Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[sadietoo]

Ok I know that really no time is a good time to move a garden pond, but we need to move ours as my OH is insistent that to build my girls a WIR (well at least one I can clean without grovelling around on my hand and knees as I am currently doing with my eglu run - and before you say it, yes it is our own fault, because it's designed to be moved for cleaning, but where we have it we can't move it) .So...it's a small wildlife pond, with a deliberately unkempt rockery around it..and it's home to numerous newts and a couple of frogs, as well as the usual multitude of damsel flies and other insect life that like ponds. Personally I am very unhappy about moving it at all..but torn between the disruption to our local wildlife and the benefit to my girls (and me) of more space...your thoughts as to the least disruptive time to move it would be greatly appreciated (I was thinking maybe late March early April???)

[Bramble]

Hello! I would think a bit earlier than that, maybe from now until late Feb, just because after that all the creatures will be beginning to spawn? Apart from that, I think it might depend on the weather, I don't think I'd move it during a really cold snap, but equally, if we have an early spring, I would think the sooner the better?

Mucky, smelly horrid job though, whenever you do it, have fun!

[Mercedes55]

We had to totally get rid of our pond last year as it was just where our WIR was going and also as we have a 3yr old granddaughter we were worried about her falling in the pond, so decided eventually to just fill it in.

 

We used a net and took out as many newts as we could find and also lifted up all the slabs where we knew they tended to go and gave them all to a friend who had a pond. I think I am right in saying that the baby newts live in the pond all year round but the adults only go in to mate and spawn and then spend the rest of the time under slabs or other places in the garden

[..lay a little egg for me]

I think Bramble is right...I have seen frogspawn in ponds in mid-Feb so the sooner the better, I would think.

[C&T]

Is it a case of moving the liner, or starting from scratch again?

 

If it's a case of "just" digging another whole and using new liner, then I wouldn't move it, but start the new pond off whenever you can, and let it mature gradually for a few weeks. If you are using tap water, it will take a good few days just for the water to adjust to the "correct" temperature. Would then start adding plants from the old pond, and once it is looking good and healthy, I would then start slowly emptying the old pond over a few days/a week and putting any animals that you find in the new one. And don't forget to move all the plants as well - all sorts of eggs etc will clinging to those!

 

If that is not possible, then I would wait till mid-summer. In spring there will be a lot of mating and eggs and larvae around, not to mention small babies. By summer, you will have fewer of these to worry about. And don't forget to try and save as much of the old water as possible to put into the new pond, it will save having to wait a few days for pure tap water to adjust to the right temprature, and the animals will be much happier. When we still had ours, I used some big plastic bins to store some water in.

[Angie]

If you really must move the pond now is the time.

Prepare the new site and get it as ready as you can before touching the old if poss,(as wildlife will be in the pond)

You can then transfer most of the old water minimizing the loss of many plants/life, unless you feel you want to start afresh.

When the water level is lower you can rescue any creatures and transfer with the pond water.Plants too can be thinned out and transferred.Topping up with water, which you have left to gas off the chlorine from the tap...let it stand 3 days then use.

going through the gunge at the bottom is less wiffy at this time of year.Then dispose of the rubbish , remove liner or whatever and fill in hole compacting well as you go so the earth doesn't dip when it settles.

Wild life recovers very well with hardly any help from us if we provide the means. Good Luck.