[chairmanphil]

filled it in last year, now it is really coming into being!








still feels wierd walking around on it and not falling in! 

[Fleecewife]

I like it 

[chairmanphil]

I like it 

it has taken alot of work, 120 tonnes of top soil, 8 hours on an little front loader, not to mention all the work in decommission. will look good by high summer though!   

[Smalltime]

Nice 

[chairmanphil]

Nice 

thanx, getting to the end of this stage now. soon there will be time for some chickens. that will be a great day me thinks! will be a proper smallholder then with some livestock 

[Smalltime]

Cool, I put out my first rat trap yesterday by the hole I uncovered very near the old chicken shed. First time I have ever deliberately tried to kill anything tbh but they have to go. Mice, rats whatever they are.
 I am also sorting out the plot, hard work! Chickens are the last thing I am going to get as well, I have to lots to do before they can come in. I did get told by the neighbour they go for the mice though but I want to try and get rid of them before I start chucking feed around.

[Sandy]

We dug a pond similar to that but now do not have ducks, not sure whether to fill it in or put water back in and have fish...the chickens are in that part of the garden so would have to fence it off but its a thought!!

[Fleecewife]

I have seen pics of a large swimming pool converted into a wildlife pond, with the edges softened with plantings - looked lovely, definitely better than a swimming pool.
Our ex duck pond (small) has been taken over by the hens who love to hang out there, taking a drink and standing around preening.  It's also full of dozens of toads which had to come out of our other pond which is currently being enlarged and poshified.

[Sandy]

I must add that our pond is not as big.....the hens do like it and I really wanted a fountain in the middle it would look nice as well as keep the water airated....cannot soften the sides as the hens eat any greenery, I tried with our small pond, I put ferns around but they even ate them!!

[Smalltime]

You can get a pond pump which will filter and simulateneously do a waterfall and fountain (or buy mine if you want, its a good one as i had koi carp - but postage costs could be an issue). A pond is a lovely addition to any space, but you do need to step it for both plants and wildlife to thrive. A tiny pond is fine too, it doesn't matter.  I wish I knew as much about smallholding as I do about ponds/lakes/fish 

[doganjo]

Smalltime - advice please.  I'm about to have part of my back yard dug out - it is hardcore covered with gravel meantime and clay soil below that, with a fairly high water table.  I am hoping for about 8 foot diameter, and want it to be ornamental with a few goldfish in it - what sort of depth should I ask the guys to dig to?  Would three feet be sufficient for that - I know Koi need it a lot deeper. They will dump the spoil around the back quarter of the resulting pond but I know I'll have to enhance that to be able to plant anything on it. 

[Sandy]

We have 2 pumps and it was so funny, there was one already installed but its not too powerful so I bought another to help empty the big pond quicker and water the plants with the water, well I made a water feature from half a whickey barrel, had to fiddle with the pump to turn it on and got absolutly drenched, the new pump is very powerful....the pond we have would look nice with a formal concrete feature, no money to spend on a pond just now but I keep thinking ways I can make a feature, as I say, there is a pond in place with a switch in our garage so no probs!!

[Smalltime]

Smalltime - advice please.  I'm about to have part of my back yard dug out - it is hardcore covered with gravel meantime and clay soil below that, with a fairly high water table.  I am hoping for about 8 foot diameter, and want it to be ornamental with a few goldfish in it - what sort of depth should I ask the guys to dig to?  Would three feet be sufficient for that - I know Koi need it a lot deeper. They will dump the spoil around the back quarter of the resulting pond but I know I'll have to enhance that to be able to plant anything on it.

Hi, It really depends on what you want water plants you want to put in it and around it as they require different depths, as do the invertebrates that inhabit the water. Ponds are pretty good at finding their own natural balance and as long as there is some flow or aeriation to keep some oxygen in the water it will quickly populate itself. The deeper it is the bigger the fish will grow and goldfish can get pretty big if there is enough room. Someone caught a 5lb goldfish last year. They are the same family as Koi anyway so will thrive in much the same conditions and are pretty hardy creatures really. I wouldn't put in many fish or they will get stunted, less is definately more.
The depth is really up to you, I would have at least part of it as a shelf about 1 foot deep, and then step it down in roughly one foot intervals to about four foot, as if we have a savage winter the fish need to get down into the mud and if its too shallow the pond can freeze up to the point the fish suffocate from lack of oxygen. Having said that, if you will have a pump of some sort that should keep the water flowing in which case it is not so important. It also just helps keep things fresh on hot days and mosquitos thrive over shallow, muddy stagnant water.
Relying on the water table is more the concern as abstraction is going to get worse again this year and we are due another dry, hot year. You could find by Autumn you have a large muddy hole where a pond used to be. I would line it and fill it yourself if i were you as ponds always cost money to some extent and nothing worse than wasting time and money at the end of the day. 
 

[Mel]

Here is a 30lb Goldfish! http://www.allaboutwildlife.com/invasive-species/angler-catches-giant-goldfish/5043

[doganjo]

Not quite a swimming pool except fro frogs, i have a small preformed pond in my front garden (courtesy of Sandy some time ago)

Over the winter it had become clogged with blanket weed, so I decided to pump it out using the small fountain pump already in it and empty the water out onto the gravel nearby.  What I didn't realise was that as the water came out of the pond the pond levitated   At the same time the gravel around the pond slipped inwards and even though I refilled it fairly quickly I am left with a black plastic monster sticking up in mid air until Bloomer has time to come and fix it!  The water's beautifully clear though  !