Assessing Pond Supply Needs – 6 steps

Assess What Your Pond Supply Needs Are

Assess your pond supply needs before you go shopping for fish pond supplies you need in exactly the same way as you do when you shop for groceries, for clothes or even for gifts. Ideally you’ll be able to find one supplier who can provide you with everything you want at a reasonable price.

Are You Building A Pond

If you are building or installing a pond you are going to need all the necessary materials to do so. Generally pond supply outlets sell preformed ponds and flexible liners. They often sell kits as well, which are ideal for DIY enthusiasts.

If you want to build a pond from bricks or blocks, stone or from concrete, then you will probably need to get the construction materials required from a builders’ yard or similar outlet.

But all the other accessories, pond supply needs and pond equipment will be available from a good specialist supplier. These include pipes, valves, pumps, filters, skimmers, fountain fixtures, even plants, fish and fish food, and nets for covering ponds, to prevent birds and other predators making a meal of your fish.

What else could you possibly need?

Assuming you already have a completed pond, what other pond supply needs are there?

The answer to this question depends on both the type of pond you have and whether or not you have stocked it with fish. Ponds don’t generally need a lot of maintenance work, but if a pond starts to leak, you will need to take action immediately. It is also a good idea to be sure you either have, or can get, whatever materials might be required to fix a leaking pond quickly. This will, of course, depend on the materials used to build the pond in the first place. Manufacturers of preformed ponds and liners often produce repair kits.

Generally a pond stocked with fish is more likely to have balanced water than a pond without fish. This is because the fish play a very important role in terms of the balance of nature, eating insects and other tiny creatures. This is important to realize, particularly if you have stocked your pond with goldfish or related species. They eat hardly anything and are natural scavengers. So never over feed them with pre-packaged food.

If you have a koi pond, you’ll need to be more careful about food, feeding the correct amount to ensure that the fish stay healthy and grow as they should. Your equipment will also be more expensive and will include a pump and filter, to keep the water clean and healthy and to ensure that you can see these beautiful fish.

Balance And Clean Your Pond Water

If you don’t have a pump and filter, and you don’t have fish in the water, there’s a good chance that the water in your pond will become green and murky as algae starts to form. If you leave decomposing plants and leaves in the water, they will rot and if fish are in the pond, they may be adversely affected.

Plants in the pond, including lilies and various other floating and marginal plants, can help to balance the water. There are also various products that you can use to clear the water, that won’t harm fish.

The Importance of Pond Filtration

If you are building or installing a new pond, or improving an old one, you will want to consider the benefits of filtering the pond water.

While it isn’t always necessary to filter the water in ponds, if you are planning to stock yours with koi fish, it really is essential. If you are going to introduce goldfish it is recommended, because you will see the fish better, even though a well-balanced pond doesn’t really have to be filtered. If yours is going to be a reflective pond, just to introduce mood into the garden or patio, clear water will be a decided advantage, and so filtration will be a good idea. But if you are only going to have water plants in the pond, it isn’t particularly important provided you keep the water clear of dirt, debris and excessive algae.

Nevertheless, there’s nothing worse than an overgrown, untended pond that is murky and clearly has a slimy growth of algae and other debris floating in the water, so assess your pond supply needs before you start.

Anybody who knows anything about koi fish will appreciate how important pond filtration is when it comes to koi ponds. Not only will good filtration minimize pond maintenance, but it will also ensure that the water remains clear and healthy all the time. Koi are so incredibly beautiful and colorful it’s a total waste if you can’t see them. They are also expensive fish that have a long lifespan (up to 50 years and more), so you need to consider their health and ensure they have an environment where they can grow to their full potential, and spawn.

It is also true that any effort you make to improve the quality of your pond water will benefit all other forms of life in the pond from plants to frogs and toads.

If a pond is carefully planned, properly constructed or installed, and then well maintained, you will find that it naturally attracts creatures in the forms of birds, insects like dragon- and damselflies, amphibians, and even some small mammals. If you plant in and around the pond, and stock it with fish, you will encourage a natural food chain to develop and so set up a good balance of nature and have a well-balanced pond.

Other Creatures In Your Pond

Apart from the creatures that you will obviously see, there are many other microscopic beings that live in the water and contribute to the natural balance of any pond and to its food chain. Even algae which we generally do our best to get rid of, plays a vital role in the balance of nature, purely because it is food for some creatures.

Pond Depth

There are proven steps that you can take to ensure that your pond is naturally balanced, including planting oxygenating plants in the water and shading the surface of the water, assess these pond supply needs as well. The depth of the water in the pond will also play a role. Usually if it is at least 18 inches (45 cm) deep, once the correct balance has been achieved, the water may stay clear for at least nine months of the year. Often in spring water will become a bit cloudy, and then you’ll need to do some seasonal maintenance to get back the pristine conditions. As plants start to grow, it usually clears.

A few ponds do stay clear all year round, but when you have koi in the pond, you have fish excreta and often leftover food to contend with. This is a major reason why pond filtration is such a valuable addition to most garden ponds.