There are many ways to create your own unique back garden ponds or water gardens and we've some advice to help with making it a fun and easy experience. Before creating your water fountain determine what your goals are. Are you attempting to attract regional wildlife, like frogs, turtles and birds? Would you prefer to have a drinking water garden with a beautiful zen feel to it, showcasing lilies, lotus and various other aquatic plants? How about incorporating water in to the design of your home? Remember you more than likely DO have area for a water feature. They could be anything from a half-barrel to an enormous and deep pond in your back yard. No matter what your intentions are we are able to assist you to achieve them. The first step in creating your project is to pick a location. You will want a location where you can create some color for your pond in fact it is also wonderful to find a place where one can protect the water from having way too many leaves or other particles from entering. Shade can be created in lots of ways. Water vegetation on the edge or in the pond will color the drinking water, many ornamental trees are ideal as long as they do not drop too many leaves. Backyard ponds can quickly be overrun by this type of debris. The next thing is to start the look process. This includes choosing the actual shape of the water fountain, any waterfalls or additional drinking water features, filtration, and where and if you will become planting about the water. It is highly advisable to incorporate into the design several different depths and slopes around the pond edges. This provides extra places for fish and animals to move around and for placing different types of water plants. You can create your water fountain out of concrete, prefabricated tubs, or even use pond liners. Pick the option that is best for your project and spending budget. Concrete is commonly more expensive than a tub or a pond liner, but it may go longer if professionally installed. If you will be keeping Koi, Goldfish, Tadpoles or other styles of fish you might want to remember to think about protecting them from predators. Raccoons and Heron are voracious seafood eaters. One of the best methods to protect your seafood and pets is to supply a way for them to move away from the predators. The simplest way to get this done is to provide at least 3 feet of depth in the pond. Heron and raccoons have got trouble catching fish and pets at this depth or deeper. Filtration can be extremely simple or very intricate. It again depends on assembling your project. Water Gardens with only a couple small fish or no seafood at all do not need large filters. You can even make your own filter out of a 5 gallon bucket, some hoses and a pump. It is very easy to do! If you are keeping koi, then you will need a system with more flow and even more mechanical filtration to remove waste. Koi are dirty fish and create a lot of waste. UV sterilizers are a great idea on any water fountain. They kill nuisance algae that turns the drinking water green and in addition kill parasites that may attack your fish. Ideally you will place a UV sterilizer on the return line following the filter. Adding vegetation to your backyard pond can be rewarding and beautiful. Water gardens need a lot of the same caution as any house plant or other garden would. You will need to research your vegetation, determine how high and wide they grow, how to prune them and what forms of additional feedings they may require. You also need to know where around the water fountain your vegetation would grow the best. Some just float on the surface, so you just need to protect them from getting sucked up into filters or destroyed by waterfalls. Other vegetation grow at different depths, which is why we suggest building your water feature with many depths. You can add to the appearance and experience of your pond by picking local stones, or going to a local landscaping store and purchasing stone that fits the experience of your project. Many landscaping shops are now starting to focus on products for backyard ponds. Backyard ponds make great set-ups for koi. There are some things you should consider. Koi get huge and produce a lot of waste, so be sure you provide adequate filtration. It is best to have a system that's too huge than one which is too small. It is costly and will be very difficult to upgrade something later. It is usually best to still do it the first time. Plants can provide another unique challenge when keeping koi. In other words, koi love to eat plant life, swim through vegetation and simply rough them up. Your koi might just destroy the plants and cause a large mess in the pond. If you do use vegetation, and presently there are many that are acceptable, just be sure you pick hard and tough plants or place them in areas where the koi cannot reach them. Feeding your koi is simple so long as you are familiar with their demands. The feeding habits of koi are directly related to the water temperatures and periods. In the Spring time you should begin feeding the koi with a premium color improving growth food. Through the summer months you can continue with a color enhancer, and offer multiple types of food. There are several great spirulina pellets, krill and various other treats for your fish. As the water cools down once again in the wintertime you should remember two things. One, cut way back on feeding. If your drinking water gets down to 50 degrees or lower you certainly do not need to feed the seafood at all. If you will become feeding then go to an easy to digest Wheat Germ food. Backyard ponds can be a lot of fun! We hope you enjoy designing and building yours!
