Strangely enough a half barrel isn't needed in order to construct a half barrel pond! It is quite possible to use a rigid plastic barrel liner, clay container or even a concrete container.
Many people tend to go for the rustic look afforded by a wooden half barrel merely for aesthetic reasons.
What you will need to decide is whether or not you want to line the barrel using apond liner. It is not essential however!
Place the liner inside the half barrel, fill with water and trim off excess liner, slightly below the top edge of the barrel. A pond liner measuring 5 ft x 5ft should suffice in the vast majority of cases.
If on the other hand you want to do away with a rubber pond liner or pvc plastic liner in order to save some money then try the following alternative.
Firstly prepare the barrel (usually a whiskey or wine barrel) by filling it with water and throwing in a few water hyacinths, whose roots act as a filter system. You will need to empty and replace the water, along with the water hyacinths every few days.
Continue to do this for a couple of weeks or until you can no longer smell the old contents.
Whether you chose the easy option (using a rubber pond liner inside the barrel) or opted to save money and prepare the pond using the method above you are now ready to prepare the half barrel pond for future habitation by fish and plants.
As with any pond the colonies of natural nitrifying bacteria need to be present, in order to break down ammonia compounds produced by your fish and other aquatic life, such as frogs, toads etc.
Recommended Plants To Use In A Half Barrel Pond
To achieve a balanced ecosystem the following aquatic plant varieties are good to go with ...
- Pygmy water lilies, hardy or tropical lilies
- Oxygenating plants
- Floating plants such as the water hyacinth, water lettuce or duckweed
- Tall bog (marginal plants) such as rushes, Canna, horsetail, lobelia, reeds and cattails.
A word of warning - Duckweed grows rapidly and will quickly try to cover the entire surface of any small fish pond unless controlled. You can either remove some of it by hand or let your pond fish eat it; goldfish like to nibble at it.
The full article can be read at ...http://www.garden-pond-filters.com/Newsletters/build_half_barrel_pond.html
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