10 tips on how you can improve your garden pond
Garden ponds are a fantastic way to add appeal and attract wildlife to a garden. If you have recently set up a garden pond or are struggling to get the most benefit from it, there are many ways you can improve your garden pond.
1. Regularly change the water
One of the first tips on how you can improve your garden pond is by regularly changing the water. Regularly changing pond water is one of the most important steps in properly maintaining a pond and ensuring a healthy ecosystem.
Over time, pond water can become dirty or full of nutrients. As a result, it’s important to regularly change the water. How often you change the water will depend on several factors, including pond size, how many fish you have, and organic debris that accumulates.
If you notice a build-up of algae or organic matter in the pond, you should seek to change the water as soon as possible. Depending on the water quality will determine how much to replace. The worse the water quality, the more water you’ll need to replace.
2. Ensure regular maintenance
Alongside regularly changing the water, there are many other pond maintenance tips you should regularly follow to improve your pond, including those with a
low-maintenance pond. Ensuring you regularly maintain your pond during the Spring and Winter ensures a thriving ecosystem, prevents algae, and improves aesthetics.
One of the biggest tasks when maintaining your pond is removing dead growth and organising aquatic plants. During Spring and Winter is the ideal time for removing as much dead growth or decaying matter as possible. This is vital for reducing the amount of nutrients in the water.
Spring is also the ideal time to start planting new aquatic plants or managing existing plants. If aquatic plants, such as water lilies, are starting to grow too big, spring is the perfect time to divide and re-pot deep water aquatics. Poor flowering plants may also benefit from aquatic plant food.
3. Add oxygenating plants
Aquatic plants are a fantastic way to help liven up your pond and add some aesthetic appeal. It also provides some shade and natural filters for a healthy pond ecosystem. Covering around 40% of your pond’s surface with aquatic plants can be highly beneficial.
Aside from increasing the aesthetics of a pond, adding oxygenating plants can ensure that fish and other plant life have sufficient oxygen. As oxygen is much less available in water, it’s vital to take steps to ensure sufficient oxygen levels.
This is especially the case at night when plants consume oxygen as opposed to producing it. This means that there could be a lack of oxygen for other pond life, such as fish. Therefore, adding oxygenating plants can help minimise the lack of oxygen.
Some oxygenating plants to consider adding include Hornwort, Willow Moss, Milfoil, Water Crowfoot, and Water Violet.
4. Add some lighting
You could also consider adding some lighting as a way to improve your garden pond. One of the biggest reasons why people opt for a pond is the aesthetics. However, it’s difficult to enjoy the beauty of a pond when the sun goes down.
If you still want to enjoy the aesthetics of your garden pond during the evening, pond lighting is the perfect solution. There are options to add a pond inside or outside of your pond. Inside lighting should be a low voltage (less than 24 volts). However, these can be difficult to clean.
Instead, opting for lighting on the exterior of your pond allows you to enjoy the most benefit. This option is best suited for those already with an established pond. You can either opt for uplights or downlights. Uplights are bested suited for around tall pond plants, while it’s important to not overdo downlights.
5. Add a blanket weed controller
Adding a
blanket weed controller is another tip on how you can improve your pond. Pond algae is a top problem concerning ponds due to how quickly and invasive it can grow. Many pond owners know only too well how problematic pond algae is.
While you can take preventative methods, such as regular pond maintenance, there is no guarantee it will keep pond algae away. Providing the growing conditions are right, algae will grow. The combination of sunlight and high nutrients causes spores to rapidly bloom.
As a result, pond owners will look for a fast and permanent solution to prevent algae blooms altogether. A blanket weed controller is a perfect option that ensures algae blooms are a thing of the past. These small devices are tuned to disturb the growth of algae so that spores in the water never bloom.
Discover more about how blanket weed controllers stop algae blooms.
6. Consider adding partial shade
You should consider adding partial shade to your pond as another tip for improving your garden pond. There are a few reasons why adding partial shade to your pond is important. Firstly, constant direct sunlight reduces the available oxygen in the water.
It also provides some shelter for plants and animals that prefer partial shade. It can also reduce algae blooms (although this won’t be a problem if you install a blanket weed controller). It’s important to remember though that part of the pond still has full sunlight. Otherwise, water will not warm up sufficiently in the spring.
You could consider adding floating plants or plant trees as a way to provide partial shade to your pond.
7. Protecting fish
Many people with a garden pond will opt to add fish, such as Koi Carp. Many people opt for Koi Carp due to their friendly nature and stunning colours. However, there are plenty of predators that would also like to help themselves to your fish.
As a result, it’s important to add methods to protect your fish as another way to improve your garden pond. There are many ways you can
protect your fish, including:
- • Add overhanging trees
- • Avoid steps around the pond
- • Opt for a deep water depth
- • Provide hiding places
- • Use a decoy
- • Opt for motion-detection systems
- • Use a plastic heron as a deterrent
- • Install a low-voltage electric fence
8. Prevent freezing
Another top tip on how you can improve your garden pond is by ensuring the water doesn’t freeze over during the Winter. Given how cold the mercury can get in winter, it’s only natural that pond water will freeze.
However, this can spell bad news for those who have hibernating fish or aquatic plants. That’s because when pond water freezes over toxic gases remain trapped in the water underneath the top layer of ice, causing the water quality to drastically drop and impacting a healthy ecosystem.
Therefore, it’s important to take steps to prevent freezing or safely remove the ice. Using a pond heater can help thaw the ice. Alternatively, adding a small item with buoyancy leaves a sufficient gap to ensure suitable airflow. That way, you can maintain a healthy pond ecosystem.
9. Add stones and rocks
Another tip for how you can improve your pond is by adding stones, rocks, pebbles, or smooth gravel. Specifically, using these to cover the pond lining helps protect the pond liner and improve the aesthetic appeal.
Some types of pond liners, such as those made from PVC, can deteriorate and become brittle with constant exposure to the sun. Covering the lining with decorative features, such as those mentioned above, will ensure your lining is well protected.
It’s also recommended that you pare back the lining around the pond surface. Pare the edging to around 1 foot from the pond edge. This then reduces the amount of liner you’ll need to cover up at the pond’s bank.
10. Consider a water feature
One more tip for how you can improve your garden pond is by adding a water feature. A water feature is a perfect way to transform a garden pond and increase its aesthetic appeal. The water movement also helps keep your pond water oxygenated.
However, there are many more reasons why adding a water feature can improve your garden pond. Whether you opt for a fountain, waterfall, stream, or ornament water feature, there’s lots to benefit from. Some of the benefits of adding a water feature include:
- • Improve the aesthetic appeal of the pond and garden
- • Helps aerate and oxygenate the water
- • Easy to maintain
- • Positive mental health benefits
- • Attracts beneficial wildlife
- • Reduce noise pollution levels
There are many ways you can improve your garden pond and benefit from a highly aesthetic pond. Ensuring you carry out regular maintenance and take the necessary steps to protect your pond will go a long way to improving your garden pond and ensuring a healthy, thriving ecosystem.