THERE is nothing more relaxing than spending the day by your pond in the garden while reading a book or getting sunkissed.
But summer will eventually be over, and so here we tell you how to take care of your pond during the cold winter times.
Should I keep my pond pump running in winter in UK?
In the UK, we can experience some severe cold weather throughout winter and that is why it is safe to turn off your pond pump during this season.
When temperatures get too cold, and even more freezing in the north of Britain, the water can freeze or develop a very chilled temperature which transports to the pump too.
The pump will be at risk of freezing or getting too cold which will cause irreversible damage to it.
If you have no aquatic life in your pond, it is safer to turn it off.
You might also want to consider turning the pump off to prevent ice from building up.
If ice is built up in your pond, it might damage its lining and you'll have to spend even more money, not just on a new pump.
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If you do have frogs or turtles living in your pond and you need to keep the pump on during winter, we recommend you get a pond heater.
This helps to open up a "breathing hole" in the freezing water or the ice and will also help any harmful toxins escape.
How to get rid of algae in a pond naturally
Algae build up in a pond because of the exposure to light, nutrients and carbon dioxide, which helps it survive.
Unlike other plants though, algae cannot store energy in its roots, so if some of these elements are missing, it won't survive any longer in the pond.
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There are several ways how to get rid of algae in your pond.
Add plants
One option is adding more plants because these will be competing with the algae for the light and nutrients.
The larger the leaves of the plant, the stronger they are, and the algae won't stand a chance in winning the nutrients over.
You should cover 50 per cent of your pond with water lilies because these big-leaved plants will help to blog sunlight to the algae and absorb the nutrients too, killing the algae in the process.
They also create nice scenery in your pond.
Frogbit and water soldiers are also good plants to block light to the pond, and in the process reduce the temperature of the water which slows the growth of algae.
Add a filter
You can also add a filter to your water pump.
It creates beautiful water movement and helps to remove any solids from your pond such as leaves, dead plants and also algae.
Water movement also slows down plant growth and reduces carbon dioxide levels which will work to the algae's disadvantage.
These two ways are effective but they do take their time to kick in and start working.
So be patient and meanwhile, here we also tell you how you can get rid of algae in your paddle pool.
How to build a pond
If you're thinking of giving your garden a refurbished look, building a pond is a good way to make it more relaxing.
Here we tell you how to build a pond in your garden.
Before you get started, make sure that you have the following items:
- A spacious patch in your garden
- A plank of wood
- A pond liner- it is recommended to be made of butyl rubber for long-lasting results and it is also cheap
- Pond plants such as water lillies
- Large rocks
- A spirit level
- Builder's sand
- A mini-digger or a spade
- Water – rain water gives the best results
Once you have all these items, you can start building your DIY pond.
Get digging
Try to build your pond somewhere exposed to the sun and mark the site with a rope or a hosepipe.
Start digging and ensure that the sides are levelled by placing the plank of wood on top of the pond's hole with the spirit level on top.
Try to dig in a sloped shape, to allow easy access to any aquatic life in your pond.
Get sandy
Once you finish digging, remove any sharp stones from the bottom and cover it with a 5cm-thick layer of sand.
Make sure that you leave some extra sand for another step you'll soon have to do.
Dig even more
Now dig a trench around the edge of the pond so that the pond liner drops in it.
Place the liner carefully in the hole and tuck the edge into the trench, weighing it down with large rocks.
You can snip off the extra liner with scissors.
More sand
Now fill the bottom of the pond with the remaining sand that you have.
Fill the pond
This step may sound easy but it can potentially take you some time.
Try to fill your pond with collected rainwater, but if you do not have any, you can fill it with a hose.
While you're filling the pond, the liner will stretch, so make sure to fill the edge of it with soil.
Try not to leave any of the liner uncovered, because it can degrade with sunlight.
Place the plants
Leave your pond to rest with the water for a week or two.
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After this period passes, you can start placing your plants in the pond.
Placing stones, logs and more plants around your pond will attract aquatic life and you'll start to see your pond flourish.
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