pond was leaking, and she needed to add water daily. It was full of algae and smelled like dead fish. Besides needing to pull the sump pump out of the pond every three days to clean the algae and debris from its intake screen, her electric bill was out of hand since she installed the pond. She continued: "The grandkids were climbing around on the waterfall and the rocks slid around, exposing the liner everywhere."

When she complained to the contractor about needing to add water every couple of days, he came out and did something and it stopped losing water. She explained that she told a friend that her water bill was three times its normal cost and that she heard running water all the time and thought it might be a stuck toilet tank float. The friend investigated and discovered the contractor had installed a mechanical water level controller to the pond. He did this instead of fixing the leak, apparently assuming that the client would never figure it out.