New Garden Pond Part 2

[tearinghair]

About a month ago I asked for advice on replacing our old garden pond. Thank you again for your help; I've now got the new one in (I decided on pre-formed in the end) and yesterday we added the water. Within a couple of hours a newt and two frogs had moved in. My problem now is that the water is a little cloudy, and according to the book I won't be able to add plants until at least April. Is there anything I can do to clear the water before then, bearing in mind that there will soon be a lot more frogs in it so I certainly don't want to be using chemicals? There are no plans for any fish, just waterlilies and marginals eventually.

[tearinghair]

Sorry, everyone, I've only just checked this section again and hadn't realised that there'd been so many more replies.
Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions. I think the main problem is my being impatient, particularly now that I've also constructed a small rockery just above the pond and want to get plants in there too....I will try the barley straw and leave the rest to nature.
My next door neighbour has a more mature pond, so I'll ask her if she can spare a bucket of water. At the moment there's nothing in there for the newly-resident newt to eat, so it seems like a good plan. I'd love to have fish, but the cats and a local heron would get them. And the first frogs have started to arrive.

[Chipchopper]

To have amphibians turning up at this early stage, must be a good sign!!

I think, providing a refuge for wildlife in your garden, in the shape of a pond is probably one the best and exiting things you can do. the other is feeding wild birds.

Hopefully this spring there will be plenty of newt and frogspawn

Good luck Chip

[tearinghair]

Update: thanks again for all your advice. The water is now so clear that I can see our resident newt sitting in the container of reeds at the bottom of the pond with its little hands on the rim, peering over the edge. Result!