Many garden owners want their own wet biotope in the garden, which on the one hand has a decorative effect and on the other hand is an ideal place to live for numerous animals and plants. Creating a pond is particularly easy with the help of a prefabricated structure that only needs to be inserted into the excavated pit. Ideally planted and regularly cared for, amateur gardeners benefit from their own prefabricated pond for a long time.
Table of Contents
Suitable location for the pond
Before creating a pond, the location of the water should be chosen very carefully. Uniform solar radiation is of particular importance in this context. The prefabricated pond should be exposed to the sun for about six hours a day. A partially shaded area in the garden is therefore best suited. Places in full sun are not suitable, as algae growth can develop in an uncontrolled manner under such conditions. In addition, direct proximity to trees and bushes should be avoided. This is especially true for varieties that produce abundant foliage or needles. The falling foliage in autumn makes pond maintenance difficult on the one hand and worsens the living conditions for plants and animals living in the water on the other.
In addition to ideal tanning, it should be ensured that the later pond is not in the slipstream. The free accessibility for the wind ensures optimal oxygen enrichment in the water, which promotes the natural water circulation in the pond. Before creating a pond, the condition of the soil must also be checked. For example, the water should not be created in an area of the garden in which plants with thick roots thrive, for example bamboo. Otherwise there is a risk that the roots will damage the pond tub. For this reason, the soil should not contain any sharp stones. In addition, it must be considered whether there are lines or pipes in the selected area that could be damaged when the pond pit is excavated. Last but not least, when choosing a suitable location, access to the prefabricated pond also plays a role. A clearly visible place in the garden, which offers enough space to also set up a seat, is ideal.
Determination of the pond size
Basically, larger systems are better suited than small ponds. Different causes can be blamed for this rule. Large pond systems offer certain advantages:
- more stable living conditions for animals
- lower temperature fluctuations
- improved ecological balance
- better living conditions for fish
In particular, if fish are to be used in the prefabricated pond, it has proven useful to plan a system with a depth of at least 80cm. Sufficient depth is particularly important for optimal wintering of the animals; this prevents the water from freezing through in deep ponds. If the pond should not contain any fish, smaller dimensions can also be chosen. Especially when choosing a prefabricated pond that is created with the help of a pond basin, a total size of less than five square meters is sufficient.
Installation of the prefabricated pond
Before the pit for the pond can be dug and the basin can be used, the outline of the construction must be measured. To do this, the pool is placed on the chosen location; then the outlines are marked with sand.
Now the outlines can be cut off with the spade. The digging and excavation of the pit is done from the inside out. When excavating the individual pond zones, which are usually already pre-marked due to the shape of the basin, buffer zones must also be taken into account for each level; these are both in height and in width 15cm. Once all of the soil has been removed, the basin is put into the pit on a trial basis.
In most cases there is not yet a complete fit, so that corrections by digging are necessary. If there are sharp stones or roots on the pond floor or on the edges, these must be removed. Now sand is applied in a thick layer (about 5cm thick) to all horizontal surfaces and then carefully pounded on. This measure simplifies the alignment of the bottom and also ensures that the pond basin is optimally positioned. It has proven useful to make sure the planes are level. A spirit level is best for checking. Then the pond basin is inserted into the pit; sand is again used to fill the cavities between the basin and the excavation, which is lavishly sprinkled into the existing gaps. With the help of a water hose, the sand is slurried all around. In this way, the soil under the prefabricated pond is compacted; the subsequent sagging of the pelvis is effectively prevented.
Planting the garden pond
Before the pond can be filled with water, individual planting should be done. For this, the individual pond zones must be taken into account:
- Shore zone: dry to slightly damp zone around the pond
- Swamp zone: water depth up to a total of ten centimeters
- Shallow water zone: water depth between 10 and 50 cm
- Deep water zone: from 60cm depth
The planting takes place differently depending on the pond zone. Numerous perennials and grasses grow on the wet edge of the pond, as well as bulbous and bulbous flowers on the side facing away from the water. The classic representatives include primroses, lady’s mantle, or carpet-forming plants such as Pfennigkraut or Günsel. Plants that thrive well in the muddy, oxygen-poor substrate feel at home in the mostly flooded swamp zone; these include above all fever clover, frog spoons, meadowsweet and rushes. In the plants of shallow water, roots and lower parts of the shoot are constantly covered by water. Cattails, horsetail or marsh sword lily are planted here. In the deep areas of the prefabricated pond, however, floating leaf plants such as water hazel or frog bite as well as various types of water lilies thrive. Underwater plants, that are not visible on the water surface should also be planted, as these are essential for the oxygen supply and water clarification. These include above all horn leaf and thousand leaf.
The density of the plants should be taken into account when planting the pond for the first time. Certain criteria must be taken into account here:
- Initial planting is cautious
- Marsh and shallow water plants: 3 – 5 plants per square meter
- Overgrowth of the water surface: a maximum of 2/3 recommended
- Underwater plants: 2-3 plants per square meter of water surface
The months of April and May are suitable for bringing in the aquatic plants. However, particularly sensitive, exotic species should only be planted after mid-May. Robust, summer-flowering perennials that are planted at the edge of the pond, on the other hand, come into the ground in September or in early spring, and spring-flowering after flowering in early summer.
Some swamp and shallow water plants tend to overgrow heavily. These include, for example, rushes, cattails and reeds. These often spread undesirably and overgrow other, more sensitive varieties. Instead of planting them out freely, placing the plants in special water plant baskets has therefore also proven successful. The cultivation in the baskets offers the advantage that the plants can be moved together with the baskets either to the winter quarters or to deeper pond layers for wintering.
Fine-mesh baskets are suitable as plant baskets, which are laid out with water-plant towels, thin coconut fiber mats or newspapers before the soil is filled in to prevent the substrate from being washed out. Then the baskets are filled with substrate and the plant and finally weighted down with pebbles that are laid out on the surface.
The substrate for pond plants should have certain properties:
- i get up
- low in nutrients
- Mixtures: excavation with sand or fine gravel or loam soil / clay
- River sand-clay mixtures 2: 1 or 3: 1
- Special pond or aquatic plant soil
The limitation of the growth of strongly overgrown plants can also be done with the help of a root barrier; the plant holes are carefully lined with the strong, rot-proof sheeting. Plastic buckets or concrete rings are also suitable as a root barrier. The plants of the swamp and shallow water zones as well as floating leaf plants take root directly in the muddy soil. If a suitable substrate is excavated at the depths of the pond, it can also be planted in the ground here.
After the planting of the prefabricated pond has been completed, the pit can be filled with water. Soft water is suitable for this; therefore, tap water usually has to be treated accordingly.
Care and wintering of pond plants
In plant care, regular thinning and the removal of dead, sick or pest-infested parts are of particular importance. Fertilization should be carried out very sparingly and exclusively with special fertilizers for aquatic plants. In spring, plants that have grown too big are taken out and divided. The reduced sections are then reinserted. Matted roots that have grown out of the plant baskets are carefully removed beforehand. Irrigation is only necessary for the pond edge and bank plants. These should be watered regularly. Reed plants are cut back above the water level in spring; this late point in time should be strictly observed, as numerous animals overwinter in the stems.
Organic material is removed particularly thoroughly so that the pond can optimally overwinter. These include dead water lily leaves or algae, but also autumn leaves and wood parts, stalks of rushes and reeds. Water lilies that are not frost-hardy are lifted out of the water together with their plant basket for wintering and then overwintered in basins or buckets filled with water in a cool and light color. In the case of insensitive varieties, it is sufficient if the baskets are pressed into 60cm water depth. Exotic floating plants (e.g. mussel flowers) overwinter at 15 ° C. If the prefabricated pond is not deep enough or if fish that are sensitive to the cold live in the water, they are moved to a wintering aquarium.
Diseases of the pond: uncontrolled algae growth
If the prefabricated pond has been planted correctly and the number of fish does not get out of hand, the maintenance of the garden water is very easy overall. More complex maintenance measures only arise when the ecosystem is in imbalance. One of the most common disruptive factors is the strong growth of algae. The cause of this problem is mostly due to the nutrient content of the water being too high, and sometimes also to a high pH. The lack of oxygen is particularly often responsible for the uncontrolled growth of algae, which hinders the microbial degradation of nutrients and in the worst case leads to the “overturning” of the water. Various options are available as preventive measures:
- Pond water: prepare hard tap water before use
- Use of nutrient-poor soil and special aquatic plant soil
- Acidification of the pond water (e.g. by hanging in peat bags)
- Prevents nutrient-rich garden soil from being flooded in (create a pond 5 cm higher)
- Sufficient planting with underwater plants that inhibit algae
- Use of algae-eating water snails (e.g. ram’s horn snails)
- Removal of leaves, parts of plants and algae residues
- Remove the pond sludge and add fresh water at regular intervals
- Use of pond filters
- Keep fish stocks low; Feed fish cautiously
Conclusion
With little effort, a pond can be created quickly and easily with the help of a prefabricated basin. With correct planting and optimal care, plants will enjoy the decorative wet biotope for a long time, which also offers a valuable habitat for numerous animal and plant species.
