There is a lot to planning and building an outdoor pond for the first time or even continuing to maintain an existing garden pond. The first thing to decide is whether you are going to use rocks, landscape stones, native plants or artificial ones. If using rocks and stones then the next step is to decide where you are going to put them. Do you want a larger back garden, a lawn or possibly closer to the house?
If you have the space you will need to build a larger garden pond, such as a thirty or sixty foot pond, then your research should include knowing what types of plants and animals are found in your area and also what they prey on, such as small frogs, skunks and raccoons. Predators can include coyotes, hawks, eagles, owls, possums and cats. If you are using large rocks or landscaped stones make sure they are safe enough from the local wildlife to be around. You will also need to include a diversion for the local birds who may not be able to get to your garden pond.
If you are building a garden pond, you will need to research whether you need a water pump or an electric one. The water pump will be responsible for moving the water from the pond into the drainage system, while the electric one will move the water through a pipe that carries it to the drainage system. The water pump has the advantage of being self-regulated, so there is no worry about running out of water and not having a large pool. However, this means you may have trouble with birds using the pond to dive and wash themselves. If you have a rigid liner in place you will not have this problem as the birds will dive down the fountain and the water will run clear.
If you are looking for a cheap option, one thing you can do to save money is to buy a preformed pond. These ponds can usually be bought at a reasonable cost and are easy to assemble. They come with kits that include the pump and filter, the pond liner and the aeration equipment. Although this may take a few extra hours of your time, it is far less expensive than building a pond from scratch. One word of warning, always check with the supplier whether the pond kit you are buying is appropriate for your pond.
It is recommended that koi ponds are left empty during the off season. The reason for this is that during this time, the koi fish concentrate on looking for food, rather than relaxing and enjoying themselves. When the weather begins to warm up, these fish become wary and stay away from the pools they originally belong. If you are a new to koi ponds, you should understand that the best way to attract the fish is by building the pond with the proper depth and setting.
In the summer months, when the weather is warm and the plants begin to die back, you can gently feed the fish in your outdoor pond with high concentration of aquatic plants. As long as the water remains warm enough, you will never have to worry about algae getting out of control. The only problem with feeding the fish is that they can become dependent on you. To keep things simple, you should always keep changing the types of food and placing them on a rotating rotation so that the fish do not become too attached to any one food source.
Algae loves the sunlight, so if you have plants in your outdoor pond, you should place them near the edge of the pool or on some type of flat surface. You can also add UV filters to the water to destroy bacteria and algae growth. You should try to keep the soil in your outdoor pond moist so that it does not retain excess moisture. This can cause roots to grow out of control and the fish will eventually die.
It is recommended that outdoor ponds are surrounded by netting or fencing so that predators like birds and squirrels cannot get into the water. Predators also like to prey on fish. It is important that the plants in your pond are not very tall or close together so that they do not provide shelter for the predators. Some experts suggest using a combination of different types of plants and fish so that the aquatic plant life provides camouflage for the fish. Another idea is to add a predator guard so that smaller animals cannot pull the fish out of the pond.