I have a 1M square by around 0.5M deep pebble fountain which I am
considering turning into a small pond. The fountain comes from a 1M high
sculpture (standing in the middle on a bucket) which dumps a fair amount of
water back into the reservoir. I would like to keep it because it makes a
great sound. I would like to get rid of the pebbles because of algae & so I
never to have to move them all again to get at the pump, plus I want to
encourage the local urban wildlife.

Does anyone have any tips ? In particular: I assume I would have to
construct a ledge for planting & add some growing medium - how to stop this
blocking the pump (currently sitting on the bottom); any plants that would
thrive in fairly choppy waters.

Many thanks, I can supply pictures if it helps.

Tim

"hedgehog" wrote:

Hello hedgehog

h I have a 1M square by around 0.5M deep pebble fountain which
h I am considering turning into a small pond. The fountain
h comes from a 1M high sculpture (standing in the middle on a

h Does anyone have any tips ? In particular: I assume I
h would have to construct a ledge for planting & add some
h growing medium - how to stop this blocking the pump
h (currently sitting on the bottom); any plants that
h would thrive in fairly choppy waters.

1M is fairly small, but should be Ok for plants.

As for ledges - simply put in bricks or blocks loose to stand the
plants on (protecting the liner if it's butyl/pvc with carpet or
similar).

Choice of plants I'm not so sure of - lilys and other broadleaf plants
that spread their leaves on the water surface simply won't live in
choppy water or constant spray. Spiky leaves or sub-surface plants
should do better though, but it is a fairly hostile environment.

Chances are that on a windy day you'll lose a lot of water, and given
you don't have much reserves may easily empty your pond and burn out
your pump and kill your plants unless you switch it off.

Any chance of making a bigger pond? Big ponds are easier to get a good
balance going.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

Thanks Simon, good tip about the ledges. I should have mentioned that the
fountain is on a timer and only active during the week for around 5 hours, I
often have it on during the day all weekend. Would this intermittent
choppiness affect the plants available ?

My enlarging options are limited as it is in a fairly tight space, I could
widen it slightly, maybe by 20-30cm. Deeper would be hard work (sits on
rubble) but maybe worth the effort. I have a small fenced suburban garden
so there shouldn't be much problem with evaporation.

I came up with this idea because I have to completely remove the pebbles &
wire mesh to get at the pump. I had considered digging out a small "access
dock" for it but I'm not sure if this is feasible, I think it might affect
the flow.

"Simon Avery" wrote in message
...
"hedgehog" wrote:

Hello hedgehog

h I have a 1M square by around 0.5M deep pebble fountain which
h I am considering turning into a small pond. The fountain
h comes from a 1M high sculpture (standing in the middle on a

h Does anyone have any tips ? In particular: I assume I
h would have to construct a ledge for planting & add some
h growing medium - how to stop this blocking the pump
h (currently sitting on the bottom); any plants that
h would thrive in fairly choppy waters.

1M is fairly small, but should be Ok for plants.

As for ledges - simply put in bricks or blocks loose to stand the
plants on (protecting the liner if it's butyl/pvc with carpet or
similar).

Choice of plants I'm not so sure of - lilys and other broadleaf plants
that spread their leaves on the water surface simply won't live in
choppy water or constant spray. Spiky leaves or sub-surface plants
should do better though, but it is a fairly hostile environment.

Chances are that on a windy day you'll lose a lot of water, and given
you don't have much reserves may easily empty your pond and burn out
your pump and kill your plants unless you switch it off.

Any chance of making a bigger pond? Big ponds are easier to get a good
balance going.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

"hedgehog" wrote:

Hello hedgehog

h Thanks Simon, good tip about the ledges. I should have
h mentioned that the fountain is on a timer and only active
h during the week for around 5 hours, I often have it on
h during the day all weekend. Would this
h intermittent choppiness affect the plants available ?

Possibly, but I don't think a lily would like five hours drumming on
its leaves - but otoh, they survive rainstorms so I'm not sure. Could
be a problem of direct sunlight AND wet leaves causing burning, don't
know.

h My enlarging options are limited as it is in a fairly tight
h space, I could widen it slightly, maybe by 20-30cm. Deeper
h would be hard work (sits on rubble) but maybe worth the
h effort. I have a small fenced suburban garden so there
h shouldn't be much problem with evaporation.

Your depth of 50cm is fine - this is only given as a minimum so that
fish can get below the ice, but you don't mention fish, which tbh
might not be too happy in such a small area anyway. Any plants that
can't handle freezing would be taken indoors in the winter anyway.

I like big ponds, bigger the better.

h I came up with this idea because I have to completely remove
h the pebbles & wire mesh to get at the pump. I had
h considered digging out a small "access dock" for it but I'm
h not sure if this is feasible, I think it might affect the
h flow.

If your statue is joined to the pump by flexible pipe then it doesn't
really matter where the pump is - but flow is a big issue. Keeping it
clean can be a problem, but raise it up off the floor a little big and
that'll help an awful lot.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/