new wildlife pond

[kev2]

I am in the process of building a wildlife pond in my garden. It will measure about 15ft x 10ft with a maximum depth of 2ft 6in. The intention is to attract wildlife and I will not be adding fish, as I would like to keep it as natural as possible. I would however like to add a waterfall feature of some kind. I am worried that an unsightly pump will detract from the 'natural' appearance and may be detrimental to wildlife. Has anybody on here got a wildlife pond with a waterfall ? If so, what are the benefits/disadvantages ? Any advice would be appreciated.

[King Edward]

Hi Kev,
Welcome to WAB. I can't help you much with your waterfall question I'm afraid, except to say that I doubt there are any particular wildlife benefits from the moving water. The main drawbacks I can think of are (1) animals getting sucked into and killed/harmed by the pump, and (2) excessive disturbance of the water that could be caused by a high flow.

To minimise these you'd want to site the inlet pipe near to the waterfall, have some kind of protective mesh over the inlet, and have a reasonably gentle flow rate. Avoid systems with an inbuilt filter or UV steriliser, which would not be at all good for the smaller pondlife. Also you might want to turn off the pump when not needed. Hopefully other people might have more experience in this area.

If you just want the noise of running water, you could of course consider a separate, self-contained 'water feature' with a bubbling fountain or something.

Regarding the design of the pond generally, if you read through the back topics in this section (and perhaps also the Wildlife Gardening and Reptiles/Amphibians sections), there are a lot of useful discussions on wildlife ponds.

One particular thing is that it's a good idea to have extensive areas of (very) shallow and/or sloping areas in the pond (i.e. depths measured in terms of a few mm, cm or inches, rather than feet). Many species of both plants and animals like such shallow water, preferably above a certain depth of sand/sediment for rooting/burrowing into. This also allows a more naturalistic style of planting, whereas with 'traditional' 12" deep planting shelves you're restricted to using baskets.

[Hedera]

Always have a shallow slope where hedgehogs etc can get themselves out if they fall in. A piece of chicken wire or something as a ramp.

[nightshade]

I have a "waterfall" but it is a filter-box feeding through a rough stone wall.
The water drops clear into a basin that I adapted (with an angle grinder)it was designed as a flower trough. Water overflows steadily and runs down a 2mtr. "stream" back to the pond. I have fish in the pond, but it still has its fair share of wildlife, and the basin and stream are a magnet for birds, I have even had a Grass Snake! The wall gets wet from the spray and grows moss, frogs and toads live in the gaps, there are tiny shrimp in the stream and damsels and stone flies breed in the quiet shallows and it is all in a tiny corner of the garden.

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by King Edward

I can't help you much with your waterfall question I'm afraid, except to say that I doubt there are any particular wildlife benefits from the moving water.

I think there could be some benefit, inasmuch as a well-constructed cascade (which is what I presume the OP is intending) would help oxygenate the pond, and create a broader range of conditions for invertbrates. If it's in a lowland area, it would also increase the chances of attracting wintering Grey Wagtails, which is a definite bonus in my book

Originally Posted by King Edward

One particular thing is that it's a good idea to have extensive areas of (very) shallow and/or sloping areas in the pond (i.e. depths measured in terms of a few mm, cm or inches, rather than feet). Many species of both plants and animals like such shallow water, preferably above a certain depth of sand/sediment for rooting/burrowing into. This also allows a more naturalistic style of planting, whereas with 'traditional' 12" deep planting shelves you're restricted to using baskets.

I heartily concur.

Kev2 (welcome to WAB, btw), with regards to aesthetics, and keeping it "natural", it's not the pump you need to consider (these can be hidden) but the construction of the waterfall/cascade itself. Unless you're fortunate enough to have rising ground to one side of the pond, into which you can set the feature, or you can build an earth bank, or rockery, to create the illusion of higher ground, it's very difficult to make something like that look truly natural. All the attempts to do this that I've seen have ended up with something that looks more like a miniature volcano or Icelandic geyser than a natural watercourse

Can you post a photo of your proposed location?

T2

[King Edward]

Originally Posted by Tursiops2

I think there could be some benefit, inasmuch as a well-constructed cascade (which is what I presume the OP is intending) would help oxygenate the pond, and create a broader range of conditions for invertbrates. If it's in a lowland area, it would also increase the chances of attracting wintering Grey Wagtails, which is a definite bonus in my book

That's possibly true, although if the pond is well designed and maintained then hopefully it shouldn't need additional oxygenation. Also, I suspect that a waterfall large enough to significantly circulate and oxygenate the water might also be large enough to cause excessive disturbance. If oxygenation is thought required, some people recommend a solar-powered air pump to bubble air into the pond - whatever the merits of this, it at least doesn't seem to have much of a potential downside.

Another thought - if you construct the pond to be broadly sloping, with the deep area at one end and the shallows at the other, then you'd obviously want the waterfall going into the deep bit. This would allow a certain amount of circulation/oxygenation in the deep (which would presumably benefit most from this), while leaving the shallow end unaffected. This also allows the gradient to be gentler (better) than if the deepest point is in the middle. It doesn't have to be a constant gradual slope - partially stepped/shelved would work well.

[kev2]

Thanks to all for your replies and for welcoming me to the forum. I remain undecided at present.
KING EDWARD, your point about the danger to wildlife posed by the pump is my main area of concern.
nightshade, your pond sounds excellent. Could you explain more about your filter?
Tusirops2,I will try to get pictures up after the weekend which show the pond under construction and the proposed site of the waterfall.

[Bellfamily]

Hi Kev2, please post pictures of your progress on the pond as it is really interesting to see a ponds journey. It is also helpful for others to see how it is going and may give ideas to others considering a wildlife pond.

[N0z]

I know people dont recommend putting pumps in natural ponds but ive always done it and my ponds teaming with water life, i think if you have running water in a pond it makes it more calming and nicer to look at, and maybe the sound of runnning water will attract more wildlife and even create a home for it if i were you i would make this waterfall

[nightshade]

Amphibious pumps can be raised on blocks to any height, as long as it is covered with water, and even mounted in an annexe to the main pond with a grill to minimise disturbance to the bulk of the pond. I had a pump that was Designed to run dry and again took water from a screened sump area.
At some stage I will be building a tall narrow tower in the corner of my garden, to house the pump, filterbox and controls and provide a shelter for hedge hogs and any other wildlife, including hopefully Bats. The water will still fall into a basin with a stone waterfall behind it to provide a moist habitat for amphibians. Sketch out a few ideas, bearing in mind the suns travel and your view from the house and your garden sitting area