There are many methods to create your own unique backyard ponds or water gardens and we've some advice to help with making it a great and easy experience. Before creating your water feature determine what your goals are. Are you attempting to attract local wildlife, like frogs, turtles and birds? Would you prefer to have a drinking water garden with a lovely zen experience to it, showcasing lilies, lotus and various other aquatic plants? What about incorporating water into the design of your home? Remember you more than likely DO have space for a water fountain. They could be anything from a half-barrel to a huge and deep pond in your yard. No matter what your intentions are we can assist you to achieve them. The first step in creating assembling your project is to pick a spot. You will desire a location where one can create some color for your pond in fact it is also fine to look for a place where you can protect the drinking water from having too many leaves or other particles from entering. Shade can be created in many ways. Water plants on the advantage or in the pond will color the drinking water, many ornamental trees are ideal provided that they do not drop way too many leaves. Backyard ponds can quickly be overrun by this kind of debris. The next step is to start the design process. This includes choosing the actual shape of the water feature, any waterfalls or other drinking water features, filtration, and where and if you will become planting around the water. It really is highly advisable to incorporate into the design several different depths and slopes around the pond edges. This will provide extra places for fish and animals to move around and for putting various kinds of water plant life. You can create your water feature out of concrete, prefabricated tubs, or use pond liners. Choose the option that is best for assembling your project and budget. Concrete is commonly more expensive than a tub or a pond liner, nonetheless it may last longer if professionally installed. If you will be keeping Koi, Goldfish, Tadpoles or other styles of fish you might want to take time to consider protecting them from predators. Raccoons and Heron are voracious seafood eaters. One of the best ways to protect your fish and pets is to supply a way for them to get away from the predators. The simplest way to do this is to provide at least 3 foot of depth in the pond. Heron and raccoons have got a hard time catching fish and pets at this depth or deeper. Filtration can be very simple or very intricate. It once again depends on your project. Water Gardens with only a couple small fish or no fish at all do not need large filters. You can also make your own filter out of a 5 gallon bucket, some hoses and a pump. It is extremely easy to do! If you are keeping koi, then you will need something with an increase of flow and even more mechanical filtration to eliminate waste. Koi are filthy fish and create a lot of waste. UV sterilizers are a good plan on any water fountain. They destroy nuisance algae that turns the drinking water green and also kill parasites that may attack your fish. Ideally you will place a UV sterilizer on the return line following the filter. Adding plant life to your backyard pond could be rewarding and gorgeous. Water gardens need a lot of the same care as any house plant or other backyard would. You will have to research your vegetation, regulate how high and wide they grow, how to prune them and what forms of additional feedings they may require. You also have to know where around the water fountain your plants would grow the best. Some just float on the top, so you only need to protect them from becoming sucked up into filters or destroyed by waterfalls. Other plants develop at different depths, which explains why we recommend building your water fountain with many depths. You can add to the appearance and experience of your pond by picking local stones, or likely to a local landscaping shop and purchasing rock that fits the feel of your project. Many landscaping stores are now starting to focus on items for backyard ponds. Backyard ponds help to make great set-ups for koi. There are some things you should consider. Koi get large and produce a large amount of waste, so make sure you provide adequate filtration. It is best to get a system that's too huge than one that is too small. It is costly and can be very hard to upgrade a system later. It will always be best to still do it the first time. Plants can provide another unique problem when keeping koi. Simply speaking, koi like to eat plants, swim through plant life and basically just rough them up. Your koi may just destroy the vegetation and cause a large mess in the pond. If you do use plants, and presently there are many that are appropriate, just make sure you choose hard and tough plant life or place them in areas where the koi cannot get to them. Feeding your koi is easy so long as you are aware of their desires. The feeding practices of koi are straight linked to the water temperatures and months. In the Spring period you should begin feeding the koi with reduced color improving growth food. During the summertime you can continue with a color enhancer, and provide multiple types of food. There are several great spirulina pellets, krill and additional treats for your fish. As the drinking water cools down again in the wintertime you should remember a couple of things. One, cut in the past on feeding. If your water gets right down to 50 degrees or lower you do not need to feed the fish at all. If you will become feeding then go to a simple to digest Wheat Germ meals. Backyard ponds can be a lot of fun! We hope you enjoy developing and building yours!