Fish Ponds

A fish pond can be brought to life by the sensible use of electrical appliances. If in any doubt about how to install an electrical supply down to the pond then consult an electrician, but the average DIY man can, with a bit of thought, do the job safely enough.

If the pond is very close to the house, or a garage then the leads on the appliances might reach, but if not there are various ways that the problem can be overcame. First of all the main supply to the pond should be properly earthed, screened cable, buried according to health and safety specifications. Once this is done the rest is relatively simple. The supply should be connected to a proper weather proof multi switch box if more than one thing is to be connected, or failing this to a socket in a little brick box with a slab for a lid. This can be made into a seat, or trailing plants can be stood on it to hide it. Whenever a single connection is to be made, a proper waterproof connector should be used. Some are permanent and some are a plug and socket. If the latter type us used, it facilitates the disconnection and removal of the pump for winter servicing and the connection of a pool heater, or other item.

At the house end of the circuit, an RCD or power breaker of some sort should be used for extra safety in case of accidents. The addition of a pump to a pond enables you to have a fountain, a concrete ornament spouting water, a filter or a waterfall. All of these are very good at increasing the oxygen levels of the pond that will benefit your fish and make them more resistant to problems. Also of course the sound of moving water can be very restful and pleasing on a hot summers day.

There are several type of pump to consider. Firstly there are non-submersible pumps such as central heating pumps. The enthusiast sometimes favors these because they are very cheap to buy. However they are not easy to install. Most are not waterproof so need putting in a waterproof box. Also they do not create a vacuum so they must be primed. This means filling the pipe and pump with water every time you turn it on. Alternatively a foot valve, or non-return valve can be installed but these are expensive. Another way is to connect a pipe to the side of the pond below water level and have the pump sited below ground so that the water continuously runs from the pool to the pump under gravity to flood the pump and thereby prime it.

All this persuades most people to buy a submersible pump that sits in the pool and is just plugged in.

Transformer operated low voltage pumps are-available for added safety but these are more expensive than ordinary submersible pumps and the transformer has to be sited close to the pond in a cool dry place, (not a greenhouse) which puts a lot of people off. Most popular are by far, the ordinary mains submersible pumps. They are available in a range of sizes to suit every need from a little tiny pump operating a modest fountain to very large expensive pumps capable of pumping thousands of gallons an hour.

When buying a pump it is important to consider exactly what you want the pump to do, because buying a little one to save money is often wasteful in the long term, as a bigger one sometimes may have to be bought later when more things are added to the pond. A pump enables the addition of a biological filter which if set up correctly will ensure crystal clear healthy water. To go with the filter a UV system can be added.

Another thing which can be added to the fish pond to bring it to life is coloured lights. These all operate from a transformer for safety reasons and can be quite expensive, but are just the thing to bring your pond to life late at night if you are a night owl. Some people like to install a big air pump near to the pond to oxygenate the water. Also of course in the winter it will help to keep a small patch free of ice by the action of the bubbles. The final electrical appliance that is useful in a fishpond is a pool heater. These are fairly inexpensive to run and don’t heat the pool up, but what they do is to create a slightly warmer patch of water on a cold winters night and keep that small patch free of ice. This is enough to allow the harmful gasses out of the pond and life giving air into it.

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