Garden pond supplies checklist

Supplies to keep the algae out and the oxygen in.

 

The planning is done, the garden ponds designs have been scrutinized, the zoning commissioners bribed, and soon it will be time to actually begin constructing your water garden pond. But first you're going to need garden pond supplies — lots of them. So many, in fact, that it would be prudent to create a garden pond supplies checklist. To save you some time, you can use ours as a starting point.

Garden pond aerator

Water and oxygen are essential to life. Even garden ponds need to be oxygenated to stay healthy, so you're going to need some kind of garden pond aerator.

There are many different types of garden pond aerators available. For shallow water garden ponds, decorative fountains can act as aerators, moving water and preventing garden ponds from becoming stagnant. However, for deep garden ponds, you'll probably want to use diffused aeration. Diffused aeration requires an air diffuser that sits on the bottom of garden ponds and dissipates oxygen.

Garden pond filter

One thing to be avoided with water garden ponds is the appearance (and odor) of green pond algae. This appears when excessive nutrients in your garden pond feed the algae and cause it to grow. The essential garden pond supply item you need to prevent this is a pond filter.

The total volume of water in garden ponds should be filtered every two hours. Make sure the pond filter you buy is large enough for the job. Remember that fish increase the pond filter workload, so size accordingly. We also recommend comparing newer style bead filters with older sponge filters.

In addition to pond filters, adding good bacteria to garden ponds helps break down buildups of organic matter. Additives such as Microbe-Lift are a simple way to introduce beneficial bacteria to water garden ponds.

Garden pond skimmer

Another way to reduce the workload of garden pond filters is by using garden pond skimmers. Garden pond skimmers act as a sort of housing for water garden pumps, filtering out and removing debris as water circulates through water garden ponds. A garden pond skimmer will increase the life of your pond filter by operating like a nightclub bouncer. It keeps the riffraff out and lets security deal with whoever is inside.

Garden pond pump

When creating a garden pond supplies checklist, you should put an asterisk next to garden pond pump. A garden pump runs constantly and is the key piece of equipment for keeping garden ponds healthy. When shopping for garden pond pumps, make sure you buy one that's compatible with your filter. Some filters have a minimum or maximum psi (pounds per square inch) or require a particular water flow rate.

A typical water garden pond requires a water flow rate (measured as gph, or gallons per hour) about half the size of the pond, meaning that all the water in your pond will be circulated every two hours.

Garden pond UV sterilizer

Prevent algae growth before it happens by using garden pond UV sterilizers. Many water garden ponds are positioned for maximum sunlight, which can also aid in algae growth. UV sterilizers expose free-floating algae to ultraviolet light, causing the algae to flocculate and thus be easily removed by a garden pond's filtration system.

Other water gardening supplies

Besides all these mechanical contraptions, you're also going to want old-fashioned gardening supplies such as gloves and fertilizer. Aquatic planters can work as containers. And the one thing that's easily forgotten when shopping for water garden pond supplies: nylon waders. As a hands-on gardener, you're going to get into your garden pond at some point, and chest waders will help you to stay dry.