There are many ways to create your own unique backyard ponds or water gardens and we have some advice to help with making it a great and easy experience. Before creating your water fountain determine what your targets are. Are you trying to attract local wildlife, like frogs, turtles and birds? Would you prefer to have a drinking water garden with a lovely zen experience to it, featuring lilies, lotus and various other aquatic plants? How about incorporating water in to the design of your house? Remember you probably DO have space for a water fountain. They may be anything from a half-barrel to a huge and deep pond in your yard. Regardless of what your intentions are we are able to assist you to achieve them. The first step in creating your project is to pick a location. You will desire a location where one can create some shade for your pond in fact it is also good to look for a place where you can protect the drinking water from having too many leaves or other particles from entering. Shade can be created in lots of ways. Water plant life on the advantage or in the pond will shade the drinking water, many ornamental trees are ideal so long as they do not drop way too many leaves. Backyard ponds can quickly become overrun by this type of debris. The next thing is to start the look process. This includes choosing the actual shape of the water fountain, any waterfalls or various other water features, filtration, and where and in the event that you will be planting about the water. It is highly advisable to include into the design a number of different depths and slopes around the pond edges. This will provide extra places for seafood and animals to go around and for putting various kinds of water vegetation. You can create your water fountain out of concrete, prefabricated tubs, or even use pond liners. Pick the option that is best for assembling your project and budget. Concrete tends to be more expensive than a tub or a pond liner, nonetheless it may go longer if professionally installed. In the event that you will be keeping Koi, Goldfish, Tadpoles or other types of fish then you may want to take time to consider protecting them from predators. Raccoons and Heron are voracious fish eaters. Among the best ways to protect your seafood and animals is to provide a way to allow them to get away from the predators. The simplest way to get this done is to supply at least 3 foot of depth in the pond. Heron and raccoons have got a hard time catching fish and animals at this depth or deeper. Filtration can be very simple or very intricate. It once again depends on assembling your project. Drinking water Gardens with only a couple small fish or no seafood at all do not need large filters. You can even make your very own filter of a 5 gallon bucket, some hoses and a pump. It is extremely easy to do! If you are keeping koi, then you will need something with an increase of flow and more mechanical filtration to eliminate waste. Koi are dirty fish and create a lot of waste. UV sterilizers are a great idea on any water fountain. They kill nuisance algae that turns the water green and in addition kill parasites that can attack your fish. Preferably you will place a UV sterilizer on the return line following the filter. Adding plants to your backyard pond can be rewarding and gorgeous. Water gardens need a lot of the same care and attention as any house plant or other backyard would. You will have to research your vegetation, determine how high and wide they grow, how exactly to prune them and what forms of additional feedings they could require. You also need to know where around the water fountain your plants would grow the very best. Some simply float on the surface, so you just need to protect them from being sucked up into filter systems or destroyed by waterfalls. Other vegetation develop at different depths, which is why we suggest building your water fountain with many depths. You can add to the appearance and experience of your pond by picking local stones, or likely to a local landscaping store and purchasing stone that fits the experience of your project. Many landscaping shops are actually starting to focus on products for backyard ponds. Backyard ponds make great set-ups for koi. There are a few things you really need to consider. Koi get large and produce a lot of waste, so be sure you provide adequate filtration. It is better to have a system that is too huge than one that is too little. It is costly and may be very difficult to upgrade something later. It is always best to still do it the first time. Plants can offer another unique challenge when keeping koi. Simply speaking, koi like to eat vegetation, swim through vegetation and basically just tough them up. Your koi might just destroy the plants and cause a huge mess in the pond. In the event that you do use plant life, and presently there are many that are appropriate, just be sure you choose hard and tough plants or place them in areas where the koi cannot reach them. Feeding your koi is simple as long as you are familiar with their demands. The feeding practices of koi are directly related to the water temperature ranges and seasons. In the Spring period you should start feeding the koi with reduced color improving growth food. During the summertime you can continue with a color enhancer, and provide multiple types of food. There are several great spirulina pellets, krill and various other treats for your seafood. As the drinking water cools down once again in the wintertime you should remember two things. One, cut in the past on feeding. If your water gets right down to 50 degrees or lower you do not need to feed the fish at all. If you will be feeding then go to an easy to digest Wheat Germ meals. Backyard ponds can be a lot of fun! We hope you enjoy designing and building yours!