A Natural, Ecological Pond

An ecological pond has diversity. It contains plants that oxygenate the water as well
as provide food for the fish. For example, grass carp and tilapia feed on algae,
rooted pond plants.

Grass carp fish are beneficial because they are known to favor the plant foods American
elodea, hydrilla, naiad, and muskgrass, or chara. They have moderate inclination for
duckweed, pond weeds, bladderwort, fanwort, coontail, water pennywort, and water
primrose. Part of their downside is that they do not care for water lily, sedges, cattails,
water meal, and water hyacinth (Georgia Cooperative Extension Service).

Beneficial pond bacteria are more effective in controlling the floating, filamentous algae and
the microscopic, suspended algae, which the grass carp don't like or cannot eat.

Laboratory-cultured, beneficial bacteria have been designed to alleviate nutrient overload by

consuming those nutrients that are released by carp and processed by native pond bacteria.
They also can improve the bottom environment by taking over the decay process from
anaerobic bacteria, and thus, they can eliminate bad odors and improve public relations.

Plants that oxygenate as well as take up nutrients that would otherwise putrefy the water
are reeds and cattails.

Their success is dependent on several factors, however. First) the bacterial formula must
contain those species of bacteria that consume nitrates, turning them into nitrogen gas,
which is harmless and represents about 80% of the air we breathe. Secondly, the bacteria
must be able to bind up the phosphates and render them available as plant nutrients.
Thirdly, the formula should contain facultative aerobic bacteria, which can operate with or
without oxygen. Fourthly, the formula must contain sufficient concentrations to be effective.
And finally, the cultured bacteria must be suited to the pond's environment, with regard to
its temperature and pH.

Information about the use of sludge to fertilize water plants comes

from projects to treat waste water in run-off areas or "sewage
lagoons" (Ref. 61, 62). Some plants, for example water
hyacinth, Ipomoea repens (water spinach, swamp morning-glory)
and some cool season pasture grasses such as rye, fescue and
canary grass, have the ability to grow well in waste water and to
take up great amounts of nutrients efficiently, thus helping to
control polluted waters. These crops have the added advantage that
they are easy to harvest for livestock feed, thus giving an efficient
method of converting sludge nutrients into animal protein.
An aeration pump which pumps water up and out of the pond, and into a sand/gravel bed
(to breakdown and make available for plants the fish’s waste), then sent crashing down a
series of flowforms can filter, and oxygenate the water.

Any pond environment can never have too much oxygen as this is the basic requirement not only for
your fish to be able to breathe but also for the beneficial aerobic bacteria, living in your Bio Filter to
successfully convert ammonia to nitrate during the nitrogen cycle. Flowforms should be used since
they are a super efficient and intelligent way to aerate the water.

A pond should be long in the direction of predominant wind to ensure proper aeration.

If you have a creek or stream present, it can feed a pond and the pond can irrigate your garden as
well as be a source of drinking water for the animals. It should also have an outlet that passes through
reeds, cattails and other plants that purify water as well as provide craft materials and/or fodder. This
should eventually connect back to the sptream. So the pond water can be self changed gradually
without the need for mechanical aeration.

The pond itself should be deep, and after the site is excavated, a non permeable and non
toxic flexible pond liner should be layed out. Above this should be a very thick layer of clay.
Above the clay a layer of sand and above that some gravel. The pond should be deep to
prevent freezing in winter, and it should have shallow areas with gentle slopes leading into
the water, like a beach. This helps small animals get in and out. The gravel should be
inoculated with beneficial bacteria and enzymes which will aerobically decompose fish waste
and rotting vegetation into nutrients for the plants. The floor should be covered with an
aquatic ground cover of oxygenating aquatic weeds which also absorb the nutruents found
in decaying waste; Monkey tail, Water crowfoot; Water violet, Hornwort and Parrots feather are
examples. The Water Crowfoot, the Water Buttercup (Ranunculus aquatalis) and the Curly Pond Weed
(Potamageton crispus) are three of the best. When planting, have the plant in a choir container
and embed this choir container in the sand layer by brushing the gravel aside. Cover roots
again with gravel to prevent fish from munching at roots.

All plants, including pond plants during daylight hours produce oxygen in a process known as
photosynthesis. They utilize sunlight (UV light) and carbon dioxide to produce carbohydrates and
Oxygen. In a pond environment the oxygen is beneficial to the pond fish and nitrifying beneficial
bacteria. A side effect of the breakdown of ammonia is the resultant level of nitrate produced. This
nitrate is used by aquatic plants and algae alike

At night time however pond water plants stop producing oxygen and start to consume it. This is why it
is important not to have too many aquatic plants. 1/3 – ½ of pond surface covered in plants should be
enough.

Plecostomus, and other algae eating tropical fish are useful. Guppies
and other small feeder fish eat insect eggs and are in turn eaten by
larger fish.
Enough cannot be said in favor of scavengers, saprophytes, saprophytic plants, saprovores,
and dentritivores for your pond. These scavengers clean up algae and spent vegetation and
detrititus in the pond. They are the houskeeper of the pool and water garden. Your fish feed
upon insect eggs. Snails, such as Malaysian trumpet snail devour algae and green scum at the
bottom, and also aerate it by digging through it. Clown Loach, and betas are known
to eat snails. Tadpoles eat decayed matter, Smallmouth bass eat frogs, toads, smaller fish,
snakes, small turtles and clams or mussels continuously filter the water to keep it clear. Frogs
live off of insects. Wait for smaller, sometimes endangered, native frogs to colonize your pond.
Clams or mussels also make good scavengers for your Koi fish pond. They act as
natural filters. You will need to provide them with a shallow bed of sand for them to burrow into.
Snails are often offered by water-garden suppliers to help keep ponds clear of algae, decaying
vegetation, and wasted fish food. A variety of snails should be selected since each has a
different appetite and function. The most commonly offered are the ramshorn snail which has a
spiral shell, and the black Japanese or trapdoor snail. Of the two, the trapdoor is preferred
because it won't snack on your prized plants.
Amphipods, such as Gammarus, are small crustaceans that are dentrivores. They also are fish food.

Ghost shrimps, and red cherry shrimp are good scavangers.

Shade the pond with evergreens to prevent too much algae buildup. Weigh down
large barley bales to the pond. This helps control algae growth. Excess algae growth
robs the pond of oxygen.

http://www.environmentalsolutions.net/notes_on_the_comp.php

http://flowform.net/pools-and-ponds

http://www.garden-pond-filters.com/plant.htm

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/algae-control/fish.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_eater

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forage_fish#Use_as_animal_feed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait_fish

http://www.bestfish.com/barlybal.html

http://www.environmentalsolutions.net/ecological_controls.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_rock

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_filter

http://www.mykoipondshop.com/pondscavengers.php