Fish ponds are just as likely to attract wildlife as a natural pond. But, not all visitors to a fish pond are welcome. There are some visitors who are more obvious and easy to deter while others are so agile and sneaky their visits often go unnoticed with dire consequences.

Fish pond predators UK

• Mink – the American Mink is often mistaken for an Otto but are much smaller with fluffier tails and pointed snouts. They are not native to the UK and were bought across from America for the fur-farming industry in the 1920’s. The mink population reached peak numbers in the 1950’s with a record number of farms totalling around 400. By the end of 1967, wild mink were reported in more than 50% of our counties as a result of them escaping or being set free by protestors to the fur industry.As yet there is no strategy for managing the UK wild mink populations. This sweet looking creature is an indiscriminate killer of fish, birds and small mammals. They have no natural predators so the population numbers are thriving which is not good news for fish pond keepers that are neighbours to the country-side.  Mink are nocturnal and move very swiftly so it is difficult to locate their presence. They are also good little swimmers and are strong enough to take fish bigger than they are. The little rascals will get under pond netting and are undeterred by steep edged pond designs. 
• Herons – they are wading birds and mostly associated with wetlands. They prey on fish, frogs and invertebrates obtaining their food by wading through wetlands and visiting garden ponds. Herons are a common siting at the side of water where they stand on one leg with their heads hunched into the top of their wings. They are frequently seen along the side of the canals too (in fact where there are fisherman there are likely to be herons!). They pounce onto the unsuspecting victim in shallow water with their dagger like beaks. Once they have found a garden pond with a rich food source they are very persistent.
• Foxes, crows and cats are less likely to steal fish but if it is an easy meal – the threat of these animals is real.

How to stop a predator invasion

Fish pond design and size can make a big impact on keeping predators away, although it is not a full proof deterrent. Building a raised pond with vertical sides makes it more difficult for predators to ‘fish’ around for prey. Adding floating plants to your fish pond offers a place to hide when your fish feel threatened by unwanted visitors. A shallow pond with sloping sides makes it very easy for predators to gain access and to exit.

A pond guard or netting will keep foxes, cats, herons and crows from treating your pond like a sushi take-away. This will not deter the otto or mink, though as they can get under the netting.

If you reside near a lake or canal you are likely to see heron visiting your garden in the hope of grabbing easy pickings. Many fish pond owners invest in a heron decoy to put on the edge of their pond but this alone doesn’t always have a 100% success rate.

For the otto and American mink visitors, a 0.3 meter mesh fence or electric fence with absolutely no gaps is probably your best solution for ponds built at ground level. You only need to leave it up for about a month and they will soon learn that your pond is not open to visitors – ever!

A fifth deterrent worth trying at times when you feel your pond is under threat is to supply an alternative food source to draw predators away from your fish pond.

There is nothing more disheartening than our pond inhabitants losing their precious lives to the beaks, jaws and claws of hungry predators. There are certain loses that are at the mercy of nature and difficult to control such as that of dwindling tadpole numbers. However, with larger predators there is a greater chance of being able to put defences in place to deter them. The Grey Heron is probably our biggest threat to any pond owner, preying on fish and frogs. Predators to fish ponds tend to pray on easy pickings so if fish have a place to hide, they are less likely to invite attention. If the escape route out of a pond is a challenge it too would be a disincentive to predators. Be on the look out and keep your precious fish safe!

A box-welded pond liner for vertically sided fish ponds makes it more difficult for claws and beaks to come in contact and risk puncturing the liner – predators are also less likely to bother trying to prey on fish in a pond when access and exit are more of a challenge. Building a pergola over a raised pond is an added deterrent for birds whose flight will be obstructed by the pillars of the pergola.

Keeping a fish pond safe from predators is likely to require a bit of effort. However, if you do succeed in making it difficult for the predators to feast on your fish, frogs or tadpoles – the chances are they will leave to look for easier pickings elsewhere.

Owning a garden pond offers many environmental benefits including the great value it offers to wildlife and enhancing the property we live. The intensively farmed country-side, use of agricultural sprays, draining of wetland habitats and expansion of towns and cities has resulted in the decline of many wild life species including the common frog – despite it’s name it is actually in rapid decline. All this has a devastating environment impact.

Benefits of building a garden pond

• Provides a breeding habitat for many species 
• Offers a temporary home for amphibians and reptiles – frogs and newts find their way to water sources – newts favour ponds without fish.
• Holds a diversity of species
• Ecosystems are linked by water
• They recirculate water unlike lawns and flowerbeds which require constant watering during warm, dry weather
• The sludge collected by a ponds filter is rich in nutrients from fish faeces, uneaten fish food and decaying plant matter. It makes a natural fertilizer that can be dug into flower beds.

Ponds offer wildlife a home, breeding habitat and a source of food. However, it is not just the water feature, it is also about the landscape surrounding a garden pond that is of great value.  For example, newts leave hibernation between February and March, returning to ponds for breeding with pond plants providing egg-laying locations. They also need an undisturbed habitat around the pond, providing refuge and good feeding sites. By not paving all of the green space in your garden and being less of a perfectionist when it comes to tidying flower beds, are valued by wildlife. Piles of dried leaves are home to frogs, newts and many other small creatures. Gardens and ponds work in harmony to help the environment – plants, shrubs and trees haver air purifying properties reducing the toxic effect of air pollution.

A garden pond offers important benefits to us too. Ponds offer a sanctuary – a place to go to relax and shut yourself off from the rest of the world – listening to the tranquil sound of water while watching nature at it’s happiest!

Garden ponds with or without the addition of a small fountain are likely to also add to the value of your property. According to The Telegraph May 2016 – “Running water can help mask background noise in areas near busy roads or schools. Small fountains or water features can help create a more peaceful environment – making it more attractive to potential buyers.”

P.S. Butyl and Epalyn pond liners are environmentally friendly products and don’t leach toxic chemicals into the water.

Pond liners serve two main functions in pond construction. A pond liner is impermeable and maintains water retention – stops ground seepage.  They also serve to keep sediment and other debris out of your pond. Today shops and online stores are filled with a choice for every conceivable item and pond liners are no exception. But, knowing what qualities in an item to look for to give the best return on investment can make the experience less daunting. Continue reading →

The daffodils are awakening and filling our gardens and countryside with splashes of yellow. A most welcoming sign that Spring is soon to be with us – the days are getting longer and there is more time get things done outdoors. 

All garden ponds require regular maintenance to keep them looking good. Deep ponds do tend to remain cleaner than shallow ones. Algae, particularly blanket weed tends to occur in newer ponds where a balanced ecosystem has not yet been established or in one which is overstocked with fish. The best way to deal with algae is to remove it on a regular basis using a plastic rake to remove the filamentous weed. Barley straw is an environmentally friendly treatment for blanket weed. Submerge mesh bags of barley straw just below the water’s surface in early spring (replace the straw when it turns black). Chemicals released when the straw decomposes inhibits the growth of algae.

Sharing this review kindly sent to us by one of our customers is testimony that we don’t just sell a pond liner or product, but also our knowledge and expertise to help and advise. We will work with you on your pond design to tailor a pond liner to fit to exact dimensions. Whether you want a flat sheet pond liner or one that is welded to a formal ornamental pond design to fit ‘like-a-glove’ without any folds or creases.

A review sent to us by a customer to whom we supplied the Geotextile underlay and 1.00mm Epalyn pond liner for his unusually shaped garden pond – “I explained my proposal for an odd-shaped liner, and the team at Liners Online came back with several options, which we refined to to a cost-effective, but still complicated shape. The order was delivered only 3 days later, as promised, and is obviously an excellent product with which I am totally satisfied. I would recommend this company to any pond-builder.”Chris Yarrow of East Sussex.

For this pond liner order we took a sheet of Epalyn rubber and cut it to the required lengths before vulcanising them together to form the finished pond liner. The flexibility of a pond liner allows the freedom to design a pond that suits individual requirements without any restrictions imposed. Just dig your pond the shape you require and contact us and we will advise you on the best size and material for your pond. All rubber pond liners come with a long-term warranty for added peace of mind.

Here are photographs Chris shared showing the underlay installed and secured in place using old bricks while they got to work to lay down the pond liner.  The second photograph shows it filling with water. We have been promised a few photos of the end result once completed in a few weeks time once the edging has been laid to secure the liners in place. Work in progress and we can’t wait to see the end result!

A survey conducted in 2015 found that an average of one in ten homes across Britain have a garden pond or water feature. This statistic is encouraging although still doesn’t quite match the lose to wildlife of natural ponds and lakes. No matter what the goal is for a pond owner, whether for fish or to encourage wildlife, they all provide a habitat for amphibians, water insects, birds and small creatures. Ponds require less maintenance than that of a garden provided there is a good balance of aquatic plants, often referred to as natures best filtration system.

Garden ponds are defined as shallow bodies of water of up to 2 meters deep. The sun is able to penetrate such depths casting it’s rays to the bottom of the pond creating the perfect environment for submerged plants to grow. Floating plants such as the commonly know water lilly, grow on the surface and have no root system. They are beneficial in providing shade and shelter to pond inhabitants, but if not managed can grow across the surface blanking out the sun and preventing photosynthesis. Covering no more than 60% of the surface will prevent algae growth while providing sufficient shelter to pond creatures.

There are four types of aquatic plants, namely floaters, submerged, marginals and oxygenators. All offer benefits to maintaining a healthy pond ecosystem so it is good to add a few of each type – how many is dependent on pond size, depth and goal of pond. A healthy pond ecology is about balancing the life in your pond with the environment within – a shallow pond with little movement of water fully exposed to the sun and rich in nutrients is the perfect environment for algae growth. Not quite what a pond owner wants to see happen!  This is important to note when setting your goals for a garden pond.

Aquatic plants offer numerous benefits to garden ponds. They are important to the life of fish and wildlife because they provide cover from danger, nesting areas and food. The presence of aquatic plants really depends on the goal for a pond with wildlife ponds likely to have a greater variety of plants versus a pond housing fish. Submerged plants are important to both types of ponds. They provide protection to small fish, release oxygen into the water and absorb and provide long-term storage of nutrients (that might otherwise be used to increase the levels of algae in a pond). Ponds with submerged plants have fewer problems with algae. However, grown in abundance and they could cause problems for fish pond owners.

The advantages to aquatic plants in garden ponds

• a decrease in water clarity can often be solved by adding submerged or oxygenating plants
• known as  natures natural filtration system
• provide food and shelter to aquatic life
• aesthetically pleasing to a pond giving it character and dimension

Before rushing out to buy aquatic plants for your pond, here are three important things to note: some plants thrive in moving water while others prefer still waters, buy from a reputable aquatic trader who is more likely to sell disease free plants and buy native plants.

Can you feel the days getting longer – soon we will be outdoors soaking-up the sun while enjoying the tranquil beauty of our garden ponds!

How we go about planning and building our garden pond goes a long way toward it’s ultimate success. The quality of water is a good measure of how well a pond has been built and maintained. This is evident in the health of fish and other living creatures inhabiting it. Where you site your pond and how well you maintain the surrounding landscape also contribute to the health of a pond. Ultimately you would want a low maintenance pond which sparkles with health and vitality.

So, what is the relevance of all this? To put it simply, as our towns and cities expand so does the amount of impervious ground cover over which rain has to pass before going down a storm water drain or finding ground it can seep into. Our gardens are no different with patios and driveways having a negative impact during periods of high rainfall. Rainwater run-off is precipitation that doesn’t soak into the ground. This can be due to the ground being saturated, having a non-porous soil type or man-made surfaces preventing water being absorbed into the ground. Rainwater run-off can become a problem when it carries with it leaves and other debris. If this water should then flow into your pond it will affect the health of your pond by reducing the waters oxygen levels.

We plant and fertilize our flower beds, shrubs and lawns. But, in the process we change the environment by adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil. These can all have an unintended negative impact on the water in our garden ponds, lakes and streams. Polluting our waterways affects the health of all living creatures that inhabit it. Sudden down pours of rain can cause flash flooding which can carry silt, grass clippings and other debris that lead to murky water. Lawn fertilizers contain chemicals that can support algae growth or harm aquatic plants and fish. There are, however changes that we can make to reduce run-off in our own gardens.

Careful selection of where you site your pond is an important step to avoid pond water health problems. The ground around a pond should hold sufficient clay content to retain water. 

How to reduce rainwater run-off into your pond

• minimize man-made impervious surfaces
• plants absorb water so  grow sufficient to cover your flower-beds
• native plants have extensive root systems so include these in your garden to absorb rainwater before it becomes ‘run-off’
• dig organic matter into your flower beds – plants will also grow faster and have a greater impact in reducing run-off
• reduce slope of garden to restrict the risk of run-off

Man-made rainwater run-off prevention

If the above mentioned steps are not sufficient in preventing runoff, you can protect your pond by digging a slight ridge around it. The ridge doesn’t have to be very high. If the pond is on an incline, you can create a shallow channel with a slight slope to divert runoff to a flowerbed.

The impact of Global weather changes on Great Britain has seen periods of dry spells followed by heavy and persistent downpours – it is these that can affect the health of our ponds so we hope the tips offered in this article prove helpful.

For more steps to building a healthy garden pond, visit this article on our website >> Pond planning and Construction

Pond liners last many years if installed correctly. Most manufactures of rubber pond liners offer at least a 25 year guarantee provided the pond liner is installed above a protective underlay. For Butyl or Epalyn pond liners up to 100m² in diameter the guarantee offered by Liners Online is life-time. Pond liners bigger than 100m² are guaranteed for 25 years. Butyl pond liner, a 0.75mm thick synthetic rubber has been used to line ponds in the UK for over 40 years with great success and is still considered to be one of the best pond liners on the market.

Pond liners are essentially a waterproof fabric whose function it is to keep the water from seeping into the ground. Not all pond liners are made equal therefore it is advisable to check the guarantee terms and conditions before placing an order. The guarantee period is just a gauge on how long you can expect a pond liner to last. 

Types of pond liners

Pond liners vary in strength, flexibility and durability depending on what material they are made from:

• PVC pond liners – usually around 0,5mm thick. The liner is flexible, however it is not tear resistant so if the material is punctured, it may get worse over time. PVC pond liner will go brittle and crack if exposed to the sun over a period of time therefore correct installation and maintenance are essential. PVC can’t be easily repaired as most pond liner repair products cause the liner to go brittle around the area it is applied to leading to further cracks and leakages. Protecting it with an underlay liner is essential to help prevent leaks. PVC pond liners last around 20 years.
• Rubber pond liners – These liners can be further divided into EPDM (Epalyn) and Butyl, the latter of which has for long been considered one of the best materials by pond enthusiasts. EPDM, on the other hand, is less costly and has similar, if not slightly better characteristics than Butyl. Both pond liners are known to last upwards of 30 years. Should either puncture they can readily be repaired without a costly replacement.
• Preformed pond liners – they are of a predetermined size and shape that can’t be changed. Made of fibreglass or a rigid plastic with pros and cons to both types. Fibreglass is expensive but can be installed above or below ground level. Rigid plastic liners must be installed inside the ground to prevent them from flexing and cracking. A preformed pond will last upwards of 10 years. Ground movement can cause cracking with age so generally have a shorter life span than a flexible rubber pond liner.

Can a pond liner be installed directly on the ground?

Yes, you can however we don’t recommend doing so as this affects the guarantee on the liner. There is also a much higher probability the rough surface of the ground will puncture the pond liner. Liners Online supply a non-woven, mechanically bonded, needle-punched, Geotextile underlay. It offers high performance and provides a highly effective protective barrier between substrate and pond liner. We recommend that an underlay is used beneath all our pond liners, not only to help protect the pond liner from penetration by sharp stones and roots but also to reduce excessive localised stretching of the liner when ground settlement occurs over time.

In summary, a flexible PVC or rubber pond liner will last 20 years and more provided they are installed above a protective underlay, secured in place with appropriate edging material and protected from regular clawed animal visits. A well maintained and cared-for pond should give you years of pleasure.