Natural Ponds Age and Die.
Most ponds are natural ponds where the ground slowly becomes shallower due to blown in leaves - the pond dries up. This aging process can be slowed down: Leaves can be caught, in-wash of silt and other solids can be avoided. But still: At some point too little water remains under the layer of ice - the pond dies.
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 A natural pond in its best years: The pond is an ideal piece of nature. |
 Time runs out: Over the years the pond has become over-fertilised. |
 Smaller ponds now quickly start to shrink. |
 The nutrient rich sludge often rises to the surface where it forms a carpet. |
 The end: The pond becomes mud, the water disappears. |
Swimming Ponds Do Not Age
If you place a bucket of water on your terrace, you'll find the first large particles of sediment on the bottom after 1-2 weeks. In the pond this sediment also forms. Thin layers aren't a problem. Thicker layers, however, begin to rot and ruin the water. If you want to swim in a pond, you need several metres deep water, or has to remove the sediment.
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 NaturaGart swimming ponds have one or more deepest areas where sediment accumulates and is removed. It ends up in the filtering trench (foreground). |
 Sediment accumulates in the adjacent filtering trench. This is also where the underwater plants are that otherwise would be an annoyance for swimmers. |
Fish Feed Becomes a Problem
If you feed your fish, you accelerates the ageing process dramatically: Rests of feed and excrement sink to the ground and form a layer of compost which is an excellent fertiliser.
Fish stir up this fertiliser 24 hours a day, distributing it throughout the water. Moreover, many fish feed on the important underwater plants and completely destroy them.
Single small fish multiply into large schools, but they are not so much of a problem - they are also hardly visible from above. |
 Single small fish multiply into large schools, but they are not so much of a problem - they are also hardly visible from above. |
 The more and larger the fish are, the more has to be fed. But then the rests of feed have to be collected. |
 Well built fish ponds have a filtering trench. The particles of mud that are removed from the pond are deposited there. |
 Fish ponds with dense plant growth are an exception. The plants that would normally be unable to survive in the pond because of the fish eating them, can grow in the filtering trench. |
 Because the sediments in fish ponds are very chewed up, they are smaller and don't deposit as easily. The rest is done with a technical filter. |
Basic Decisions Are Important
Natural ponds carry the heritage of their life on the ground as a layer of mud. If this layer of compost is stirred up by a swimmer, by fish or by ducks, the pond gets a massive influx of fertiliser. This regularly drives natural ponds in the second half of their life span to near collapsation.
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 Unfiltered natural pond: Muddy clouds drift through the pond - it doesn't tolerate this well. |
 Sediment free pond: Where no mud exists, nothing can be stirred up - the water remains clear. |
'Just to swim a bit...'
Why so hesitant? No-one likes to swim in stinking mud! The decision has to be made now! You either allow mud to build up (and build a natural pond) or you arrange for permanent mud disposal, in which case you should use the pond more intensively. The more intensively a swimming pond is used, the cleaner it is. |
 In order to transport sediments into the filtering trench it is necessary to occasionally stir the pond up. In the end these ponds are cleaner... |
 ...the more they are used. We supply construction materials for over 1,000 swimming ponds per year. This makes us market leaders by a large margin. |
'Fish? Later perhaps.'
If you build a natural pond without sediment control then fish will stir up the mud layer. If you put larger fish into a natural pond you'll get a mud hole. If you build your pond optimally for keeping fish (for a small additional cost) the water will stay clear and you will enjoy the pond much more. |
 Even though the sturgeons are fed more than 10 kilos of feed per week the sandy ground is clean. Plants also bind nutrients. |
 With their swimming movements the fish transport sediment to the lowest parts where it is suctioned off through the filter basket. |
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The difference in price:
Comparable are natural pond 5 and swimming pond 3 with about 180m² of liner:This allows you to build either a 100-120m² natural pond or an about 60m² swimming or fish pond with a large filtering trench.
The extra cost for the naturally filtered pond is about 1,000 Euros (2,750 instead of 1,698 Euros). This includes, apart from the suction system, a stream worth about 400 Euros. So the effective extra cost is about 600 Euros for the filtered version.
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The difference in performance
Most pond need about 1-3 years to stabilise properly. The life span of a smallish natural pond without leaf barrier is about 5 years. In larger ponds the water quality begins to decline noticeably after about 6-8 years. At this level, however, the pond can still live another 10-20 years.
After a thorough clean-out the stabilisation phase starts at the beginning. If sediments are continually removed the pond doesn't age. Only the filtering trench has to be cleaned every so many years.
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Fountain of Youth for the Pond
Sediment free ponds are 'immortal'. The 600 Euros from the example above are therefore a smart investment.
If price is an issue...
...you can find the list of supplied goods for complete ponds and swimming/fish ponds here.
If you would like to know more about filtering trenches....
...please click here.
If you are not sure...
...you should talk to a NaturaGart adviser.
The NaturaGart Pond Construction Shop
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