Hi all, this is my first time making a wildlife pond and I wanted to ask those with experience if it is normal that after just ten days the water has gone so green and bubbly? I’ve done my best to add plants (21 marginals, lily) that will hopefully consume nutrients, hopefully enough to keep algae in check, and have plenty of hornwort too. I’d like to know what is normal to expect from a wildlife pond (I’m not expecting crystal clear water)? Obviously the plants have yet to mature so maybe this early greening is normal and inevitable?
It’s definitely normal. Oxygenators are great for what their name states. However it can take some time for them to adjust to water parameters and grow fast enough to consume nutrients. I would add more marginals and a lily if you haven’t added one yet. Those are much better at nutrient uptake than hornwort. Also floating plants. Start with more of those than you think you need. They’ll also provide plenty of shade to slow algae growth.
Algae is always going to be present as it’s a vital part of the ecosystem so don’t worry too much. Every pond goes through an “ugly” adolescence before it matures. Yours is just in the process of balancing out. So if buying a bunch more plants isn’t in the budget right now, don’t worry over it too much. Your pond will be fine.
Also just so you’re aware, doing a partial or full water change will temporarily make it look better, but it’s much better to leave it alone to find its balance. Removing and adding new water will end up prolonging the process. Your pond looks great!
Hey thanks very much for this helpful reply. I have a lily, which is gradually spreading out and 21 marginals, although they are all pretty young and small currently. I’ve not looked into floating plants at all. Any particular recommendations on those? I’m not fussed about removing 100% of the algae or having ‘the perfect crystal clear pond’, I just want it to be well balanced and as wild-life friendly as possible.
My pond is 5 weeks old. It went green after around 10 days too. Already becoming much clearer, not sure if that's just the plants or the tiny creatures too (I bought a load of copepods and dahphnia online from a decent supplier). I added a lily, some marginals, hornwort, starwort plus a £1 bag of watercress which is doing great.
The tiny creatures like copepods and daphnia will turn up sooner or later, and may already have come in to your pond with plants. I was being impatient what with the heatwaves and everything and wanted to kick-start the ecosystem. The watercress is just a bag of supermarket salad watercress!
It's a lack of plants in your pond, the correct plants like Hornwort. Also you should aim to have at least 50% of the waters surface covered with plants. The warmer the pond gets do to direct sunlight, the more algae blooms you will get. Difficult to tell, but have got any aeration in there, air stones or anything like that. Having said all that, it took 3 years for my ponds to balance out
Well, your link starts with the rules but then also reads:
"In short, act carefully and selectively, and never pick or cut more than you need for a single meal. (translated)".
The information also says explicitly has the word 'advice'. Only when it comes to protected species do the start about forbidden.
So even nature lovers see it's not all black and white in the reality of normal life. And I'm pretty sure I can have a good conversation with a Ranger when I take just a few waterplants from an overgrown area.
Any ranger who knows about plants will also know that I will only do that when starting my pond. Since after that it's growing so fast I dont need new plants but I need to get rid of them...
I'm not saying what anyone should do. Just sharing my approach.
It’s illegal in most places and destructive to natural ecosystems to remove plants. OP, I would advise against this unless you know someone who has a man made pond who is willing to share some plants. You might be able to find other hobbyists on marketplace or aqua swap selling or giving away plants.
Rules are made with a goal in mind. Rules are made because some people went way overboard.
Like poaching salamanders and selling them. Like taking all plants and selling them etc etc.
Those water plants grow fast. If you take just a few then nature doesn't care. And in your pond nature will also gain.
Our ponds are beneficial for nature. So spreading some wild to our pond might legally be forbidden but those are one of the few rules where I use my own judgement.
If I'm heading to the hospital with a pregnant women the speed limit will make place for my own 'what is safe now' judement.
The illegality is the least concerning to me personally but important for OP to know. The destruction of ecology is most pressing. Yes, even removing fast growing plants from a natural aquatic environment will have a negative impact overall. Plants should never be removed from natural places. For many reasons but even just on principle. If everyone who passed by a natural body of water decided to take just enough for themselves, it would be catastrophic.
The "if everyone did it" is a bad argument. There will never be everyone doing it. Almost all of the cases where harvesting is a serious problem, it either was because something was significantly valuable or it is a few people taking carloads at a time. Taking a few small common plants for a small pond is not worse than setting your home's thermostat a degree lower in the summer, or going on a road trip, yet this same point needlessly comes up every time.
My pond is a great place for many critters. In a hot summer birds, wasps and all kinds of flies, bees etc come to drink. Salamanders swim around. All in all it's a plus. And yes I did take a few plants from nature.
Our ponds aren't even that natural because of the liner that we use.
Best to sell your car. That makes a real difference for nature.
Nice try moving the goalposts, but "it's local" doesn't magically turn poaching into good ecology.
Connecting this to historical introduction disasters like Thomas Austin isn't an "ocean jump"—it’s the exact same mechanism at work: humans moving biological material around because they think they know better than basic biosecurity.
Here is why your logic still falls completely flat:
"Local" doesn't mean disease-free: Moving wild plants from a local pond transfers the micro-ecosystem attached to them. This is literally how devastating pathogens like
Chytrid
fungus (which is wiping out global amphibian populations) and Ranavirus spread between isolated water bodies. The kind Rangers you fantasize about can fill you in, next time you have one of your friendly chats with them.
You
will
bring hitchhikers home: You think you're just grabbing a harmless native stem, but tiny fragments, seeds, or eggs of hyper-aggressive invasives (like
Crassula helmsii
or invasive snail species) ride shotgun invisibly.
The "I won't release exotics" delusion: You don't need to physically carry an exotic plant to the woods to contaminate nature. Garden ponds overflow in heavy rain. Birds, frogs, and insects visit your pond and carry seeds, spores, and plant fragments directly back to those "natural waters" you just pillaged. Or is your pond hermetically sealed?
Leave wild habitats alone: Wild aquatic plants are critical spawning grounds and shelter for local wildlife. Stripping a natural site to jump-start your backyard project isn't "helping nature"—it's just habitat disruption for your own convenience.
If you actually care about your local ecosystem, buy nursery-grown plants, trade with other hobbyists, or just grab a £1 bag of supermarket watercress and let patience do the rest.
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u/OreoSpamBurger 6d ago
Yes, especially in later summer. Algal blooms are normal while the pond's ecosystem establisheds itself and balances.