When you consider building a pond in your yard, you imagine the beautiful natural ponds that occur in nature. You imagine the sound of the rushing water soothing you as you relax outside with your family. You imagine the butterflies and dragonflies enjoying your new beautiful yard. And when you finally take the leap and create your own paradise, you might be faced with some pond problems.
These problems shouldn’t scare you off from owning your own backyard oasis, but you should know that they may occur and have fairly easy solutions.
Pond Problems and Solutions
#1. Do all ponds leak? No.
A properly constructed pond may never leak, but if it does it will most likely be an easy fix.
- Why? It usually occurs from the edges settling over time and rain eroding away the soil around the edges.
Solution: Usually the edge is easy to find and a quick fix. Have your contractor come out to the site to raise the edge (extra liner was left around the edges for when this occurs). He/she will adjust rocks as necessary. This is a simple fix because the rocks are not mortared in creating a forgiving fix.
#2. There may be algae.
Algae is Mother Natures plant and we have to realize why and what kind of Algae we are dealing with.
- Algae is typically due to an imbalance in the water chemistry. This imbalance can be caused by the water source itself or by environmental factors, such as leaf debris getting into the pond.
- Green water is the pea soup Algae that makes it very difficult to enjoy your fish in your pond.
- String Algae can either be the long stringy variety or form into a blanket.
Solution: A properly constructed Ecosystem pond should not have green water but string algae is another story and can be dealt with by adding more plants, water treatments and in some cases an Ionizer made specifically for ponds. How you treat algae is a personal decision on whether or not you mind a little algae or you want your pond spotless.
- Do not remove the algae by hand/scrap off the rocks, as you will do more harm than good because the algae will release spores that will continue the growth of the algae.
#3. There may be a slight increase in energy costs.
- Your pond pump should run 24/7.
- Why? To feed the beneficial bacteria colonies that help aid with the cleaning of your pond. This bacteria relies on oxygen to survive and your fish need the oxygen as well.
Solution: You can’t avoid the slight increase of energy costs if you want to own a pond. However, if energy costs are a concern and fish are not something you want to take care of, consider a Pondless Waterfall
#4. There will be natural water loss.
- Water will naturally evaporate off the surface of your pond, and water will splash off rocks to the outside of your pond.
- The rate of water loss (excluding a leak) is still less than if you were to be water a lawn.
Solution: This is a natural occurrence even in natural ponds and cannot be avoided. But remember the positive of having created an ecosystem for nearby wildlife far outweighs the water lost due to evaporation.
Ponds require differing degrees of maintenance and energy.
You have to decide if having a natural looking water feature in your yard is worth the little bit of effort it takes to keep a beautiful pond year round. Keep in mind that what seems like problems to owning a pond are relatively simple fixes for being able to have the sound of water out your door, and a relaxing area to sit down after work. I believe that the amount of enjoyment that comes from a water feature is more than the few drawbacks that can occur.
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