Backyard Ponds

Members
Login
Join Now!
Membership Info

Sections
Home
Articles
The Darter - Newsletter
NFC Forum
NFC TV
Photo Gallery
NFC Store
Joe Tomelleri Store

Grants & Programs
Adopt a Tank
Blue Pike
Exotics Fish Tourny
Grant History
Sustainable Aquaculture
Web Fund

Konrad Schmidt

I have always been fascinated by the amount of life that strives in and around a pond such as blooming wildflowers, singing birds, croaking frogs, and of course fish. Unfortunately, I have always had to visit a park or travel into the country to find a pond because I lived in a city. The thought of building my own pond never crossed my mind until I met Don Richmond who worked at the same pet store I did, appropriately called Finny Critters.

Don had already been in the hobby for several years and had pursued a side interest of keeping a pond during the summers. This seemed like a very interesting idea and I wanted to learn more so I badgered Don to give me a tour. I was surprised to find out how simply he had made his pond and still managed to get very impressive results. The pond had a maximum width of about five feet and had a very irregular shape that created many bays. The bottom was lined with a sheet of black plastic and contoured to produce shallow bars and slightly deeper basins. The basins were filled with a couple of inches of gravel to anchor aquatic plants. At one end there was a cascading waterfall that was operated by an old parts washer pump that Don had found at a junkyard.

Don originally stocked his pond with tropical fish, but later added several native species. The most visible fishes were the livebearers and some killifish that were always active and remained within a few inches of the surface. However, several other fishes would make brief appearances when it was feeding time. Don's primary interest was in fish, but he spent great deal of time on other aspects to make the pond look as natural as possible. He collected several species of aquatic plants to landscape the inside of the pond. The plants had no problem adapting to the artificial environment and really flourished by mid-summer. He also landscaped the pond's outer edge with bog plants that really added a convincing touch. He tried releasing frogs in the pond, but most became disenchanted and hopped away. However, he did find one species called the green frog that did stay and had a very unusual croak that I will never forget. Don received an extra bonus from his pond that he never expected. Several species of songbirds that he never noticed in his yard before were attracted to the pond and visited it frequently.

After seeing Don's success with his pond I decided to also give it a try and finally got around to it last summer. I used many of Don's ideas and made up a few of my own that resulted in even a simpler pond. I bought a small, circular wading pool and sunk it into the ground. I used a large air stone and silent giant pump to provided circulation that with a little imagination resembled a natural upwelling spring. I bordered the pool with boulders and seeded the surrounding area with garden flowers. I remember how barren and unnatural it looked in those first few days, but in about a month the flowers were beginning to blossom and lean over the water hiding the pool's edge and giving it a more natural shape. I primarily used the pond as an overflow tank because I sometimes collect more fish than I have room for in my aquariums. I also exiled some problem fishes such as Texas cichlids to spend the summer outside. I threw many fishes into the pond over the summer, but the banded killifish and minnows tended to be the most visible. Some species such as Johnny darters and tadpole madtoms were not seen again until I drained the pond in October.

Don and I both derived a great deal of enjoyment from our ponds that cannot be conveyed in words. I strongly encourage anyone that has a spare corner in their yard to give the idea some consideration. I can also recommend a free pamphlet titled: A Pool for the Backyard that provides information on a variety of designs to enable the individual to select one that will best suit his needs. The pamphlet is available from the following address:

National Wildlife Federation
1412 16th St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036

Pond designs