Backyard ponds can be a great water feature to have in your garden but require a little maintenance.
Therefore, you may find yourself asking what to replace a pond with. You can install a different type of water feature, or even a tank.
So, to help you, have a look at 8 of the best ideas what to replace a pond with, and to be honest, all that you need is a little know-how!
Why Replace Your Backyard Pond?
If you have a pond that you’re not as fond of as in the past, replacing it is always an option (albeit with a little elbow grease).
So, why should you replace your back yard pond?
Let’s take a closer look!
Bugs (Mosquitoes in Particular)
Mosquitoes love water, as you probably are aware.
You are probably aware of this, as they rely on water for their life cycle; they place their eggs on the surface of still water, the eggs hatch into a larvae and become the nuisance mosquitoes we all hate!
Using mosquito fish is one way to reduce the mosquitoes in your pond, but the best way to eliminate them is to replace the pond (still standing water) with a flowing stream or river!
A New-and-Improved Look
Maybe to you, it simply looks a little boring, your backyard pond.
Replacing the pond with another water feature could completely change the look of your yard!
You’ve Grown Tired of Maintaining the Pond Life and Water
In the end, people most commonly want to replace or remove their pond because they are tired of maintaining the pond water and/or wildlife. Of course, that’s totally fair!
Ponds require maintenance periodically; if they are not maintained (cleaned) in some capacity, they become stagnant and scummy and smelly, and the wildlife fish and animals are likely to get sick!
8 Amazing Ideas What to Replace a Pond With
1. A Water Wall
After your pond is done, you can always add what’s called a ‘water wall’.
As the name suggests, the water is in a wall, running up-and-down by way of a pump.
Typically, the water wall will surround a small feature, drawing water from the feature.
Good idea: water walls are relatively simple to maintain, and can have a beautiful cascading effect – a great idea!
2. A Bubbler Fountain
A bubbler fountain is yet another luxurious water fountain, and it’s yet another great alternative to a pond.
Bubbler fountains can also be added to a waterfall or a river and can resemble a traditional drinking fountain, but can also be a classy piece or decor piece (a bubbling vase for instance – think of a bubbling vase as a great source of fresh, clean water!).
If you’re worried about germs, consider having a few bubbler fountain heads to drink from.
3. Waterfall
Next, we will cover a traditional water feature: a waterfall.
These imitate the elegance of waterfalls, which will help beautify and enhance the oasis of your own backyard.
To simply install a waterfall, you can modify your existing pond feature or filtration system to accommodate for it.
You may want to add some sort of height (or a focal point) within the waterfall as well, ba bard can be pretty nice looking!
4. A Garden Stream/River
Transforming your pond into a stream or river will require a shovel and liner to begin with.
Dig out the stream (1-2 feet deep at the most, to avoid young children, pets, and sprinkler system problems) anyways you like.
Add in the liner, and then add a pump (to push and filter the water) – and there you go, a stream or river!
After you have the water component together, you can add in sand, rocks, water plants, and even water critters like koi can be fun!
5. A Natural Pool
You can always take your backyard pond to a natural pool.
Instead of a pool filled with chlorine, you could upgrade it to a saltwater pool.
This turns something simple and outdated into a luxury that you can enjoy once again!
The only thing you need to do is:
- clear out the pond
- dig a deeper pool
- rig a filtration system/saltwater pump
- fill it in with concrete, tiles, or rock
6. A Pond in a Barrel
If you love the idea of a pond, with all the plants and animals that inhabit the water, but you don’t want to put the time and energy into maintaining it, you might want to think about having a pond-in-a-barrel instead.
In essence, you’re just adding a large barrel to your area as a pond or water tank.
It will need to be filled with plants, fish, decoration and, if you don’t have enough natural means, a water filter!
7. A Garden In the Water
Just like the barrel pond, you may also want to substitute your barrel pond for a water garden, which does not take up too much space.
This type of “water-garden” simply requires a large bowl or container (such as a birdbath), your choice of plants, and plenty of fresh, clean water.
8. Relocate Pond Critters to Their Own Tank
In the event you decide to shift the pond wildlife to an aquarium or tank instead of the plants, the critters can be relocated into their very own, larger tank.
Tanks have lids, mitigating the health risks of leaves and other debris (it’s much easier to maintain tanks without debris) whilst facilitating a unique, closed ecosystem that can be maintained with a basic fish tank filter!
If you want to keep koi fish, you will need to keep the fish in at least a 50 gallon tank!
If you want to keep frogs around, those would need a different tank; frogs usually live on land and in the water
The fish will drown in a fish tank.
To keep them, you’ll want to build a new frog habitat of some sort (you may or may not have issues with the water plants transferring over; they’re fragile and may or may not survive the transition to a new habitat), but if you don’t, it’s best to start fresh, if nothing else for plant health, since any old plants may get sick and compromise the entire tank!)
How Do I Get Rid of a Pond?
Clearly, you’re not just going to destroy a pond with the bulldozer.
There are water features, plants, and other important elements to consider first.
Read below for more!
Rehome Wildlife (Frogs, Fish, etc.)
You need to find a new home for any wildlife before changing a pond.
Fish, frogs, and any other critters will promptly die without the life-giving water!
In addition to that, we do not want to just release pond wildlife anywhere, as some species are invasive and it could be cruel!
Instead, you can find someone (friend or group online) to adopt the frogs, fish, etc. or they could move them to their own tank.
One more thing: Please do the rehoming process slowly and gently so the water critters suffer less!
Uproot/Replant Any Plants in the Pond
Besides rehoming the animals, the second thing that you may want to do is to uproot and replant any plants that you might have in your pond (lilies, java moss, water iris, etc).
Most of these plants can be uprooted and tossed, or better yet, you can use them to make your own compost!
If you’re attached to some of the plants as I am, you can also always save the plants for the next garden or a new water feature, or rehome the plants into pots with water!
Drain the Pond Water
Once you’ve got everything out of your old pond, it’s time to start draining the water.
This can be done in a few different ways, and you will want to be careful not to flood your lawn (and house foundation while you’re at it)!
A pump is, by far, the best way to take out pond water!
Not only does this help keep your yard from getting flooded, but it allows you to control how much water comes out at once, and it prevents debris from getting stuck!
Remove Sediments and Decor
This is what goes along with draining the pond water.
Actually, before you drain the pond water, you’ll want to remove a lot of the debris.
Stones along the bottom, logs, sand, any kind of tile, and any other sediments and decor!
Take Out the Pond Liner
Lastly, you can start removing the pond liner.
This may sound easier than it is. The liners are typically quite delicate and can rip.
So get it out of the ground, and if you are gentle with it you may be able to reuse it!
Replace With Another Water Feature or Fill
You can either fill in your pond with terrestrial dirt and cover it in lawn, or you can turn it into a new-and-improved water feature.
Just make sure you have everything on hand, including plenty of pool liner!
Final Words
Thus, if you have been thinking about what to do instead of your backyard pond, now you have some inspiration.
You could replace it with a new and improved water feature, you could put it into a tank, you could add a river – whatever you want!