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#1
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Filling in pond
Hi all
I warn in advance that this is a rather long post. We have quite a nice pond in the garden, which holds two enormous ghost koi (all inherited from previous owner of the house). However, we also have an 18 month old highly active and inquisitive baby. So we have decided that the pond will have to go. It's a kidney shaped pond (something like 2m long by 1.5m wide at the widest point or perhaps a shade bigger) with nice low growing conifers (all sorts of different ones) and heathers all around it, and it is just to one side of the patio. It gets good sun most of the day. I have a few questions about what we do now. Firstly, we need to get rid of the fish. We've tried to put them in Loot, but the only two interested parties never got back to us They are very, very large and quite old (estimated at least 7-8 years), so there isn't much interest. Nevertheless, there is a relatively local Koi centre (we are in Herts), and I'm sure they'll take them off us. So assuming we get rid of the fish, we are left with a soft lined pond with a couple of plants (easy to remove) and the whole pond is surrounded by nice grey bricks (approx 4 high - and they go below the waterline). I think we may keep the bricks, as they would make a nice outline for a bed. Now, what do we fill it with? The pond is a couple of feet deep, and I don't know if we need to fill the whole lot with soil, or whether it will be ok to put a bit of rubble in the bottom to reduce the volume of soil needed? Also, which kind of soil do we need. Do we just get "standard" soil from a nursery, or do we mix it with compost (or something else altogether)? As the surrounding beds are heathers and conifers, I thought the nicest thing to complement with would be a rockery. If we go with this idea, do we actually need to include more rubble/pebbles/stones in the soil, or will it be ok to just place the odd nice looking rock on the top? As the bed will be "contained" within the old outline of the pond, will there be an issue with drainage? (We will of course take up the old pond liner.) The alternative would be to remove all the bricks as well as the liner to make it all flush with the surrounding beds. If we do this, do we fill it in the same way? The soil in the garden in general is rather heavy and clay-ey and full of stones and rocks. A nightmare to dig! Lastly, is there a "right" and a "wrong" time to do this. As we won't really be digging in existing soil, it won't make a difference if the soil around is rather cold or frozen, but is it best to leave it until it gets warmer? I apologise for the long post, and hope someone will be able to give me a few pointers!! Thanks for your help Pia |
#2
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Filling in pond
"Pia" wrote in message
... Nevertheless, there is a relatively local Koi centre (we are in Herts), and I'm sure they'll take them off us. Probably if it's worth them quarantining them for a while first which it should be if they are a decent size. They'll want to avoid introducing disease to their existing stock. Now, what do we fill it with? The pond is a couple of feet deep, and I don't know if we need to fill the whole lot with soil, or whether it will be ok to put a bit of rubble in the bottom to reduce the volume of soil needed? I can't think why that wouldn't be OK but remember that the soil will wash down to fill the gaps in the rubble so expect it to settle quite a bit at first. Also, which kind of soil do we need. Do we just get "standard" soil from a nursery, or do we mix it with compost (or something else altogether)? I'd put something cheap and poor at the bottom and then fill the last foot or so with something better. There's no point putting expensive compost where the plants won't use it. I'm not sure from your post how deep the pond is though. As the surrounding beds are heathers and conifers, I thought the nicest snip be "contained" within the old outline of the pond, will there be an issue with drainage? (We will of course take up the old pond liner.) If you put a lot of good drainage in the bottom of the hole there shouldn't be any problem. Actually, just occured that you may need to be careful not to make the hole too free-draining or you'll be effectively be building a soak-away which will drain water from your adjacent beds as well. The alternative would be to remove all the bricks as well as the liner to make it all flush with the surrounding beds. snip That sounds more attractive but you should probably still raise the area a bit to keep it drier than the beds. Lastly, is there a "right" and a "wrong" time to do this. As we won't really be digging in existing soil, it won't make a difference if the soil around is rather cold or frozen, but is it best to leave it until it gets warmer? I don't know much about alpines but I think it would be best to wait until the ground is easier to dig before doing the destruction/construction whilst still aiming to get it completed before whenever the plants should go in. Hope this is some help, Martin |
#3
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Filling in pond
"Martin Sykes" wrote in message ... snip lots of helpful stuff Hope this is some help, Martin That's great, Martin. I did think I'd have to wait for a while to start the whole project. Thanks for your help Pia |
#4
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Filling in pond
"Pia" wrote in message ... Hi all I warn in advance that this is a rather long post. We have quite a nice pond in the garden, which holds two enormous ghost koi (all inherited from previous owner of the house). However, we also have an 18 month old highly active and inquisitive baby. So we have decided that the pond will have to go. An alternative would be to fit a strong metal mesh about an inch below the surface of the water. You can buy mesh with a variety of different wire thicknesses and holes sizes in large sheets, or cut to size, from Mirlyn Wire in Hove, East Sussex. You would probably need to build some walls inside the pond to give a secure support, but I suspect it would be a lot less work than filling it in. Colin Bignell |
#6
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Filling in pond
nightjar wrote in message ... An alternative would be to fit a strong metal mesh about an inch below the surface of the water. You can buy mesh with a variety of different wire thicknesses and holes sizes in large sheets, or cut to size, from Mirlyn Wire in Hove, East Sussex. You would probably need to build some walls inside the pond to give a secure support, but I suspect it would be a lot less work than filling it in. Colin Bignell Hi Colin I can't really put mesh below the surface of the water, as the fish eat food which is on the surface. I had considered putting a mesh over the top of the pond itself (as the "walls" around the pond go quite a bit over the water level). This is likely to be our solution if we decide to keep the pond. Thanks for your help Pia |
#7
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Filling in pond
"Mike" wrote in message ... Snip have already said it is attractive, and by the sounds of things the fish are happy. If it is because of the 18 month old I say no. And that is from someone who has rescued a child from a garden pond, not breathing, and resuscitating her. snip lots of interesting stuff I do see your point, and filling it in was in a way the "easy" (not physically!!) option. We will look into putting a mesh over the top, although it will perhaps not look too nice. We've also considered a fence around it, but kids like climbing, so a fence is not really going to work. Thanks for the long answer. We will definitely reconsider filling in the pond...I myself quite like the wildlife (although I could live without the frogs urgh!!). Pia |
#8
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Filling in pond
"JennyC" wrote in message ... It seems such a shame to get rid of the pond when it's doing so well. What about removing the water and making it into a sandpit until your child gets old enough for it to long longer constitute a danger ? Personally I'd be inclined to fence it in somehow so that he/she could enjoy the frogs, dragonflies etc while she/he grows up :~) Jenny See my replies above. We may well find a solution to keep it...perhaps we will wait to see how Thomas is around the pond this summer and if it is a nightmare, perhaps look into filling it again. Thanks Pia |
#10
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Filling in pond
"Martin Sykes" wrote in message ...
"Pia" wrote in message ... Now, what do we fill it with? The pond is a couple of feet deep, and I don't know if we need to fill the whole lot with soil, or whether it will be ok to put a bit of rubble in the bottom to reduce the volume of soil needed? I can't think why that wouldn't be OK but remember that the soil will wash down to fill the gaps in the rubble so expect it to settle quite a bit at first. I've found rubble in clay tends to prevent drainage. I've got a pond which I hate (I'm replacing it with quite a nice kidney shaped one with nice grey bricks round the edge, going down below the waterline) and I'm going to put sand over the rubble until it's all covered. That way it should improve drainage. Also, which kind of soil do we need. Do we just get "standard" soil from a nursery, or do we mix it with compost (or something else altogether)? I'd put something cheap and poor at the bottom and then fill the last foot or so with something better. There's no point putting expensive compost where the plants won't use it. I'm not sure from your post how deep the pond is though. If you're having 1-2 feet of rockery above it then that sounds about right. I think two feet of earth below any plants has got to be a good idea. Don't get it from a nursery if you can help it; this is what I did and found they charge an extortionate price. If you can wait until they're at work again, someone told me the best thing is to drive around and find where men are laying paving. They actually throw away loads of lawn turf and the like, and will normally bring it round, maybe for a small fee. I'm having a real stress about ponds at the moment. I *kNEED* to get the new pond built because I've collected more than a ton of poor-quality earth (that I'll use for a middle layer in filling up the old one) and left it sitting bang in the middle of my patio bit where I need to fiddle with greenhouse tables! Nor can I lay power cables with it in the way and I want to start using my propagator by February. Aaarghh! If anyone's got a giant fold-up winch that can move about 1500-2000 kgs do let me know. Warwick Dumas www.members.tripod.com/ecuqe "If Adolf Hitler were here today, they'd send a limousine anyway." - Joe Strummer |
#11
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Filling in pond
"Pia" wrote in message ... I can't really put mesh below the surface of the water, as the fish eat food which is on the surface. I had considered putting a mesh over the top of the pond itself (as the "walls" around the pond go quite a bit over the water level). This is likely to be our solution if we decide to keep the pond. I was thinking of a fairly large mesh - 8swg x 2" (4mm wire at 52mm centres) is fairly readily available as it is used in some security and safety applications. That size does not cause problems for quite large goldfish. However, if you think there would be a problem with the Koi, you could always have a dedicated feeding spot, which has a lockable section of mesh that can be removed to feed the fish. As there will be someone there to feed the fish, the hole will be supervised and should present no danger to a child. Above the surface will work as well, but is rather less attractive. Colin Bignell |
#12
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Filling in pond
nightjar wrote in message ... "Pia" wrote in message ... I can't really put mesh below the surface of the water, as the fish eat food which is on the surface. I had considered putting a mesh over the top of the pond itself (as the "walls" around the pond go quite a bit over the water level). This is likely to be our solution if we decide to keep the pond. I was thinking of a fairly large mesh - 8swg x 2" (4mm wire at 52mm centres) is fairly readily available as it is used in some security and safety applications. That size does not cause problems for quite large goldfish. However, if you think there would be a problem with the Koi, you could always have a dedicated feeding spot, which has a lockable section of mesh that can be removed to feed the fish. As there will be someone there to feed the fish, the hole will be supervised and should present no danger to a child. Above the surface will work as well, but is rather less attractive. Colin Bignell Hi Colin The bigger mesh would probably not work, because if Thomas did decide to go on to the mesh, he would easily fall through (with his legs...not all of him!!). However, I hadn't thought of having an opening section. I would really need that anyway, to ensure quick access to the pond itself to clean it out etc (as I expect I would have to fix the mesh rather firmly). If I put the mesh *just* below the water rather than an inch below, perhaps it would look rather nicer. Thanks again Colin Pia |
#13
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Filling in pond
"Pia" wrote:
Hello Pia P I do see your point, and filling it in was in a way the P "easy" (not physically!!) option. We will look into putting P a mesh over the top, although it will perhaps not look too P nice. We've also considered a fence around it, but kids P like climbing, so a fence is not really going to work. I hate to see ponds done away with too. As it's not a particularly big pond, how about raising the ground level around it and putting 2" square weldmesh across? It would need reinforcing across the span, perhaps by some tanalised timber or angleiron, but should make things very safe. Not exactly beautiful though If you must go down the filling in route, how about a temporary fill? Fold one end of the liner down so it doesn't saturate, line with carpet or similar and infill with anything. That way it's quite easy work to reinstate. -- Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/ |
#14
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Filling in pond
It seems such a shame to get rid of the pond when it's doing so well.
What about removing the water and making it into a sandpit until your child gets old enough for it to long longer constitute a danger ? This would require the liner to be left intact so wouldn't it still become waterlogged, in effect replacing a dangerous but visible area of water with an area of quicksand? Martin |
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