Preformed v rubber liner

What is better a preformed pond liner or just pond liner?
I am building in my back garden, and can't decide what would be better preformed liner or just loose pond liner. Any ideas?

Answer:
You can never get a preformed pond level! And their life span is so very short. You will get a couple of years out of it and it will crack. Use a 40 mil butyl rubber liner. That way you can have the size and design you want and it lasts forever. And you don't ever need shelves. All they do is give you more surface area for algae to grow.

White pond liner?

What is the advantage or disadvantage of a white versus a black pond liner?
I am considering using one or the other for 2 foot deep fish pond, water feature etc.

Answer:

Use black 40 mil butyl rubber pond liner. White attracts algae, black does not. Black liner disappears. White just get dirty.
Black looks natural. White does not.

I can't even find any white pond liner for sale online and have never seen it used.

Why build a garden pond?

Why build a garden pond?

What are the benefits? What is the down side?

• 
  The garden pond is the focal point of your landscape and provides endless hours of relaxation and enjoyment. There is no downside. Ponds take less maintenance than grass and certainly less than flower beds. 
• Perhaps if you need to ask, you really don't want a pond. For more compelling reasons to have ponds, see the photo gallery at my website:
• http://www.pondlady.com

Pond building timeline

Do anyone have a time plan for building a pond?

I want to build a pond in my garden, however the clause is that i have to have a time plan for it. i don't really know what to include. Any Ideas??

• 
  
  By yourself, you can build a pond in 3 days. The first day you dig and get the liner in and fill it up. Day two, you do the rock work. Day three you build the waterfall and landscape around the pond. It is easier to do rock work and build a waterfall if you have a helper. If not, add a day for getting in and out of the water to retrieve rocks for the edges. Here's step by step directions with photos:
• http://www.pondlady.com/resource/pondbui…
• 
  

Electricity and the pond

How do you get electricity to a garden pond?
i am going to build a pond in my back garden, however i am not quite sure how to get electricity to it. any ideas?



Have an electrician run a line to it. He will mount it on a pole he sticks in the ground. The wiring will be underground. Always get more outlets than you think you need because sooner or later you will add lights or another pump or something. BTW, always get a GFI outlet. That's a safety mechanism that cuts off the electricity to that outlet the moment water touches it.

Aquatic Plants for West Virginia

                                                                          Swamp Lily


What are some aquatic plants for a backyard pond in southern West Virginia?
Something other than lilies.


Answer:
There are dozens, both tropical and hardy. Rushes of all kinds will do great. Arum and Saggitaria are particularly nice. Horsetail is another great plant for texture. Plant Louisiana Irises for spectacular spring color.
For floating plants, try parrots feather, water clover and water poppies.
Anacharis is the best for submerged vegetation.

Koi pond?

How do I make a koi pond?

Hi, I was planning on making a koi pond with the following dimensions: 8ft long by 5ft wide by 3ft deep. I was wondering what kind of skimmer/pump/filter/UV filter I should buy for that pond.It is approximately going to be 500-800 gallons. I was also wondering how I would set them up like this is my current thought of it. The pump pushes water to the filter then the filter send's it too the UV filter which sends it to the waterfall that sends it back into the lake. Also if thats how it works where is the water from the skimmer going to go?

That's small for a koi pond. Koi are happier in a larger pond. 

The way you want to set it up is right. The skimmer is built into the side and the pump is in the skimmer. The water goes through a filter and into the skimmer. The pump sends the water over the waterfall. The skimmer also has a filter in it. Here's how to build a koi pond:

http://www.pondlady.com/Articles/koipond…

Mosquitoes

Is it true that if you keep a small pond in your garden with toads, frogs,that they will eat all the mosquitos?

When they usually start doing this and how they do this?

I have noticed since having the pond in the garden with the toads sitting on the lilly pads, I have not had much of a mosquito problem (SURPRISINGLY).

Get a couple of mosquito fish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquitofis…

and you will have no mosquito problem at all. Yes, the toads eat many of them. Surprisingly enough, goldfish do not. They are essentially vegetarians.

You can also use Mosquito Dunks, a product that eliminates mosquitoes and does not harm your pond.

But toads and frogs eat mosquitoes as a main part of their food supply. But a few mosquitoes always escape to buzz you. Best to keep them at bay with another means.

Pond costs

How much does it cost to keep a pond?
It's just a small pond in our garden. It's gonna have a filter and stuff so I was just wondering how much (roughly) it would cost to 'keep'?



If you want to know how much it costs you to run your pond pump, here's the formula to find out: Amps x volts divided by 1000 x KWH cost x 24 hours-a-day x 30.4 days- per-month = cost per month. Depending on the pump, it can cost up to a dollar a day to run it.

If you factor in fertilizer, plants, etc., add that in. It costs very little to have a pond in your garden.

Ducks and mud

How do I clean a very muddy pond?

I have a pond (natural, not man-made) that has a very thick heavy layer of mud on the bottom and the water is brown. I have no fish in the pond, although It did have once many years ago. I now have ducks in the pond, and although they seem happy I would like to make it a bit cleaner for them, if possible.

You are right. The ducks love it the way it is.

If you want to clean it up a bit try some vegetation growing in pots or even at the sides. Irises work well as filters. There are flocculants that will clear up your water. Here's one:

http://www.pondscapedesigns.com/floccula…

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

And to meet a great community of gardeners, join us at  Gardeners  Gumbo

Raccoons!

What height should I build a fence to keep out Raccoons?

I put a pond in a few months ago and ever since I've lost tons of money in fish and plants, not to mention how hard the upkeep has been on my pond because of raccoons. Just last night I lost one 8" beautiful koi and one 6" butterfly! I've had it. I've tried all the home remedies.. cayenne pepper, ammonia and now I've decided to fence off the area where I think they are coming in from. Since I rent I want to spend as little as possible since I'm about $800 in with this pond as it is.

I had put up a 3 foot fence near some stairs because of my 2 year old but now would like to fence off a 20' section to try and keep them out. Any ideas on how high I should make it? I know the best would be maybe 5' or so but I would like to keep costs down. Does anyone know if they can climb over a 3 or 4' fence? I will be planting rose bushes along the back of it (I am moving them from another area of my yard) because I've read they hate thorny plants.

Any other ideas would be great. I cant use a scarecrow because of the size of my yard and location of my patio furniture.
Please help!




You could try planting prickly plant material around your pond. Burford Holly works well. So does asparagus fern. But if they want your fish, they WILL get it.
And you have to sink the fence as well because those critters will dig under it. Dig down under the fence and put chicken wire in so they can't dig through.

How to start a landscaping company

Question:

I would like to know how to legalize my landscaping company? I started a small landscaping company a couple of months ago and now I have many customers and a lot of work. I would like to make it legal meaning I would like to have a landscaping license and insurance for my workers. Where do I get this and how much does it cost? Also if anyone knows how this would look in my taxes meaning how would I report my profit?  Do I have to tell the IRS every job that I do? I am located in Maryland, Thanks!


Answer:
You need an occupational license in the city where you work/live and you must pass the state landscaping contractor test. After that, call any insurance agent to find out about worker's comp and liability. Buy it and start advertising.
You will fill out a schedule C for your income tax. Yes, you have to tell them how much you made.

Smelly pond

Question:

My water feature water smells after not being used can I add anything to the water to stop it smelling?


Answer:

If it has no plants or fish in it, use swimming pool chlorine to clean it up. If it is a pond with plants and fish, start the pump, add submerged and floating vegetation. Pump out 25% of the water and replace it. Don't forget to add dechlor.


Sediment in the pond

How to clear up pond?
I have a pond that is fed water from a swamp. the problem is that it turns brown as soon as the flow of water gets warmer. If i get a good rain the water turns clear, then after a couple of days it turns brown. Can I clear this up with something or do I have to make a new water source for the pond?


Answer:
You really need a better water source than a swamp if you want a clear pond. The brown water you see is caused by suspended material in the swamp water.
You can just fill your pond once and then top it off occasionally. You do not need a hose bib/water source near the pond except when you fill it up.
Or you could just make your pond an extension of the swamp and plant bog plants in it.

Ducks in the pond

How do I clean a very muddy pond?

I have a pond (natural, not man-made) that has a very thick heavy layer of mud on the bottom and the water is brown. I have no fish in the pond, although It did have once many years ago. I now have ducks in the pond, and although they seem happy I would like to make it a bit cleaner for them, if possible.

• 
  
  You are right. The ducks love it the way it is.
• If you want to clean it up a bit try some vegetation growing in pots or even at the sides. Irises work well as filters. There are flocculants that will clear up your water. Here's one:
• http://www.pondscapedesigns.com/floccula…

Choosing the right pond pump

My pond is about 5'x 5' and its 2' deep. I want a pump that makes the water noise. Now I have a cheap solar one. Is 700 gph good? I think so. Will it overflow, cause I want to put it going down 3 tier rocks?

Do pumps come with the tubing?

Answer:

700 gph is not a very strong pump. If you are trying to pump the water up three tiers and from a depth of 2', it may not pump up that high. The biggest problem you are likely to run into is the water splashing out if the drop is higher than 1/2 the width of the pond.
• Most pumps do not come with tubing, but tubing is very cheap and available at hardware stores and most big box DIY stores, so you can get as much or as little as you want.
•
• Look at the 'head' specifications of any pump you wish to buy and make sure it will pump as high as you wish. The head specs will be on the box and tell you how high the pond will pump water. Get one that has more head than your waterfall is high.

Clear pond?

Pond is more clear after it rains? How to keep it clear?

My house was built in the 50s with a koi pond on the front patio before koi ponds were trendy. There is no filtration or waterfall. The electric outlet outside the pond is broken. The only thing we have to filter the pond is a pipe in the pond that acts as a slow drain. There are 12 fish in the pond and they are very healthy. They've been there for 2 years and have had 3 babies. Even though I scrape the bottom of the pond for debris and skim the top once a week, the water is brown and murky. I add new water to keep the drain going and I use a water treater and a barley/health bacteria treatment. There is some minor algae build-up on the sides, but no plants. However, when it rained last week, the pond was clear for about 3 days. Why was the pond clear after it rained and how can I keep it clear?

I should clarify that there are 9 adult comet goldfish and 3 babies, not full-sized koi.

• 
  
  Read and heed this article that I wrote and you will have clear water. Feeding your fish is what is making the water murky.
• http://www.pondlady.com/modules.php?name…
• 
  

Choosing a pond pump

Question

Difference between Pond Pumps & Waterfall Pumps?

I've researching pond pumps for sometime and I've finally found one that right around my budget. My ponds gonna be right around 3000G and I found a pump rated at 5000GPH. but the pump says it's a waterfall pump. I will have a waterfall but I was planning on having the Pump I chose pump water to the Bio-Filter and then out the filter to the Waterfall. So is there a difference or are they all the same. I'm a newbie who needs a bit of guidance please and thanks.

Answer

• 
  The difference is probably the 'head' if there is any difference at all. Large pumps like yours are built for waterfalls, but that doesn't mean you have to use them for that.
• Be aware that there are great, good and rotten brands of pumps. Factor in the warranty length.
•  Some pumps have 3 years some 2, some 1. The pumps with longer warranties are more expensive, but worth it. 
• Cheaper pumps also cost more to run, sometimes twice as much. 
• Here's an article I wrote on how to choose a pump:
• http://www.pondlady.com/Articles/choose_…

What are these small black insects living in my pond and eating the algae ? Scotland question.?

these little black insects are living on top of the pond theres a group of them eating the algie that and they can swim down to the bottom of the pond they kind of wriggle and dart about and go upside down occasionally when they move and it looks like they are white underneath, these insects are really small about 1 centimetre in length and very thin about the thickness of a thick pin for sewing, im just wondering what these are as i only cleaned the pond out, re sealed it and put new water in 3 weeks ago and there is algie growing inside it, white pond slugs and allsorts in it alread ytho i have never noticed these little black things in the pond before, then again iv never really noticed having algae in the pond either. I live in Scotland if thats any help.

• Answerer
  Do they look anything like these?
• http://www.nationalinsectweek.co.uk/caug…

When to put the fish in

Question

Fish in garden ponds?
When is it ok to put fish in a garden pond? The waters just gone in.

Answer:
If you put a dechlorinator in the water, you can put fish in instantly. Put the submerged and floating vegetation in at the same time.