Pond Workshop

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Pond Workshop

• A practical guide to backyard pond installation
  and maintenance

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Why should you have a backyard pond?

• If you are an avid gardener or just enjoy nature,
  you should consider installing a backyard pond.
  You can follow the transformation of this small
  scale ecological system and reap off the benefits
  of the relaxing environment. It can be a fun and
  rewarding endeavor.

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Designing tips

• Location
• Shape
• Materials needed

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Location

• Locate your pond where you can see it from a deck
  or a patio
• Make sure there is plenty of sunlight available
  for the plants
• Keep away from trees as fallen debris can cause
  algae growth
• Keep pond drainage away from your house

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Shape

• After determining the location you can define the
  shape of your pond using a garden hose
• To figure out how much water the pond will hold
  use this formula
• length (ft) x width (ft) x depth (ft) x 7.5
  gallons
• Make sure the soil around the pond is slightly
  elevated to keep excess water away from the pond
• Depth of the pond should be between 18-24 inches
  (slightly deeper if you plan to keep fish who are
  temperature sensitive )
• Incorporate plant shelves (6-12 inches below the
  water level) they should slope towards the
  outside of the pond
• Have different depths spread across the pond so
  that you can plant submerged, emergent and
  floating plants (graph)

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Materials

• Liner-a quality liner is necessary for
  durability EPDM is the most recommended
  material purchase one that is 45 mm thick to
  figure out the size of the liner draw an
  imaginary rectangle around your pond and measure
  the width and length Then add to this
  measurement twice the depth of the pond plus 3
  feet.

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Materials

• Pond pump-choose a pump that is efficient and
  durable because it will have to run continuously
  it will have to circulate half of the pond water
  every hour (for a 1,000 gallon pond you should
  have a pump that circulates 500 gallons per hour)
• Filter-needed to trap particles and remove
  organic matter depending on your budget you can
  purchase one with biological and mechanical
  filtration and UV clarifiers for algae control
  you dont need a filter if you dont have fish

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Installation

• Digging
• Installing the liner
• Landscaping

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Digging

• You can install your pond any time the ground is
  not frozen or wet
• Plan for an entire week-end to complete the
  digging
• Use a tiller to loosen up the dirt
• Decide the final shape, length and depth of the
  pond it will be harder and more costly to alter
  it later if you change your mind

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Installing the liner

• It is easier to manipulate the liner if you let
  it sit in the sun for 30 minutes or so
• Protect your liner with a layer of sand
  underneath
• Cover the area with liner and slowly add water
  while adjusting the folds in the liner
• Cut the edges off after the pond has been filled
  and the liner secured

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Landscaping

• After the liner has been installed, secure and
  hide it with rocks or gravel
• You can add some gravel to the bottom of the pond
  to prevent air pockets from forming and make it
  look more natural

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Vegetation

• I recommend native vegetation for easy
  maintenance
• For beginner pond keepers I suggest you put
  plants in pots (wider than they are tall) for
  easy placement and re-arrangement
• You should have 3 types of plants in your pond
• Submerged
• Floating
• Emergent
• Submerged plants stay under water and you should
  choose the ones that are good oxygenators. You
  should plant these in the deeper part of the
  pond
• Elodea
• Spiked water milfoil
• Hornwort (coontail)
• Sago pond weed
• Water celery
• Waterweed

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Vegetation

• Floating plants should be planted in 12-18 inch
  depth zone they should cover 2/3 of the pond
• These plants are important because they reflect
  much of the sunlight and can regulate water
  temperature
• They are perfect hiding spots for fish and
  amphibians
• The free floating plants can consume large
  quantities of nutrients thus playing an important
  role in algae growth restriction
• Watercress
• Spatterdock
• Water lily
• American lotus
• Duckweed (free floating)
• Water shield

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Vegetation

• Emergent plants have their roots planted in water
  or saturated soil and have their bodies and
  leaves above water they should be planted in the
  shallow areas of the pond
• Blue Iris
• Pickerelweed
• Broadleaf arrowhead
• Sweet flag
• Tussock sedge
• Yellow Iris
• The emergent plant zone constitutes a rich
  organic zone that is abundant in algae fish and
  amphibians prefer it for their daily meals

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Water quality

• Before you add fish you have to make sure that
  the water quality is at the correct standards
• If you filled your pond with tap water you have
  to de-chlorinate it
• Buy a testing kit and check the pH and ammonia,
  nitrate, nitrite levels www.pondepot.com/water_tr
  eatment/ammonia.html
• pH should be between 6.5 and 8.5
• Ammonia should be as close as possible to 0 PPM
• Nitrate levels can be somewhere between 50-100
  PPM
• Nitrite should also be as close as possible to 0
  PPM
• You should check these levels weekly to insure
  normal levels large variations can harm the fish

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Fish

• You can add native fish to your backyard pond
  they are colorful, fun to watch and make your
  pond more complete DO NOT take fish from
  existing ponds and introduce them in your
  backyard pond purchase them from a hatchery
• I suggest native fish because not only are they
  adapted to local climate but they will co-exist
  well with the native vegetation
• The plants will provide shelter and food
• You can watch the evolution of this small
  ecosystem and notice the changes it goes through

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Native Fish

• For 60-200 gallon ponds you can stock with a
  combination of
• Dollar sunfish
• Blue Spotted fish
• Orange spot fish
• Flagfin shiner
• Southern redbelly dace
• Fathead minnow
• For ponds larger than 200 gallons you can add all
  the above plus
• Longear sunfish
• Redear sunfish
• Stocking should be done as follows 1 inch of
  fish lengthwise per 5 gallons of water (so a 500
  gallon pond holds 100 inches of fish)

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Maintenance

• Installing the pond, placing the plants and
  introducing the fish is only the beginning
• Your backyard pond requires regular attention,
  especially if you have fish
• You will have to check the water quality, the
  health of your fish and the overall state of your
  pond
• I will answer a few major questions regarding
  pond maintenance more information covering a
  vast number of problems can be found on-line

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Water quality and plants

• One of the most common problems is the pea green
  soup the water has this color due to algae
  bloom in the pond
• There are a few things you can do
• Make sure fertilizer from your lawn doesnt end
  up in your pond
• Make sure the pump and filter are adequate for
  the size of your pond the pump needs to
  circulate 1/2 of the water volume in one hour
  same rate applies to the filter
• Make sure the floating plants cover 2/3 of the
  pond
• Do not add tap water constantly
• Place organic barley bales in loose mesh bags
  early in the season (1/2 pound bale for every
  1,000 gallons of water)
• Do 15 water change four times during the
  seasonremember to de-chlorinate it if you use
  tap water also check the water quality
• Do not over feed your fish

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Questions

• Will I have a mosquito problem once I installed
  the pond?
• If you have fish in your pond they will eat
  both the mosquitoes and the larvae. If you do not
  have fish you can purchase a larvacide product
  that will not harm aquatic life. They usually
  last for 30 days after which re-applying will be
  necessary.
• http//www.pestproducts.com/mosquito_dunks.htminf
  o

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Questions

• How can I prevent predators from eating my fish?
• The best way to protect your fish from predators
  is by giving them enough hiding spots. Make sure
  you have deep enough water in your pond where
  fish can go when they feel threatened. Also
  having 2/3 of the pond covered with floating
  plants will provide fish with more invisibility.
  To protect them from raccoons plant a dense cover
  of emergent plants around the rim. This will
  prevent raccoons from reaching into the pond.
  Gadgets like motion sensitive sprinklers are also
  helpful. It all depends on your budget.

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Questions

• What can I do with my pond and fish in the
  winter?
• First lets start with the pond. Native plants
  should adapt pretty well to the winter conditions
  in our area. If you dont have fish you should
  remove all the dead foliage from the plants and
  put all the pots in the deepest part on the pond.
  Cover the pond with a tarp or plywood and
  insulate it with bags of leaves to prevent the
  water from freezing.
• If the pond is not deep enough and will freeze
  solid you can move your plants in the basement in
  their original pots. Keep them well watered. If
  this is not a possibility purchase a de-icer and
  place it in you pond.
• Another option is to completely remove all the
  plants and replace them with new ones in the
  spring if you do not want to do any maintenance
  work.

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Questions

• Fish
• First you should start by feeding your fish less
  once the temperature drops (2-3 times a week if
  the temp is below 60 degree below 50 degrees you
  should stop feeding them all together). Turn off
  the pump and filter and drain all the pipes when
  water temperature is close to freezing. Place a
  de-icer in the pond to keep an area free of ice.
  DO NOT brake the ice if the pond is already
  frozen. If you want to protect your fish from
  predators add a net on top of the pond.

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De-Icer
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Questions

• More questions and problems will appear as you
  get more involved with your project. There are a
  lot of web-sites that can be very helpful in
  resolving this issues. I listed a few on the
  handout attached in your package. You can always
  e-mail me if that is more convenient
• meablauer_at_sbcglobal.net

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• Thank you !