Plant pond
A plant pond is all about plants and aquatic plants. So there are hardly any, if any, fish in a plant pond. The golden zipper, sunfish and goldfin are fish that are suitable for this type of pond, provided the numbers remain small. Other fish are less suitable because they have plants on their menu. If there are too many fish in a pond, the water will quickly become cloudy due to the excess waste products produced by the fish.
An important feature of a plant pond is the calmness of the water. The water should not flow or circulate too much. Pond plants keep the water clear. The advantage of this is that a plant pond requires minimal filtration. Optionally, an air pump or pond heater can be installed in the winter to keep the water surface from freezing over. Of course, if you want to keep the pond water crystal clear, installing a filtration system is always an option.
Plant pond construction
TIP! from Velda
Want a planted pond? Then make sure the pond has at least half sun during the day. This is to promote the growth and flowering of the plants in the pond
It is important to build a plant pond with different depths. In this way, the different plant species will come into their own and will grow best. It is also important that at least half of the pond receives sunlight during the day to promote the growth and flowering of the plants in the pond. If you do not take this into account, the plants will soon die and the pond water will become murky.
The depth of a plant pond ranges from 15 to 120 cm, depending on the planting. Marsh plants thrive best at a depth of about 15 cm, for aquatic plants it is 40 cm and for oxygen plants and water lilies the ideal depth is between 100 and 120 cm.
Perfect plant species for the plant pond
What are the perfect plant species for a plant pond?
Bank plants
Low ground-covering riparian plants camouflage the edge of the pond, while taller species provide volume and structure along the bank with their stems and flowers. Shoreline plants are pleasing to the eye because of the variety of colors, shapes and sizes.
The biological function for the environment is also determined for shoreline plants primarily by their growth capacity. The better they grow, the more nutrients are removed from pond environment, reducing the risk of algae.
Marsh Plants
With marsh plants you can make the pond really attractive, through the variety of colors, shapes and sizes. The biological function for the pond environment is also determined by the growth capacity of the marsh plants. The more nutrients, the better they can grow. Thus, marsh plants are also of great value for the natural balance.
Water Lilies
A beautiful water lily (Nymphaea) with many flowers is the crowning glory of your pond. They also have an important biological function; they take light away from the water, reducing algae growth. Lilies love fish in the water, they keep insects and water snails away from them. The other way around too, pond fish take shelter under the floating leaves in the face of imminent danger from a hungry heron.
Oxygen Plants
Oxygen plants grow quickly and keep the pond clear and algae-free. They grow underwater and absorb nutrients from the water via the leaves and release oxygen. Therefore, they are an important pillar of the natural balance in the pond and are extremely useful in keeping the water clear and healthy. The rate of growth is determined by the presence of light, temperature (12-25°C), nutrients, water quality and CO2. If they grow poorly or not at all, the cause can usually be sought in the water quality and too low supply of CO2, or unsuitable soil. Then there is a chance of algae growth.
Floating Plants
Floating plants are ideal for new ponds because they remove CO2 from the air. The choice in floating plants is not that great, especially if we want to use only the native hardy species. But even though they are few in species, they are a very useful and in some cases essential group of aquatic plants. For obtaining a natural balance and clear water, they are often indispensable. They grow quickly and have few water quality requirements. Their value is mainly determined by their enormous capacity for growth, even under conditions in which the so-called oxygen plants fail.
Plant pond maintenance
A plant pond requires relatively little maintenance. In addition to maintaining the plants, water quality monitoring only needs to be done occasionally. The plants themselves can be divided and propagated annually, so the investment, outside of construction, will basically be largely one-time. The best maintenance time is late summer, late October – early November. The pond can then recover well before winter.
In the fall, dead plants and blown-in leaves should be removed from the pond, this prevents them from rotting on the bottom. Use a scoop net for this purpose. Organic debris on the bottom increases the chance of acidification of the pond which will not only make it more difficult for fish, but also increases the chance of algae problems and poor plant growth.
It is not wise to empty the entire pond annually to clean the bottom. This not only removes all kinds of useful water creatures but also significantly affects the bacterial metabolism, which is especially important in winter. It also causes a lot of stress for any fish present.
