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i suspect i have leak in my liner when would the best time to change the liner be as not to disturb to my life i still have my old fibre glass pond which i could store a lot of water/plants in etc . any help much apprecated
Hi jamabr24
You should wait until Autumn/Winter to drain and reline the pond, and though you don't need to, if you can remove plants and as much water as possible in your spare pond, that will make the transition go more smoothly and quickly. And five quick points;
1) Don't panic if your pond dries out this summer, it is actually quite good if that happens every few years or so as it mimics the natural cycle of a wild pond. Leave it alone and go ahead with relining it later in the year.
2) You may well find creatures hibernating in the mud at the bottom of the pond when you go to reline, including frogs (usually males who hibernate at the bottom of the pond so that they arrive there first in Spring). If so, just move these creatures to a suitable hibernating spot in the garden such as a pile of logs of stones somewhere quiet. And for this reason (and other obvious ones!) it's best you don't do your renovation during really cold or freezing weather.
3) When you're finished, don't be tempted to fill up the pond with tap water - disaster, as the nutrients will mean you could get too much plant and algae growth. Just leave it to fill up naturally with rain water or using rain collected in water butts. If it still hasn't filled up by Spring, tap water will have to do.
4) Don't worry too much about planting up your pond. Just plonk in the plants you saved from your old pond, and leave the rest to nature. You'll be surprised how quickly plants colonise themselves. And the same for the animals. Those that leave will come back on their own, and for those that don't, many will be in the mud in the bottom of the pond which you can save and add to the newly lined pond.
5) And lastly, if you're not doing so already, why not record your pond, and garden, wildlife with your local biological records centre? Your county or region should have one that you can report your findings to. If you spot any reptiles or amphibians, you can report them to your local reptile and amphibian group.
Happy pond relining! And apologies for the massive answer!
WartyNewt
A guy walks into a bar with a newt on his shoulder. "What do you call that?", asks the bartender. "I call him Tiny, because he's my newt!"
Hi WartyNewt,
I have two small wildlife ponds, the first pond has been in my garden now for approx two years and I have found it so interesting its amazing the amount of pond life that does slowly build up in your pond, and I have quite a lot of tadpoles and froglets in my pond now.
I have provided lots of growth around the pond to give good ground cover for them and hopefully somewhere to hibernate in the winter, but as yet I dont think I have any toads they seem quite rare these days its really good you have them in your pond and garden!
So many people today fill in ponds when they move to a new house and its sad they do not realise they are taking away habitat for frogs and toads, and lots of pond life too.
I would like to add another pond but do not have room, would a raised pond be a good idea??
Many Thanks Wildlifeloversharon