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

When you ay your plants are dying, what do you mean? What are the symptoms?

@MereDintofPandiculation I went out this morning to take a pic and it seems to have cleared a bit today. My waterlilly leaves were brown yesterday but are green today. We may have turned a corner 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

The brown is the algae dying, fingers crossed it will continue to improve now.

How’s everyone’s ponds that had plugholes sealed with silicone?
I’m sure I read that it’s poisonous to fish so I just wondering if all ok or if you needed to get a fish safe type of special sealant? I’d love a mini pond. So would my cat so I’d need to put an old fire guard or something round it or she’d be having fishy takeaways!

Elieza a mini pond wouldn't be big enough for fish!

I've had a Belfast sink pond for years. I have a resident frog and each year i have loads of tadpoles.
However, the tadpoles never develop fully into frogs. Last year they were still legless way into July / August and then, presumably, they just died. Anyone got any ideas?

Here you go:
www.froglife.org/info-advice/frequently-asked-questions/spawn-tadpoles-behaviour/

Really cute and a lovely idea but my cat & dog would eat the contents, unfortunately

Thank you @HardAsSnails. It looks pretty hideous, but we're all rooting for it!

My last pond looked constantly awful, it was a sludgy overgrown mess the last couple of years before we replaced it, but the water didn't smell and it sustained a ton of wildlife.

@HardAsSnails I can live with gunge, just not widespread death!
It is fun though, racing out every morning to see what it looks like. Still no wildlife. I feel that the ramp I built to save drowning hedgehogs may have been a little optimistic!

I feel that the ramp I built to save drowning hedgehogs may have been a little optimistic! It means you haven't drowned any hedgehogs You can't expect them to stay around to say "thank-you"

Meredint it's their sense of entitlement that I find particularly galling! Although I doubt many self-respecting hedgehogs would go near my foetid swamp. It's still fizzing and looks a little like a hideous open sewer.

I am sure it will come good, and hopefully then the local fauna will flock to enjoy it.

Building a pond has been our lockdown project. I only intended to build a small one but suddenly it turned into a bit of a monster. Ours is also in the 'pea soup' phase, so relieved to hear this should clear soon. The water stood longer than I'd like before being planted up due to delivery's etc and our aquatic soil and barley straw still hasn't arrived so the plants are in the pond fairly loose at the minute.

Out of interest we pond dipped it yesterday and there are already some worms/larvae which I was surprised about as plants have only been in since Wednesday. We've also had a frog, I've not seen one here in the 10 years I've lived here, although I've only spotted him once.

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime do you think the worms might be mosquito larvae? I used to have them in my water butt (which sounds a little rude!).
Jealous of your frog though...

I'm fairly sure they were mosquito lavae and one which was darke, although not red, was a blood worm. I'm hopeful that other creatures will eat the mosquitos before they reach adulthood. We've got some low fertile soil and wildflower/ meadow seed on order to go around the pond so helpful we'll have lots of wildlife over the next few years.

DD decided at the beginning of lockdown she didn't want / had outgrown her wooden play centre and trampoline and they were definitely past their best. She's decided she wants a wildlife garden and a hammock to laze away the long summer evenings with a book. So we started a big project, it's been brilliant at keeping us occupied and outside.

HP sounds lovely. We had our garden re-done (after years of neglect) last year and were worried we'd scared everything away but it's all back and more! Newts are a daily spot and today we saw our first dragonfly of the year (a female ruddy darter), and it's been such a bonus during lockdown.

Yes, I think I may have to buy myself one too or we may end up fighting over it.

I bought a wooden frame one from wayfair that looks good and £60 cheaper than the identical one on another site.

Our cat fell into our pond yesterday whilst in hot pursuit of a squirrel, and the pond water seems to be clear today. Maybe 'cat' works the same as barley straw? I think she counts as wildlife, so I'll put her on my tick list.

We are about to start a wildlife pond project for the summer and so I've been doing lots of research. Apparently no fish since they will eat the other things so it should be a choice between a fish pond and a wildlife pond. Apparently also best to resist fountains etc since they can damage the creatures in the water.

I started with plans for a pond circa 1m x 2m, I've now got my eye on a large area of flat lawn and I'm thinking circa 5m x 4m ! DH has yet to be persuaded but I'll get there.

Yes, my cats gave had a few close calls when chasing butterflies. They are both black and watching them, climb over cobbles and lean in to drink from it is like watching a teeny panther at a watering hole.

Yes we started off only to make a small one, it's 3 m x 3m and 0.6 m deep. Beware costs soon add up!

We got most of the stuff from pond Xpert (Disc10) will get you 10% off and I think the liner was from pond keeper and included underlay took about 10 days for delivery. We also put carpet underneath. We've lined the edges and the first level with scottish cobbles - had to wash them in a wheelbarrow to get all the dust off though.
We bought the collection of plants for a medium pond from wetland plants, this pack came with lots of plants and baskets but no soil and took 3 weeks to arrive due to Covid.

I think she counts as wildlife, She certainly would be wild after falling in - especially since you knew about it. Our cat was being chased by next door's dog, so she led him through the hedge and over the pond in one leap - except he didn't know about the pond. He was only tiny - there was only the tip of his nose showing

I started with plans for a pond circa 1m x 2m, I've now got my eye on a large area of flat lawn and I'm thinking circa 5m x 4m Oh yes! Our largest is about 4.5m x 2.5m

It's a lot less maintenance than a lawn. We turned our front garden into 3 ponds, a lot less trouble than taking the lawn mower out there.