On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:48:08 -0400, whiskybelle wrote:


Hi,

I excavated a 5 x 3m pond last April, lined it and filled it, bought
masses of oxygenating plants and potted up some pond plants but now one
year on, despite clearing all debris in the autumn and again this week,
the water is brown, stagnant and all but a handful of oxygenators are
dead.

I want a natural wildlife pond without a pump if possible. I live in
the Highlands of Scotland, about 1000m above sea level and the soil
around is naturally acidic. Our tap water is pure, with no additives and
the pond was filled by hose. I'm at the point of thinking about filling
the flaming thing in again.

Can someone help please?

Hi,

How deep is the pond and what compost did you use for the plants? Have
you changed the water at all and is it mains water or from a local
well? What were the plants you put in and are they likely to be able to
survive a winter up there?

The brown has to come from the planting medium or run off from the
surrounding area so is it possible that runoff water can get into the
pond?

Stagnant means there isn't enough water movement to oxygenate it
properly, does it get any sun? Is there any algae floating around?

Usually a new pond takes time to settle down and the water will go
green from algae that grows from the nutrients in the fresh water. It
could be that you have very few nutrients in your water and need to add
food for the plants that you put in. If you used your local soil it
could be browning the water and be low in nutrients. Peat will always
stain water brown for instance.

--
Regards - Rodney Pont
The from address exists but is mostly dumped,
please send any emails to the address below
e-mail rpont (at) gmail (dot) com