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Half Barrel pond and new pond project.

R

RickB

Member
Joined
4 Apr 2016
Messages
385
Location
UK
Hi, my gf ordered a larger than expected half barrel and my brain decided what a great little pond that would make, I can tell just looking it holds more water than my roma 200.

So im guessing I can just clean it, plant it and fill it?

Ive never had a pond before though.

Questions I have include what substrate? what plants? pump or no pump? fish or no fish?

Incase it matters as to what I can put in it plant wise and potentially livestock wise I live on the west coast near troon.

The barrel is probably about 2ft deep.
 
I set one up last summer,no substrate a few pond plants on shelf's( bricks) a couple of the plants didn't make it through winter a couple have though putting on new growth, l have a small fountain on it a couple of. bunches of elodea and bit of duckweed,it's just a wild life barrel really and a place for birds to drink.
 
Hi there, is it a plastic barrel or a wooden one? Plastic should be fine, I'm using a big planter as a tiny planted water feature. If the barrel is a recycled whiskey one for example, you may need to use a liner as the wood can leach out whatever was stored in them & compromise the water quality.
Other than that it really is as simple as popping a few plants in pots, raised on bricks as @PARAGUAY said! I've not had any algae issues, despite it being drained & moved a couple of times. The water has always stayed clear & the only maintenance is thinning the plants in spring & regular water topping up due to evaporation. 🙂
 
The Miniaturist said:
Hi there, is it a plastic barrel or a wooden one? Plastic should be fine, I'm using a big planter as a tiny planted water feature. If the barrel is a recycled whiskey one for example, you may need to use a liner as the wood can leach out whatever was stored in them & compromise the water quality.
Other than that it really is as simple as popping a few plants in pots, raised on bricks as @PARAGUAY said! I've not had any algae issues, despite it being drained & moved a couple of times. The water has always stayed clear & the only maintenance is thinning the plants in spring & regular water topping up due to evaporation. 🙂
Click to expand...

Hi, it is a wooden barrel, looks charred on the inside, currently keeping it pumped full of water to let it swell.

was honestly considering a layer of compost capped with sand for planting as I wasthinking pots in the bottom would be unsightly..

IMG_20230609_100342980_HDR.jpg
 
I think they char the inside of whiskey barrels to give the drink more flavour? I'm sure there is a thread somewhere about using wooden barrels & if they need lining.
One reason for putting plants in baskets is that many of them are actually bog plants & don't like being sunk deeply into water.
My little tub is black so I used dark grey pavers to support the baskets & they don't really show once the plants get going.
 
The Miniaturist said:
I think they char the inside of whiskey barrels to give the drink more flavour? I'm sure there is a thread somewhere about using wooden barrels & if they need lining.
One reason for putting plants in baskets is that many of them are actually bog plants & don't like being sunk deeply into water.
My little tub is black so I used dark grey pavers to support the baskets & they don't really show once the plants get going.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight, I could do the bottom as planned as have some bunch stems coming to plant and put the pots on top of the sand hidden by the planted stems?
 
I’ve done a half whisky barrel pond before, just added sand and stones and let it do it’s thing. I’d line it with a bit of pond liner if I was doing it again as it did weep even when swollen.
One issue is access/egress so I made a ramp in and out and up to the lip from driftwood so frogs and stuff could get in and out.
 
I set a barrel like this up last summer - I lined mine (pond liner + staple gun). I had rat-tailed maggots last year, but this year they haven’t returned.
I have a floating solar-powered fountain which looks surprisingly good and provides a little bit of water movement.
The plants are in baskets, some sat on bricks (which you can’t see). It looks ok! My lily has not yet done what I hoped it would, but I will be patient.
I might start chucking some liquid fertiliser in.
 
Ive added substrate, creating a higher section for marginals.

Currently running a fluval u3 on it to clear it up a bit.

Plants are coming Wednesday.

Got some dutch rush, frog bit, erodea densa and 2 marginals I can't remember the name of.

Also got a solar fountain/filter coming.

IMG_20230610_092158604_HDR.jpg


No funny smells yet.

A question, if down the line It looks like the water needs a clean would it be ok to run the u3 on a short term basis?
 
richard brown said:
solar fountain
Click to expand...
If it's one of those round ones that sprays a jet out of the middle, you might find it sprays the water out of the barrel when it's windy.

I run a solar air pump to move the water around and aerate during the hot period. Unfortunately it needs to be manually switch on after it runs out of power, but my tub pond seems to do fine without it for long periods.
 
I bought a fancy (read expensive!) solar fountain about three years ago. It has a 10x8 inch solar panel with yards of cable so you can site it in the sun. The pump is about the size of a matchbox! I moved it from the barrel as I acquired a second hand 500l patio pond & put it in there. The fountain will run all day as it has a battery backup & I make sure I keep it everything clean & dry over the winter. All in all a great piece of kit!
The tub has been moved as I'm in the process of a garden makeover but within a few hours it had settled out & is now quite clear. The still water reflects the flowers & catches your eye as you walk past.
I'm sure once your barrel is planted & growing & you have a population of daphnia & other small beasties in there it will clear on it's own.
 
Forgot to say in that last post, I ordered some duckweed, and I really need to clean around the path, those weeds...
 
Plants finally arrived, took a trip to Eden garden center in dundonald and came back with a water lettuce.

IMG-20230615-WA0002.jpeg


One of the plants were actually just seeds, will see what happens, I planted the marginals in small pebbles so they can pull nutrients from the water.
 
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