Calling all pond owners

[PondersEnder]

Thought I’d start a pond thread now that we’re in spring. We’ve recently moved into a new house that had a lined pond which was not at all looked after, and after many, many hours of work (including rescuing a lot of frogs and fish) we have now installed a 1000 litre preformed pond.

Still very new to pond-keeping so if there are any pond enthusiasts out there let me know as I am constantly googling at the moment!

Pond stats here:
1000 litres - preformed
Home to approximately 10 fish (species yet to be determined as the rescue was very traumatic!)
Plus lots of tadpoles doing well
UV filter and pump installed
Lots of plants in with more on the way
Hedgehog ramp in place
Pond snails on the way

Any top tips? Things you wish you’d known when starting out? Favourite pond plants?

Pond novice here, moved to a house with a pond and at the moment it is like pea soup. It did have a pump and filter but they both broke before we moved in and we've been busy decorating so haven't had the time to do anything until now. I've just added Hornwort. We have some Iris that are doing well, the Water Lilies seem to have died. It is 2m x 1m x 1m deep. It has a waterfall/cascade that I would love to get working. I guess I need a new pump/filter and to clean out two years of accumulated muck from the bottom. Nothing currently 🙁lives in it, no frogs, newts, nothing. Advice welcome!

There will be plenty living in the muck - is it preformed? 2 years of neglect is nothing. Imagine a real wildlife pond in the middle of nowhere who cleans that out? If you want just wildlife get rid of pumps and filters get some oxygenating plants in, if it’s edged with rocks get rid and soften the edges, form a small beach so hogs and critters can get in and out - aim for 70% surface flora and 30% so you can see what’s happening. Gently remove some of the sludge and leave it on the side so for 24hrs so bugs can crawl back in. Good luck.

Another question: how do you all deal with the noise of the filter/pump? Our filter is quite noisy (as the pumped water flows into the filter box) and I would like to reduce the noise. I’m thinking of attaching a smaller hose to the end of the pump that flows into the filter mechanism so it flows in from the bottom rather than falling in from the top - would that work?