[yorkiegal]

I've just acquired a rigid pond liner courtesy of my local freecycle. It's just a small one, about 1 metre square. Will it be ok to manage without a pump or would the water just go stagnant? Also, my main aim is to encourage toads to my plot to eat those pesky slugs, but I did consider putting a couple of goldfish in too. I was going to help myself to a bucket of river water to add some life to it. Will that be ok for goldfish?

[JayG]

How deep is it? The water needs to be at least 18", preferably 2' deep to avoid freezing solid in winter and killing the fish.
Goldfish are not at all wildlife pond-friendly (they eat everything, including tadpoles!  )

Best to forget the fish and plant up with marginal and underwater plants (water lilies are pretty but it would have to be a small variety for your pond.) The water might go green at some stage but will clear once the plants start growing.

Using pond or river water is not essential and might actually introduce something you don't want in your pond.

[yorkiegal]

thanks for that Jay. No fish then lol.
It's 60 cm deep so not huge, but hopefully I can fit a few plants in it.

[Kleftiwallah]

Next year I'm thinking of going onto the free site and see if I can track down a plastic corner bath in avacado!   

Cheers,    Tony.

[yorkiegal]

you can get just about anything on freecycle!

Some people are pretty cheeky with their requests though, like the bloke on mine who asked for a new I-phone.

[joyfull]

yes we've had people asking for boats and road worthy caravans without any leaks suitable for up to 6 people etc. I have been very lucky on ours getting lots of goodies but the best items were a Triumph motorcycle and a Norton motorcycle - ok both are basket cases but I'm not complaining 

[savbo]

toads are rather more particular than frogs, and also tend to use their traditional ponds, so be prepared to wait for them to like your pond (unlike frogs, who'll breed in more or less anything). You could try introducing a small amount of spawn next year

The main drawback with rigid ponds is that it is difficult for amphibians to escape from them once they have legs, so you'll need some kind of slope for them to emerge onto. A sloping rock or piece of wood will do, but I like to have at last one corner with emergent vegetation and let the surrounding vegetation hang down onto this area - a bit of turf is good for this

sav

[Alastair-I]

I've just acquired a rigid pond liner courtesy of my local freecycle. It's just a small one, about 1 metre square. Will it be ok to manage without a pump or would the water just go stagnant? Also, my main aim is to encourage toads to my plot to eat those pesky slugs, but I did consider putting a couple of goldfish in too. I was going to help myself to a bucket of river water to add some life to it. Will that be ok for goldfish?

Don't add fish to such a small pond.  There won't be enough water to dilute their waste unless you can run a filter (not really worth it), and goldfish and pond wildlife go together about as well as birdlife and cats!

If you can get the pond balanced with the right mix of aquatic plants, do a little maintenance a few times a year (scooping out any gloop on the bottom after the first couple of years), then a small pond is perfect for frogs/toads/newts and aquatic insects (including dragonflies and damselflies).  I'd go with water hyacinth instead of lilies in such a small pond.  The are better suited to a small pond, they flower for a longer period of the year (up to 10 months) and on a warm still day have a very pleasant vanilla scent.  Add one of the dwarf reedmaces for the dragon-/damselflies and a dwarf iris.  Not forgetting some marsh marigold for spring colour.

Don't add spawn.  Let the frogs find the pons and decide it's suitable when they think it's ready.  Add rainwater and wildlife will find a pond quickly.  Frogs, toads and newts rely on the rest of your garden being hospitable and not too tidy.

[smud6ie]

My first wildlife pond was built 25 years ago and while its large and 2 feet deep have not had any toad spawn.
11 years ago I built another 4 feet deep, toads spawned the first and every year since and despite transfering spawn they have not done done so naturally so assume they prefer deeper water.
We ge a gread deal of pleasure watching dozens of males in the spring jockying for the best positing to catch the females coming from the suroung fields and at times,between them and the frogs,the sound of croaking is deafening.
We have to leave the car well away to avoid squashing them but thats a small price to pay .
smud6ie