DIY Budget Ecosystem Pond, The Truth 1 Year Later

1 year ago I built a pond at my parents house to replace what I made a few years prior their goldfish were getting big and needed more room I knew I could make something better this time around as well since then it's become what can only be described as a thriving ecosystem both Inside and Out full of creatures that moved in on their own accord let's not get ahead of ourselves though after dismantling the old one I dug a larger hole and got to work over the course of 5 days I built a new Pond entirely by hand using DIY techniques and materials for example I made the filter out of a trash can corrugated pipe and a small stock tub I also used materials I found in my yard like Oak branches and flat Stones ultimately the result was a decent sized ecosystem Pond completely with a larger Basin for livestock some landscaping and running waterfalls it cost just under $2,000 to construct All Things Considered I think that's fair but I could have done more bring the cost even lower like replacing the pump that's something I did a month later in a video that kind of flew under the radar so I'd imagine that many of you didn't see it anyway the new pump is stronger and it even cost $100 less than the other one bringing the total cost down I also returned the Goldfish to their home in that same video there were of course the original five and many others I rescued from someone else's Pond however that was the last time I showed it on the channel which may have you wondering how did it hold up are these DIY techniques actually a viable long-term solution and what does it look like today well I did already say it became a thriving ecosystem but there's more to it than that as you can see it went wild and in my book that's a good thing I got to say though this is actually 406 days after being built so we're a little beyond the one-year Milestone I wanted to wait to ensure the perennials had time to regrow and look their best most notable is the Aquatic mint this is an excellent plant because it grows quickly it even smells good too however it can become somewhat invasive and requires frequent trimming that's something I definitely need to address here this mint along with the chorus grasses horse tail bloody Dock and other aquatic plants are an integral part of an ecosystem Pond they send a vast network of roots down into the water that filter out impurities this makes the water more hospitable for the fish and other Critters that take up residence The Roots also create refuge and visual barriers that are great for the development of baby fish the foliage above the water performs a similar function that should not be overlooked shortly after releasing the fish last year Aaron unfortunately took a few of them had there been more plants it likely wouldn't have seen them but everything was still new we netted the pond until it grew in more and thankfully it never returned the fish were shaken up then and understandably so but they're clearly loving life now they've grown so much most were babies only a year ago and now they're well on their way I'm certain they'll be reproducing any day now my mom added annual foliage like dwarf Papyrus and water heisen a few weeks ago but I think we could do even better regardless this visual barrier is also appreciated by others like the frogs here they can rest in the riparian plant growth and confidently observe their surroundings maybe they're waiting for snack to Glide past like the water striders these little Predators hunt for other insects on the water's surface while they're not congregating at the water lilies from thriving fish to established plants and new residents the water feature is booming however there's exciting things happening outside as well various insects like beetles can be seen cruising around an interesting symbiotic relationship is at play on this bush as well ants and aphids are working in unison the ants are farming and protecting the aphids in exchange for their sugary excrement which is known as honeydew this is great news for the aphids because a ladybug was lurking nearby and they love eating aphids while a branch on the ground that appears to be a highway for the ants is harboring fungi this isn't the only place where it's found either there are different mushrooms everywhere which aren't actually doing the work these are just the visible fruit of melium structures growing beneath that are an integral part of the decomposition cycle here it's slowly feasting on the wood but I'm sure the isopods are doing the same to it this isopod was being adventurous because typically they're found in Mass alongside other detritivores under objects in the landscape exciting things are even happening in the waterfalls look at that Moss need I say more it's engulfed everything in its path and looks incredible don't you think from here we also have a cool vantage point of what's become a little Oasis for creatures like frogs that otherwise might not have a place to go especially with increased development in the area better yet it held up the DIY technique survival and the pond looks great even so it could look better after some maintenance the best place to start was with the overgrown mint I don't mind how it's growing but it's just too tall I trimmed it back to be less intrusive and to reveal more of the Rocks I replanted some of these cuting to achieve denser growth the waterfall needed some love too there was more algae here than I'd like so I scrubbed off what I could and picked the rest out by hand that's all I could do for now the following day it cleared up and was looking great however I did get more aquatic plants I stopped by a local pawn shop that I've never been to before and the selection was great needless to say I got way more than I planned to but most of those were for the pond at my house anyway various marginals and Mosaic and Lilies would take this to the next level they comped so so the easiest way to add them is like this they'd be fine like this but I prefer to use a netted pot that allows the roots to actually go through so I'll likely change that down the road seeing the plants was great but I noticed leaves down in the Basin I netted out what I could so any remaining debris could be removed with the maintenance pump I haven't done a dedicated water change yet but I figured a small one would be beneficial I don't think the plants in the garden were complaining either this was a good time to address the intake Bay as well I dropped the pump into the Vault and sprayed through the rocks to remove debris I also cleaned the pond pump and here you'll notice that the trash can warped that's partly my fault because of the new flex PVC tube I attached to the pump I had to retroactively add this because I later punctured the original tubing with a shepherd's hook it happens to the best of us anyway it's not as flexible as the original one and pulled on the plastic regardless the filter is working properly but if I were to do this over i' find a thicker trash can or bin that's all the maintenance it needed as it filled I noticed the resident frog basking on the side I think it was trying to tell me that the landscape needed some love but I was already a step ahead of it I had a few plants ready to go for the bear spots and rematched everything to finalize the look impatients are a must when it comes to Marginal annuals so I added those and more hin and after all of that the fish seemed to appreciate the adjustments here you can also get a look at just how effective the filtration is within 2 hours it went from Cloudy to Crystal Clear I'm extremely pleased with the progress of this Pond I think it's a great example of what's possible within a DIY framework sure could be bigger and more elaborate but that's not the point this is something that could be easily replicated without excessive expense that said I know it could be done even cheaper by waiting for things to go on sale or even with secondhand materials I'll certainly do more DIY Pawns in the future maybe even this year what I find incredible and rewarding though is that with a little elbow greas and Ingenuity it's very easy to create an ecosystem in your own backyard however it's even more rewarding to see how a simple clean body of water changes everything for the animals that choose to use it

Channel: SerpaDesign

Views: 148,518

Keywords: pond, ecosystem, water garden, diy, do it yourself, budget, diy pond, ecosystem pond, natural pond, waterfall, waterfalls

Id: 2EvDsbrS9Dg

Length: 9min 4sec (544 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 08 2024