Raised Ponds

You can install our raised ponds in under 20 minutes, and installation instructions are included with every product. There are some guidelines to bear in mind:

• The surface you place your raised pond on must be level and solid
• Make sure there is enough room available to install your pond on all sides
• Invest in some planting to give your fish cover in your raised pond, consider small plants that won't overtake the pond like brooklime (veronica beccabunga), bog arum (calla palustris) and pygmy water lilies.

Not everyone wants fish in their raised pond - just the sight and sound of water can be so relaxing. But it can be very rewarding watching and caring for your own fish - and children love watching and feeding them.

The key is understanding the needs of fish in raised ponds, so here are some guidelines:

• Don't introduce fish into your raised pond until a week or two after setting it up - allow it to create it's own ecosystem.
• Choose cold water fish - like Goldfish - which come in two varieties - Common and Comet. Comet are the ones with round bodies, fancy tails and bulging eyes. They are slower swimmers than Common goldfish, so may lose out when you are feeding them! Spread your food around if you are keeping both types in your raised pond.
• Choose Koi for our bigger ponds only.
• When feeding, slow sinking pellets are ideal. Don't feed more than your fish can eat in about three minutes.
• Use of a fountain pump in your raised pond will help to keep the water moving and prevent it becoming stagnant.
• Make sure that the water does not freeze over in winter - fish need a breathing hole - it's essential. The same applies to snow - scoop it off if it's a heavy downfall.
• Add floating plants - these allow your fish to spawn, and a place for newly hatched fry to hide. In raised ponds choose smaller varieties of plants and water lilies.
• If you experience algae, the size of your raised pond makes it so much easier to remove. Algae uses up oxygen essential for your fish, and blocks sight of them. Don't use household chemicals to remove the algae.
• A few fish will eat algae - they are mainly bottom feeders.
• You can introduce pond snails and/or tadpoles to eat the algae - but some bigger fish will eat the snails!
• Fish feed more in summer, be guided by the fish retailer - you may not need to feed them at all during the winter months.
• If any of your fish appear unwell they might have white spot disease or fan rot - both are curable, but if any fish sadly do die, remove them as soon as you spot them.
• Relax and enjoy your raised pond - and your fish.

If you want a pond feature, you have two choices - a sunken pond which will require you to spend back breaking hours digging out and disposing of your soil, deciding between flexible PVC or rubber liners; or a prefabricated shape. Remember depth is important if you want to keep large fish, and the pool surface must be even to retain water. Your pond will require maintenance; how much time do you have to spare?

Another consideration is - do you have young children or might grandchildren be on the horizon? For peace of mind you may need to fence around your pond, or you may prefer to add a metal grid which sits just above the water level. A grid will also help to prevent attacks by herons and cats.

If the prospect of digging a great hole in your garden puts you off, why not consider one of the Intalogs Raised Garden Ponds. These are a modern, labour saving way to enjoy water in your garden. They can be fitted together in only 20 minutes, they are supplied with a fitted liner and are available in different sizes to suit your needs. The smaller raised ponds are ideal of installing on a patio and hold enough water to house a few goldfish. For the serious fish lovers, the larger ponds with their ground sumps hold enough water and provide enough depth for mature koi. Whichever size raised pond you choose, you will be able to enjoy the sight and sound of water in your garden whilst attracting wildlife such as birds, insects and frogs.

Purchase an optional pump to provide you with a fountain of water - so pleasant and relaxing to listen to on a summers day.

The Intalogs raised ponds are made of pressure treated timber for a longer life. The interlocking logs simply slot together and if you want to move the raised pond to another part of the garden, or if you are moving house, the ponds can be easily disassembled for easy transportation.

Raised Ponds require very little maintenance, and are easy to clean but here are some tips, most of them essential if you keep fish:

• To keep debris out of your raised pond as much as possible, ensure in the first instance that it is not sited under or too near to deciduous trees. You may want cover it with a net from early autumn, until early spring to stop leaves falling in.
• Clean your pump, fountain and filtration system at least twice a year. This will remove algae and keep your system working as efficiently as possible.
• To give your raised pond a deep clean transfer your fish into a suitable holding container such as a plastic bin, with as much water from the pond as possible. If you are use a deep plastic bag to hold the fish only fill it half full with pond water leaving plenty of air at the top for your fish. Avoid the use of tap water wherever possible.
• Remove debris from the surface using a net. Do this fairly often to prevent debris sinking to the bottom of your raised pond over time - e.g. fallen leaves. Debris which sinks to the bottom is both unattractive and unhealthy for your ponds inhabitants.
• Scoop up algae and sunken debris. How you empty the pond depends partly on its size - you may want to use a garden pond vacuum, or a net but avoid using anything with sharp edges as this may damage your liner.
• If you keep fish, don't replace more than 50% of the ponds water volume at any one time.
• The water you are replacing it with will probably be tap water - use a water purifier to get rid of the chlorine if you keep fish - it can be toxic. Rainwater from a water butt is better than tap water.
• Allow the newly cleaned raised pond to sit for several hours before reintroducing your fish. This allows the water temperature to stabilise.
• Don't use household cleaners or chemicals to clean inside the pond.
• Remove dead plants and add new ones in the spring.

Much of the above applies to ponds in which fish are kept - if your raised pond is used for ornamental purposes only, you can empty all of the water and refill with tap water. You can also use fountain cleaning chemicals that prevent the build up of algae in your pond.