A nature pond

Well, the smaller and shallower the pond and the more life [fish] you stick in it the harder and slower it is for Nature to get to and maintain the balance. To be honest, when starting a pond of any size it's better to just use plants [marginals, bog plants, oxygenators, deep water plants to get a balance for a week or three, without adding fish which do say you say add nutrients by excreting, denying algae the nutrients to use in it's needs to grow. It's a uphill struggle with a small, shallow pond if you stick everything in it at first go!! But, I would give it a chance to see if Nature can get a grip or if you have put too much in too soon

 

Blanket weed is not good but there are other algae that are good..

Well I don't have fish in my pond it is for wildlife and I reckon it took a couple of years before it settled down to it's own eco system.. I have newts frogs snails water shrimp taddies and other strange looking things all lurking quite happily in mine now.. I have lots of plants too but not too many, I know as I have good green algae on the sides of the pond but not blanket weed.. A "covering" of algae on the walls of the pond, plant pots, is a good thing as it isn't the nasty string algae that blanket weed is. It is a darker green and not spreading out into the pond like Blanket weed.. If that isn’t there, the pond isn’t balanced.

 

The algae pots, on the walls of the pond are completely different to the algae floating in the water, Marley. Phytoplankton [algae] has many different species and it's the "free floating" algae that will cause murky or green water in a pond when it blooms due to excess nutrients in the water and warmth from the Sun. It's important to stress the difference or people with new ponds might think it's the fixed algae causing the problem when in fact it's a different species.

 

Yes you are quite right there Armandii.. I will correct it in the morning..

 

Sorry @Ellen I didn't explain that right as Armandii said I will go back and re-word it..... No Blanket weed is not good but the green Algae on the sides of the pond and pots is a different kind and is good... Blanket weed is stringy and fills area of the pond.. Fish and wildlife all struggle with that as getting around the pond is difficult.. You can sometimes twirl a stick in it to pull it out but i always leave it at the side of the pond for twenty four hrs so if i have hooked anybody out mistake they can get back to the pond..

 

I read an article recently about wildlife ponds in that leaving the weeds etc by the pond for a while doesn't actually enable the vast majority of creatures to crawl back in. No idea if that's right or not but will try to remember where the piece was...

 

Decided I'm going to stick with the plants in the pond as-is for the moment and see what develops but will add a couple of alpines or similar to the rocks bordering the pond, just for a few extra places for bugs to hide

 

Fortunately, a quick find for the article which gives top tips and explains a few things too - worth a read. http://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/thingstodo/inaweekend/put-in-a-pond.aspx

 

I always have a forage through it as I know some can't find their way out. taddies being one..!

 

Take a pic @Ellen so we can see.

I've just found a clump of what I think is armeria, broken a few small clumps off and stuffed them into the gaps in some of the rocks facing the main view of the pond. The intent is for it to grow a bit, sag and cover the pond liner when the water level drops a bit.

 

That refers to when you've cleaned out your pond and pulled out excess weeds. Instead of just dumping them directly onto your Compost heap laying them at the side of the pond for 24 hours does give what ever less than suicidal "creatures" the chance to head back into the safety of the pond. I am due to go into my pond in the next few days wearing Chest Waders and have a clean up around the edges while also taking rotting leaves etc from the bottom and everything taken out will lie at the side of the pond for 24 hours.
If you do have algae "blooming" making the water murky or have silk weed [blanket weed] in it it's a sign that there's too much nutrient in the water and the pond is out of balance. Nutrients can get into a pond via fallen leaves, stems, dead insects, fish excrement, chemical fertilisers being leached out the the surrounding soil and garden, and even rain and dust. But it is really just a matter of planting enough marginals, oxygenators, and other plants. If you've done that then the water will clear although it will be quicker to do so if you haven't made a "instant" pond complete with fish!!!