Wildlife pond in Belfast sink

[Crikeyblimey]

Hi. I have a Belfast sink that I was going to use for alpines but now have an urge to turn it into a small pond.

Problem is, bloody great drain hole! There’s no plug housing, just the big hole.

Any suggestions on how to make it watertight?

Also, am I on a hiding to nothing trying to make a pond out of it? Will I just end up with a sink full of stagnant water? Will it need a small pump to keep it moving or is a still pond with plants better for wildlife (appreciate I’ll need rocks in there to aid escape for critters)?

Thanks

You can use silicone sealant to fill the hole, or just silicone an old tile over the hole.

No pump for a wildlife pond, maybe 3 -4 plants, a marginal or 2 (one tall one for dragonflies), an oxygenator and a mini lily.

What a lovely idea. I was thinking of doing something similar with DD early summer. Hadn't thought of a sink, what a great solution thanks

Ooh, thanks.

I’ve been ‘collecting’ stones and pebbles (well every time I dig in the beds, more bloody stones) and have quite a decent collection now.
I shall site it near my ‘yet to be created’ rockery.

Dh will hate the idea cos it won’t be ‘perfect’ but think this is an ideal project for me and ds (17) to do to get him out of the house for a bit.

I do want some moving water somewhere in our postage stamp sized garden too cos I love the sound but that can be something different.

Ta

Small pond liner.

Sounds like a fab idea. We are trying to do our garden up on a budget at the moment. Would love to see a photo of the finished work.

Dh will hate the idea cos it won’t be ‘perfect’

Done is better than perfect.

Fab, thanks Bob.

I’m inspired

Might take a while to source silicone to seal it up but I’m excited now.

I’ll report back at some point.

You could try a large cork.

I have made a mini pond in my yard. Bought a small preformed pond and it is just perking up as the plants grow. I have had toads in my yard for years living in and around the compost bin and thought they needed a paddling pool.

I had an old Belfast sink and made a pond. I bought a new plug from b and q and sealed it with silicone- but I got aquatic silicone sealant as normal stuff can be toxic to plants etc. Ours wasnt a success because it was too much in the shade, it just turned to brown slime :( So now it houses alpines.

Thought I’d give a bit of an update.

Dh managed to get some silicone and I had an epiphany that a plant pot saucer was ideal for the hole!

Sink now sealed and in situ but I’m not allowed to start to put water in till tomorrow to allow the silicone to properly ‘go off’ 🤷‍♀️

Pond plants ordered and I’ve been collecting stones and pebbles for ages (every time I ding in the borders there are more!).

I’m ridiculously excited.

I have an old sink in my garden that I want to turn into a mini pond too 😁 yours is looking fab OP!

@BobTheDuvet I love your little frog! what plant did you put into your mini pond?

Matt Baker did this on Countryfile yesterday. He recommended collecting rain water to fill with. It's on iPlayer so maybe worth a look? 😊

I saw this the other day

OP try to create a little brick or stone staircase out of the pond for any critters that might fall in, like hedgehogs. Different depths of water are good for wildlife anyway.

I've planted radishes in my sink and now want to turn them all out and make a pond!

@Crikeyblimey Did you order pond plants online or from somewhere local?

I ordered the plants online - I did look for a local supplier but they are coming from waterside nurseries which is a way off.

Tonight, I added water and some stones in case anything gets stuck in there before I finish it off.

So far, so watertight!! 👍

I did exactly this a couple of years ago. We then ‘upgraded’ by digging a hole in the ground to make a bigger pond and when i moved the plants from the sink, found a big fat frog and some newts! They’d moved in from our neighbours’ garden.

I've ordered a pond liner to make a wildlife pond in our garden.
Wildlife gardens are obviously having a moment, but then I guess what else do I have to do other than dig a hole and wait for it to fill with rain!
The nation's frogs will benefit from this.
I did read that we might be a bit late for frog spawn, and that it not a good idea to take water or spawn from other ponds.