There are many methods to create your own unique backyard ponds or water gardens and we've some advice to help make it a great and easy experience. Before creating your water fountain determine what your targets are. Are you attempting to attract regional wildlife, like frogs, turtles and birds? Would you prefer to have a water garden with a lovely zen feel to it, offering lilies, lotus and various other aquatic plants? What about incorporating water in to the design of your house? Remember you more than likely DO have room for a water feature. They may be anything from a half-barrel to a huge and deep pond in your back yard. Regardless of what your intentions are we are able to assist you to achieve them. The first step in creating your project is to pick a location. You will want a location where one can create some shade for your pond in fact it is also wonderful to look for a place where you can protect the water from having too many leaves or other particles from entering. Shade can be created in many ways. Water vegetation on the advantage or in the pond will shade the water, many ornamental trees are ideal as long as they don't drop way too many leaves. Backyard ponds can quickly end up being overrun by this type of debris. The next step is to start the look process. This includes choosing the actual form of the water feature, any waterfalls or various other drinking water features, filtration, and where and if you will end up being planting around the water. It really is highly advisable to include into the design a number of different depths and slopes around the pond edges. This provides extra places for seafood and animals to move around and for placing different types of water plant life. You can create your water feature out of concrete, prefabricated tubs, or even use pond liners. Choose the option that's best for assembling your project and budget. Concrete is commonly more expensive when compared to a tub or a pond liner, nonetheless it may last longer if professionally installed. If you will be keeping Koi, Goldfish, Tadpoles or other types of fish you might want to take time to consider protecting them from predators. Raccoons and Heron are voracious seafood eaters. Among the best ways to protect your fish and animals is to provide a way to allow them to get away from the predators. The simplest way to get this done is to provide at least 3 feet of depth in the pond. Heron and raccoons possess trouble catching fish and pets at this depth or deeper. Filtration can be very simple or very intricate. It once again depends on assembling your project. Water Gardens with a couple small seafood or no fish at all do not need large filters. You can even make your own filter of a 5 gallon bucket, some hoses and a pump. It is very easy to do! If you are keeping koi, you then will need a system with more flow and more mechanical filtration to remove waste. Koi are dirty fish and produce a lot of waste. UV sterilizers are a great idea on any water fountain. They kill nuisance algae that turns the drinking water green and also kill parasites that can attack your fish. Preferably you will place a UV sterilizer on the return line following the filter. Adding plant life to your backyard pond could be rewarding and beautiful. Water gardens need a lot of the same care as any house plant or other garden would. You will have to research your plant life, determine how high and wide they grow, how exactly to prune them and what forms of additional feedings they may require. You also need to know where around the water feature your vegetation would grow the best. Some merely float on the top, so you only need to protect them from getting sucked up into filters or destroyed by waterfalls. Other vegetation grow at different depths, which is why we recommend building your water feature with many depths. You can include to the appearance and experience of your pond by picking local stones, or going to a local landscaping store and purchasing rock that fits the feel of assembling your project. Many landscaping shops are now starting to focus on items for backyard ponds. Backyard ponds make great set-ups for koi. There are some things you really need to consider. Koi get huge and produce a large amount of waste, so make sure you provide adequate filtration. It is best to get a system that's too large than one that is too small. It is costly and will be very difficult to upgrade a system later. It will always be best to still do it the first time. Plants can provide another unique challenge when keeping koi. In other words, koi like to eat plant life, swim through vegetation and simply rough them up. Your koi might just destroy the plants and cause a huge mess in the pond. If you do use plant life, and generally there are many that are acceptable, just be sure you pick hard and tough vegetation or place them in areas where in fact the koi cannot get to them. Feeding your koi is simple so long as you are familiar with their desires. The feeding behaviors of koi are directly related to the water temperatures and periods. In the Spring period you should start feeding the koi with reduced color improving growth food. Through the summer season you can continue with a color enhancer, and offer multiple types of meals. There are several great spirulina pellets, krill and various other treats for your fish. As the drinking water cools down again in the winter you should remember a couple of things. One, cut way back on feeding. If your drinking water gets right down to 50 degrees or lower you certainly do not need to feed the seafood at all. If you will become feeding then head to an easy to digest Wheat Germ meals. Backyard ponds can be a lot of fun! We hope you enjoy designing and building yours!