As a landscaper, I’m often asked by clients what kinds of ponds they can build in their backyard Ponds come in all shapes and sizes, and each type has unique characteristics. In this guide, I’ll walk through the main categories of ponds so you can decide which is best for your landscape vision
Natural Ponds
Natural ponds form when rainwater or groundwater collects in a depression on the land. They have soft irregular edges that blend into the surrounding terrain.
Natural ponds support diverse wildlife like frogs, turtles dragonflies and waterfowl. They require minimal maintenance since they maintain their own ecological balance. Their natural appearance lends itself well to rustic landscapes.
Constructing a natural pond involves mimicking nature by digging a freeform depression and lining it with flexible rubber. The edge can be finished with native rocks and plants. While natural ponds appear wild, careful design is needed to sustain the ecology.
Fish Ponds
Fish ponds are designed to provide habitat for fish like koi, goldfish, and bass. Keeping fish requires special considerations like adequate depth and biofilters to handle their waste.
Fish add movement and color to water features. However, they also limit plant options since they will eat many aquatic plants. And predator fish like bass will eat smaller ornamental fish.
Fish ponds must be well-constructed with sufficient volume, good filtration, and proper winterization to keep fish healthy year after year. Feeders and nets are needed to care for the fish. Maintaining good water quality is vital.
Koi Ponds
Koi ponds are a specialized type of fish pond designed for keeping koi, which can grow over 2 feet long. Koi need at least 200 gallons per fish, so sizable ponds are required.
Being cold water fish, koi require ponds at least 6 feet deep to avoid winter freeze. Their waste output necessitates robust biological filtration. Owners should be prepared for frequent testing and maintenance.
Koi ponds typically have minimal aquatic plants since the fish will eat most of them. The architecture is also more formal, with straight lines and decorative stonework. Koi themselves add drama with their large size, bold colors, and shimmering scales.
Mini Ponds
Mini ponds are small, decorative water features ranging from tabletop fountains to ponds of 100-300 gallons. Their compact size allows them to fit on patios or in other landscapes with limited space.
Mini ponds offer a budget-friendly way to enjoy a water garden. Many contain integrated basins, filtration systems, and lighting, simplifying installation. Shallow ponds work best for growing aquatic plants. Moving water can be added with small tabletop fountains.
Mini ponds require frequent maintenance because their small volumes are prone to rapid changes in temperature and chemistry. But they provide big visual impact with minimal commitment of time, money, and yard space.
Mirror Ponds
Mirror ponds have completely flat, reflective water surfaces that mirror their surroundings like glass. They achieve this effect through careful construction and special fountains that don’t ripple the surface.
The mirror effect works best on small ponds surrounded by ornamental plants and architecture. While visually striking, debris is highly visible on mirror ponds, so frequent skimming is a must. Plants that sprout tall orinvasive species also need prompt pruning.
Creating a mirror pond requires precision when leveling the bottom and edging so water sits perfectly even across the surface. Fountains and waterfalls must push water smoothly into the pond to avoid ripples. The high level of maintenance limits mirror ponds to relatively formal settings.
Ornamental Ponds
Ornamental ponds emphasize aesthetics over ecology. They have formal shapes and decorative edging materials like stone, tile, or concrete. Fountains and waterfalls add visual flair. Plants are limited to keep the architecture the main focus.
Homeowners often request ornamental ponds to match a pool or complement formal landscapes near the home. Maintenance is higher, especially for keeping the surface debris-free. Ornamental ponds offer maximum design flexibility to coordinate with homes and landscapes.
Plant Ponds
Plant ponds are designed to provide the ideal environment for growing all kinds of aquatic plants. They may include marginal shelves, varying depths, and nutrient-rich soil.
Plant lovers can cultivate exotic water lilies, irises, lotus, and other species matched to specific pond zones. Nevertheless, plant ponds still require balance to keep algae in check. Selected fish can help control insects and algae.
Plant ponds allow creating vibrant underwater gardens bursting with color and textures, blooming from spring to fall. They offer a sanctuary for people and wildlife.
The Pond That’s Right For You
When deciding which type of pond to build, consider factors like your landscape style, budget, and maintenance commitment. Those favoring a natural look may choose a wildlife pond, while formal gardens lend themselves to ornamental ponds.
Common pond types in Michigan
Anyone who owns a pond ever wonder where it came from or why the water pools there? How did the pond form? Is it natural or was it made by people?
Typical meandering river over time with an oxbow pond or lake formation
Lakes, pools, ponds, rivers, and streams that are natural are plentiful in Michigan. There are more than 11,000 lakes and 36,000 miles of streams in the state. Four of the five Great Lakes are also close by. Still, a lot of people want to add a pond or some other kind of water feature to their land, yard, or garden. A pond on ones property is often viewed as an asset. It can be used for fun, to water animals, to support sport fish, to make the area look nicer, and to give animals a place to live. The first thing you need to do before taking care of your pond is to figure out what kind it is and whether it was naturally formed or man-made.
Naturally, occurring ponds, much like many lakes, formed as the glaciers receded over 10,000 years ago. Glaciers broke off huge chunks of ice, which made depressions that the melting ice filled with glacial debris. Some of the water bodies that formed were large. Other numerous smaller water bodies were also created. These resulting smaller water bodies are ponds. Ponds resemble small lakes with open water containing similar aquatic plants. They are often irregularly shaped, relatively shallow and often “green” or weedy. They often don’t have any fish in them because there is no natural way for fish to get in. A fishless pond, however, can still be a balanced ecosystem.
The natural damming of rivers may have created other naturally occurring ponds. These bodies of water, which are called fluvial ponds, were formed when running water came from a dam or another natural impoundment, like an oxbow, plunge pool, or dredged wetland next to a river. The oxbows, for example, separated from a meandering river to create a crescent shaped pond or lake. Sometimes they are low enough that water can fill them up and make a more round pond or lake, but most of the time they keep their horseshoe or oxbow shape. Sometimes people dredge them to become open ponds. In either case, they are still a part of the larger river system.
Ponds created by beaver dams are often short lived. Beaver ponds can be annoying for homeowners who find out all of a sudden that their pond is gone because the beaver dam broke after being left alone for a long time. Human-made dams make ponds, but they can be just as unpredictable if the dam isn’t kept in good shape.
Some open water is always in a pond, which makes it different from other types of water like swamps, bogs, fens, and marshes. Swamps, bogs, fens, and marshes usually have trees, shrubs, and other plants that only grow in wetland conditions. They also tend to dry out for parts of the year.
Some ponds were not created naturally, but were dug or engineered. These man-made ponds can be broken down into two main groups: 1) those that are dug out of quarries or wetlands to make room for water; and 2) those that are completely lined with plastic or clay. These ponds can range in size from a few feet to several acres in size. Another pond type is an artificial impoundment formed by constructing a levee or dam. Management of these types of ponds is similar once they are established. Artificial ponds often require extra care to keep them filled with water and monitored for liner damage. If you damage the liner or dig too deeply in a clay pond, all the water will drain out. This is called “pulling the plug.”
Before you start taking care of your pond, it can help to know what kind of pond you have. If your pond is connected to a river by a flood plain, wetland, or oxbow, then your pond is part of a larger body of water that flows into the river. Any kind of construction, dredging or filling, adding chemicals, or making certain land changes that are bigger than five acres will need a permit from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). Appreciating your natural pond is surely the easiest management approach. Keeping an eye on things to make sure they don’t get worse from runoff and invasive species or native, but annoying Canada geese may be the hardest parts. Learn more about maintenance for your natural pond at https://www. canr. msu. edu/news/preserve_your_natural_backyard_pond.
For more information about managing your pond, contact Beth Clawson, MSU Extension Educator. To find out more about this and other water quality programs, you can get in touch with Michigan State University Extension Natural Resources educators. These teachers work all over Michigan to offer educational programs and help with natural resources and water quality. Using the words “Natural Resources” or “Water Quality” in MSU Extension’s “Find an Expert” search tool will help you get in touch with a teacher. ”.
Types Of Pond Fish
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