Having a garden right at your backyard is indeed a excellent source of excellent vibes. It is the best area in the house to recharge for the next working day. But for those who are not satisfied with just a place with tiny bushes and flowers here and there, you might want to consider putting up a koi fish pond in your garden. This water feature will not only serve as an upgrade to your fish pond, but will also add more appeal and tranquillity to your garden.

Unlike other types of pond, a koi fish pond has to be well-maintained and requires more hands in cleaning and even in installation. Many assume that the fish is the most vital part of a fish pond is of course the fish. But the truth is that if the pond itself is not well-built, you will not be able to delight in the pleasures it can offer. Not to mention the fact that the lives of the koi in the pond will not last. Considering these things, we can say that the most vital part would be the design and installation of the whole water feature.

The first thing you need to reckon of is the size of the pond. If you have really chose to place koi in your fish pond, you should make it spacious. Koi fish can grow huge even in a small area so it is essential to place them in a huge pond to avoid congestion. You should also reckon of the number of koi you will place in the pond. The size of the pond should be at least equal to the number of fish again, to avoid overcrowding since koi grow in size.

After you have settled the size of you pond, the next thing you need to focus on is the area in your garden where there is ample shade. This is where your koi pond can be perfectly placed. But remember that your pond should not be placed under a large tree of some sort. This is because of the leaves that may fall in the water. The dried leaves can ignite the growth of algae in the pond. It is advisable to place some marine ornamental plants to add more shade to the koi pond.

There are pond equipments that are needed to maintain your koi pond. Pond filters, pond ventilators, pumps and water conditioners are in fact necessary to keep the pond in mint condition. Although it may be costly, a pond fountain can be added not just to accentuate the pond itself but also to help the water be always in motion. This is to keep organic matters and algae from building up rapidly. Worry not since these things are available at any pet or garden stores and even in the internet.

Try not to be discouraged by the things that need to be done when putting up a koi fish pond. They may be laborious at fist, but the benefits the pond can offer will not even match the work you have place to it. It will be much more.

Having a pond in your backyard is not a tough job. It can be easily done with some proper plotting and implementation. This article deals with various techniques and strategies that you can make use of while building a backyard pond.

Finding the best suited pond

Before starting pond building the first question you have to solve is in relation to the type of pond that you want to build. Solving this question will help to find answers for where to locate the pond, what features to include, how much depth and width to keep etc.

Generally home ponds are of the following kinds

1.) Basic ponds

2.) Water gardens

3.) Koi ponds

4.) Wildlife ponds

Basic ponds

These are ponds that have been built to include basic water features. Such ponds may not have any exotic pond plants or pond life. These kinds of ponds are simple to build and the calculations involved in building is also less.

Water gardens

Water gardens are ponds having water falls, pond plants and pond life like exotic fishes. The depth of these ponds should be at least 2-3 feet with a view to keep the fishes and the water plants healthy. This kind of ponds can be located in open spaces away from deciduous trees so that the maintenance can be reduced.

Koi ponds

http://www.abcponds.com Koi ponds are ponds that are specially designed to keep koi. The water capacity of these ponds depends upon the number of koi fishes that you are plotting to introduce It is advisable to locate koi ponds in shady area away from direct sunlight.

Wildlife ponds

These are ponds specially designed for keeping wildlife. Such ponds include frog, turtles etc apart from fishes and pond plants. The specifications for this pond are similar to that of water garden.

Techniques to be followed while building ponds

In simple words any one of the undrementioned techniques can be used to your pond. The first two techniques can be managed by yourselves while you have to opt for professional labor if you have to go for the third one.

Making use of a flexible pond liner

The use of proper pond liner is highly appreciated, especially you are a biginer.This process includes finding out a best suited spot for the pond in your backyard. Even you can make use of garden hose or clack to mark the spot and at last measurements have to be taken for buying the flexible liner. You can have the liner from any shop dealing with pond products making sure that they deal with high quality products.

If you have got a shovel, you can start digging the marked spot. The depth of the dig depends on the type of pond that you are plotting to make. After that the liner has to be placed into the excavated part and the edges are to be covered with decorative stones. The next step is to fill the water by garden hose. Pond filters can be introduced with a view to keep the pond water clean and clean.

Proper use of performed garden ponds

In order to make things simpler you can make use of preformed garden ponds that are available in the market in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can get them ready made and make use of them as wished by you. If you are interested in a below ground pond, then you have to start the digging process as mentioned and lay the performed pond.

In this case with a view to help it settle down well water can be introduced into the pond at the time of laying. At that time you have to make sure that no dirt is inside the pond to prevent hurt.

Proper use of concrete

If you are plotting to make use of concrete, it’s better to take professional help, because the process involved. After the concrete pond is ready, first fill it with water and wash it to remove all the chemicals. You have to repeat this for two weeks if you are plotting to introduce exotic fishes and plants.

By properly following the above mentioned techniques it is possible to make your back yard colorful and attractive. Cool Pond scaping

My Garden

Is a fascinating place for my dogs.

They are now excluded from the shrubbery, have been fenced off from the top lawn, and are banned from swimming in the pond.

The former came about because Molly, my Black and White Springer, is intent on getting through the fence to sort out the upstart of a dog next door, who has the audacity to patrol the other side of OUR fence.

As soon as BJ the interoper appeared in the garden, Molly would trample over the border plants, barge through the shrubs and flatten any young shoots growing near the fence, in her urge to protect us from this fearsome Scottie.

The fence is 5 feet tall, and runs the full length of the shrubbery. Molly would patrol it hourly, Sniffing the air at intervals, stopping only to shoo off a visiting bird, that mistakenly thought that OUR garden was a free landing site.

She’s just as terrible with the squirrel.

The squirrels feeding box is positioned at the bottom of the garden. in a tree, out of the way of cats and dogs, The food for the squirrel box is stored in a garden bench/storage box, on the patio. The squirrel is well aware of this makes a daily trip to see if he can raid our ’store’ to top up his.

He never can, but he keeps trying.

Molly does the squirrel run every morning, as soon as she is let out, it’s a ritual, she does a quick sniff round the patio, a sortie, down the garden, then back up for a more detailed survey of the area.

The squirrel sometimes infuriates her by sitting on the fence, and sticking out it’s tongue, before disappearing, back to it’s tree. It will return later, when Molly has finished her patrol, had breakfast and made her report.

Maisie, My Liver and White Springer, isn’t interested in wild, fearsome interloping Scottie’s at all.

She only pays a passing interest in squirrel scents, doesn’t bother with birds, and can take or leave slugs and snails.

Her passion is, THE POND!

It’s odd really, she never used to bother much with it, but recently we dug it out and enlarged it, She watched us intently, and after finding a few dozen stout slimy frogs, wallowing in the mud at the bottom, and having observed slippery, wriggling, bright coloured fish, caught in nets, and deposited into plastic containers, before being returned, a few days later, to the nice, clean, sparkling water, AND having witnessed polythene bags, full of illegal immigrant, new age traveller fish, that were obviously squatting on OUR pond, released to cause distress, she is now obsessed with getting them back out again.

She is a nuisance really, the second she’s out in the garden she’s pondside, head hovering a few millimeters above the surface of the water, then she’ll rush round to the other side of the pond. and perform a similar minute inspection, I’m sure she counts the fish.

All that was fine, we could place up with that, but then the Heron found us, and ate the two largest fish. So we place up heron wire, at different heights around the pond, It seems to have worked as we have lost any more fish, but we do have to replace the wire every few days as an excited Maisie, gets tangled up in it, in her quest to find the gypsy fish.

Yesterday though, was the final straw.

Last week we fitted a new pond filter, the ancient one had failed and the water was beginning to bear an ucanny resemblense to pea soup.

It took just over a week for the water to clear. so we could see the bottom of the pond. We could see the fish swimming again, but so could Maisie.

We heard the splash from indoors, and rushed out to find a soaking wet springer, running crazily round the pond, a murky, dark, dirty, pond, that matched the colour of the soil in the borders.

A quick look around and the reason for this became apparent.

Maisie has, for a day or two now, managed to work out that if she place a paw on each of sunken plant containers on the shallow, shelf end of the pond, she can peer out, further into the depths to see where the squatter fish are.

Every time she did this, the plant containers went a small closer to the edge of the shelf, until eventually, they fell in taking Detective Maisie with them.

So the filter is now working overtime again, cleaning up what now resembled Brown Windsor soup. I reckon i prefered the pea colour to be honest.

Update

We have bought a small power spray, filled it with water, and every time Maisie nears the edge of the pond, we give her a squirt. She likes to be wet, so it doesn’t bother her too much. But it does startle her, and makes her go back, away from the Heron trip wire, and more importantly, the pond edge..

Both my dogs are avid, ardent froggers. but that’s a tale for another day.

If you have chose to have a pond that if full of Koi fish, then you have made a fantastic choice. These are colorful fish that are full of wonderful patterns, so they will certainly be adding a lot of color to your garden. We like them, because of the unique look, plus they get pretty huge in size. When you have a pond full of these fish, there are a number of things you will need to take into consideration. For starters, it is vital to know a bit about Koi pond cleaning. In the paragraphs below, we are going to look deeper into this topic.

If you do not do proper cleaning, then the pollutants will build up and cause ammonia to form. It can also cause nitrate and solid organic waste to form. If you do not have the right amount of filtration in your tank, then this is going to cause the waste products to build up to a lethal level, which could be fatal for the fish. When you place it in a nutshell, you will find that pond filters will save your koi’s life.

It is vital that you maintain excellent quality water constantly for your fish. Therefore, your fish can stay healthy and live for a long time. There are a number of different filters that you can find on the market. Each will provide various functions and features. The costs will also vary. But, you need to take the specific needs in hand. You need the best one that will keep your Koi with toxic free, clean water.

Keeping the pond clean should be at the top of your list. This will prevent them from suffering, until they die. The water they live in is not only a place where they sleep, eat and feed, but it is also a place where they use the restroom. If you do not keep it properly cleaned, then your fish will be living in a toilet.

The water that is in your pond should be completely clear. There should be no suspended or floating debris. The Koi should appear as if they are floating in the air. If you look into your pond and you are not able to see the bottom of it, then chances are, the pond is too dirty.

Of course, you take a lot of pride in your pond. You like taking care of the gorgeous landscape of it and smelling the pretty flowers. But, no matter how lovely that landscape is around it, the pond will not be successful unless you are able to keep gorgeous fish in it with clean water. These ponds are designed to show just how gorgeous nature is.

You should look at your Koi pond as if it is a fish tank, because that is exactly what it is. Therefore, you should treat it as if it is a fish tank.

Fish tanks need a lot of care, unlike the natural water systems. Filtration systems will help maintain the quality of your water. If you care about your fish, then you will research this topic further.

Live Like Royalty

Backyard ponds are not only for the filthy rich individuals. Nowadays, even the simplest homeowner can make their own backyard pond as luxurious as the wealthy estates.

Once you get your back yard pond set up, it would provide both fun and enjoyment. It also provides a dwelling place for the fish, wildlife, aquatic plants and flowers. It is a relaxing leisure activity that not only provides relaxation but appreciation to Mother Nature as well.

Plot Ahead

Building your own backyard pond may not be extremely hard to built but thorough plotting should be placed in constructing one. The toughest part in building one is digging the pond. It all depends on what type of soil your region has. This determines how simple or how strenuous the digging part would be.

The size and shape of the pond depends on your preferences. It can be a small, preformed pond or one that needs a pond liner that can hold up to seven thousand gallons of water.

Location

Consider the location of your pond. Where would it be best seen? Picture yourself sitting outside. What location grabs your eye the most? Consider these vital elements. Is the water source situated justnearby? Is your pond’s location a flat area? Is electrical supply available? Keep in mind that these are just some questions you need to be answered.

Equipment

Building a pond of any size requires a complete set of tools. Now, take hold of these vital equipment. In building and constructing a pond, one must need a water pump, a UV filter, a pond filter, and some pond plants among many. Other must haves are the following: a pond liner of appropriate size, an air diffuser, pond lightings, a skimmer, the aquatic animals, and fish food.

Cost

Another thing to consider in pond building is the cost. Initially, constructing and maintaining the pond could be quite expensive, that is with no doubt. But there are now cheaper do it yourself kits available in the market. Once it is finished, the enjoyment it brings is worth it.

Another plus for the backyard pond is that it turns an oh-so-dull piece of land into a thing of beauty. It works best if you have the proper landscape to go with your pond. Make your pond the centerpiece of your back yard.

But, because of too many do-it-yourself homeowners, they usually make mistakes. Following these guidelines may help you avoid the pitfalls of do it yourself backyard pond disasters.

Initially, it is vital to incorporate your pond to the current landscape of your backyard. This works best for amateur landscapers who just wanted to get right down to work. Do not let your pond detract the beauty of your yard. Make it fit and not out of place.

To Sum It Up

Integrate your pond’s design to your landscape. Do not make it lavish if you have a very simple backyard. Take time to choose the design that may flatter the overall landscaping.

Secondly, reckon of the essential requirements of a pond. Do not place your pond in complete shade since this will hamper the amount of sunlight to your pond. Aquatic animals and plants need ample amount of the warmth of the sun.

Finally, size does matter. Plant the size of your pond. Do not place too much fish on a small pond. Experiment on a variety of aquatic plants.

Provide luster and relaxation to your yard as well as increase your property’s value. Make your backyard more attractive and enjoyable by adding a backyard pond.