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Ponds & Aquatic Plants

Pond Pump, No Filter, Clear Water ... Go Figure!

15 years ago

I've had great experiences so far with my pond water, so I thought I'd share. We have a pretty small yard and our pond is pretty small. It's a lined 6'x4' kidney with a consistent flat-bottom depth of 30". We have 2 black milk-crates stacked in the middle of the pond with a layer of stone on top and on top of that is a big oval urn (2' height). The base of the urn sits just below the water surface. The 250gph pump shoots most of the water (some is diverted back into the pond) up and into the urn which overflows into the pond. The water is clear as a bell. You can't really see the milk crates with all of the plants, so it kind-of looks like it's floating. It seems that any sediment that gets pulled in by the pump winds up sinking to the bottom of the urn, thus creating a pretty darn swell natural kind-of filter.

On a side note, I've been bummed that with the only pond in the neighborhood and numerous toad caves and homes built around our gardens, we still don't have any toads/frogs. We even installed a solar light to attract more insects/food at night for the little croaking ones (love the sound), but instead they've taken up residence in some of our neighbors' yards. Go figure.

I'm thinking of taking some advice from you wise ones here and using that diverted water to create a smaller feeder pond that flows into the main pond. Maybe the problem with lack of frogs/toads in our pond is the goldfish.

Wish me luck!

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Comments (7)

buyorsell888
15 years ago
Yes, the problem is likely your goldfish. I didn't have any until I built container ponds and small liner ponds with no fish. Now I have hundreds.
hosenemesis
15 years ago
Steve, thanks for posting your tip about using black milk crates. I have been trying to think of something like that (laundry baskets? no, they are all white or blue, etc) and the milk crate idea is perfect.
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horton
15 years ago
Great stuff Steve, you are using the old tactic of "KISS" and it's paying off for you.
Be patient the toads will come and then maybe the frogs will follow.
Then, after you have about ten or twenty male toads "singing" at the top of their voices, all night in the early spring, as they try to locate a mate, you will wish they had stayed away. LOL
Welcome to ponding and all the fun that goes with it.
"Horton"
prairie_bogger
15 years ago
Steve,
We of course, would like to see pictures! The urn "floating" above the water with all those plants sounds really nice.

Sherry
johnkr
15 years ago
I have plenty of frogs in my pond, which also contains goldfish. I seriously doubt goldfish would keep frogs away. The only threat is that goldfish eat frog eggs and tadpoles, but that's not going stop adult frogs from visiting a pond.

The current tadpoles in my pond have grown large enough to be taken off the menu as fish food. I'm waiting to see if they are going to be green frogs or toads.

Also, clear water and clean water are not always the same thing. A bio filter uses good bacteria to remove chemicals that can not be seen, such as ammonia.
always_outside
15 years ago
You can have our toads! They are noisy and annoying. Cute, though! My DH nets them from the pond and relocates them to a nearby pond. We have to do this to get some sleep. The toads are really loud.
catherinet
15 years ago
Hi Steve,
I have clear water in a couple of my 300 gallon stocktanks (with no pump or filter) and don't know why too! They each have a couple water lilies (young), and a little azolla. I'm starting to wonder if there's something about our well water that might help. Maybe high iron levels help??? Are you using well water?
About frogs and toads. They love lots of cover (like weeds!). Unfortunately, so do snakes.
So make sure you have lots of greenery around your pond. And be patient.

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