A pond is a beautiful piece of nature in your garden. Unfortunately, not every garden has room for a pond, or it may not be possible for safety reasons. However, with a mini-pond, you can still create a small pond in your garden or on your balcony. A mini pond can be just as enjoyable as a large water feature. In this guide, we explain what a mini-pond is, what to consider during construction, and provide tips for technology and maintenance. So you can enjoy your own mini pond in no time!
Inhoud artikel
- What is a Mini Pond?
- Advantages of a Mini Pond in the Garden
- Different Types of Mini Ponds for Every Situation
- Where to Place a Mini Pond?
- Building a Mini Pond
- Furnishing with Plants and Fish
- Technology in a Mini Pond
- Maintenance Tips for Healthy Water
- Mini Pond: Extra Atmosphere and Nature in Your Garden
What is a Mini Pond?
A mini pond is a small water feature that you create in a container, barrel, or small preformed pond. Mini ponds are often only between 30 and 200 liters in size. Don't have room for a large pond or would you like a small water ecosystem in your garden? Then a mini pond offers the solution. You can place a mini pond in the ground or, for example, on your patio or balcony. This makes it easily accessible and quick to install without having to dig a large hole. The advantage of a mini pond is that, in addition to easy installation, it is also easy to maintain. You often need little technology to keep your mini pond in good condition.
Advantages of a Mini Pond in the Garden
Creating a mini pond has some advantages over a large one
- Adds extra life and atmosphere to your garden
- Small ecosystem as a supplement to your garden
- Extra biodiversity in your sustainable garden
- Attracts bees, dragonflies, and newts
- Can be built with or without a pump
- Add a waterfall or fountain and you get a nice atmosphere and soothing sound
Compared to a larger pond, the mini pond is easy to build, easy to maintain, and can also be easily moved.
Different Types of Mini Ponds for Every Situation
Whether you have a small garden, a balcony, or a patio. A suitable mini pond can be designed for every piece of outdoor space.
Wooden Barrel or Wine Barrel
A wooden barrel gives your garden a beautiful natural look. You can use this well for a mini pond. Think, for example, of an old wine barrel or rain barrel that has been sawn in half.
Tip: some wooden barrels are waterproof, but we recommend still making a liner on the inside to make sure your barrel doesn't leak.
Cement Trough
Do you still have an old cement trough? This often has a perfect size for a mini pond. A cement trough usually doesn't have the nicest appearance on the outside because it is quite simple. But you can easily bury it or surround it with plant pots. Cement troughs come in all sizes from 50 to 250 liters.
Preformed Container
With a preformed pond container, you can easily create a pond without having to work with pond liner. These pond containers are available in all shapes and sizes. This allows you to easily choose a shape and size that fits your garden. Many of these pond containers also contain handy places to put plants. You do have to bury a preformed pond container in your garden.
Raised Pond
Raised ponds are very trendy. The raised pond is often a square or rectangular design that can be made of wood, metal, or stone. You place this, for example, against your terrace or in the corner of your garden. You can make them in small sizes of a few hundred liters, but they are also popular as large ponds of thousands of liters.
Pond Bowl
Looking for a unique twist? A mini pond bowl is a stylish eye-catcher. This allows you to create a beautiful shallow pond with corten steel, for example.
Tip: a shallow pond bowl is usually not suitable for keeping fish. Nice to place beautiful pond plants in.
Where to Place a Mini Pond?
A mini pond is a real eye-catcher and you therefore often want to place it in a beautiful spot in sight. Do choose a location with a good balance between sun and shade. With too much sun you can get algae and too warm water. With too little sun, the plants cannot grow well. Half a day in full sun or a whole day in partial shade is ideal.
You can place the pond on your patio, balcony, or in the ground in your garden.
Building a Mini Pond
With these steps, you can easily build your mini pond.
-
Determine the location
Provide a place with both sun and shade. Choose a place where you can easily reach the pond for maintenance and it is nicely visible. -
Select container or barrel
Choose a suitable container, barrel, or bowl. Choose the desired size -
Preparation
Make the ground even and stable, or dig a hole where the pond container can go -
Make a bottom of pond substrate (optional)
You can cover the bottom with pond substrate. Rinse this out first. -
Fill with water
Preferably use tap water -
Furnish with aquatic plants
Add pond plants, make a selection of different plants suitable for the mini-pond -
Add technology
Optionally add a filter, fountain, waterfall, or lighting -
Starting up the pond
Make sure your pond is 'started' (cycle) before adding aquatic animals such as fish. This usually takes 3-6 weeks. -
Add fish (optional)
Add the fish and make sure they can get used to their new home. -
Enjoy
Enjoy your complete own mini pond! Adjust small things now and then and do small maintenance such as refreshing the water, feeding the fish, and trimming the plants.
Furnishing with Plants and Fish
A container with water only becomes a mini pond once plants and/or fish are in it! Pond plants are a must to put in your small water container.
Pond Plants
Every mini pond brightens up with plants in it. Plants provide atmosphere, life, and also absorb waste products and nutrients from the water. They also provide extra oxygen in the water. In short: a must for every mini pond!
Pond plants come in all shapes and sizes. When choosing your plants, take into account the water depth and how large they will eventually become. You can choose from floating plants, plants with flowers, and reeds, for example. Make sure the plants have enough nutrient soil to grow in.
Keeping fish in your mini pond?
Fish add an extra experience to your pond. You can feed them and they swim happily around. Not every mini pond is suitable for keeping fish. A number of important points to consider:
- Provide at least 30-50 liters of water
- Provide filtering and water circulation in the water container
- Choose small fish and make sure not too many fish get in, this can pollute the mini pond
- Make sure your pond is 'started'
- Provide sufficient shelter with plants or, for example, a water lily under which they can hide
- Always consult the point of sale of the fish and whether your setup is suitable for keeping these fish
Other aquatic animals
Besides fish, you can also keep other aquatic animals in your pond. It may even be that after a while aquatic animals such as frogs and salamanders seek out your pond. Other animals that you can keep in the mini-pond are snails and water fleas.
Technology in a Mini Pond
Mini ponds are known for being low-tech (little technology). However, with a little bit of technology you can give your mini pond a boost in filtering, circulation, and atmosphere.
Filtering with a small filter
With a small filter you ensure that the quality of your water remains at the right level and your plants and any fish stay healthy. Choose a compact all-in-one filter or make your own filter with a small pump and filter material.
Fountain for atmosphere and aeration
A fountain gives your mini-pond a beautiful atmosphere and also provides aeration. You can install a small pond pump with fountain set in your pond. You can often choose from different fountain heads to get the desired atmosphere.
Tip: in the spring and summer months you can get mosquito larvae in stagnant water. By keeping the water moving with a fountain, the mosquitoes will look for another place to lay their larvae.
Waterfall for atmosphere and aeration
A small waterfall helps with aerating your pond. It also gives a nice view and provides circulation in your pond. You can place the waterfall in your pond container or above it.
Light with LED or spotlight on your pond
It's lovely to still enjoy your garden on a warm summer evening. Point a nice outdoor lamp such as an LED lamp at your pond to beautifully illuminate it.
Tip: do you have fish in your pond? Then turn off the lamp at night so your fish can also sleep
