Thanks for your replies.
I'm a fishkeeper so I know about the nitrate cycle in relation to aquariua- is it the same for ponds, nitrobacter etc? If so, how long will the pond take to cycle? My aquaria only took a few weeks! I'm guessing I should probably be adding water conditioner when I top the pond up then
I've got quite a few plants in there- water lily, 5 marginals and a lot of canadian pond weed. I'll give those barley things a try, they sell those at my local aquatic shop.
Thanks so much for the warm welcome! I'm going to add my pic of the little toad that visits my pond on the photo page now
