"I moved into a new-to-me house last spring that has a small pond in the backyard - about 6'x3'x3'. It doesn't have any fish or plants growing in it, so pretty much all I did last year was clean out the leaves and pull out some of the rocks that had fallen in that were supposed to be around the edge. Tadpoles took over in May, so I left them alone, hoping that frogs would help with summer mosquitoes. If they did, I shudder to think what it would have been like without them around. (I also used dunks on a regular basis throughout the summer.) The water stayed remarkably clear overall."

Hello Rosten18,
If you had no plants and clear water last year then consider yourself lucky. Also, I wonder if you had frogs or toads. I'm in KS too and the Eastern American Toad is the primary visitor to my pond. My first year I had lots of mosquito larvae in the pond and used the dunks to take care of them. But last year I bought about 2 dozen Gambuzzia (sp), the mosquito fish, from the local tropical fish store and had absolutely no mosquito problem.

"Now that spring is coming around again, I'm wondering what I should do with it. I'm afraid I simply don't have the time to deal with fish, and any plants would have to be really low maintenance. At one point it had a filter - it's still sitting out there - but the cord has been cut, and I have no idea where the rest of the cord is, or whether there is still power running to it. It's far enough from the house that I don't really want to try to run another line, so I was thinking about trying something solar powered."

If you were to try mosquito fish you wouldn't have to do anything, at least not very much. They feed on the larvae that accumulates on the edges. My experience is that they have a hard time overwintering here in KS so you might have to spend a few bucks but they're not expensive (about the same as buying guppies).

I'm not sure of the filter you speak. Is it a filter in a skimmer, or, is it a power filter in-line between a pump and a discharge? Perhaps it is part of a biological filter in a filter box? And what cable has been cut, the buried electrical cable or the cord to the plug of a pump?

Sorry for so many questions.

I would want water moving to help enjoy the pond so I would repair the setup.

"I'd appreciate any advice, but in particular I'm wondering whether I need a filter if I don't have anything living in the pond. I would also like to know whether anyone has experience with solar powered pumps, and whether there are any brands in particular to look for. The main reason I would do a pump is to keep the water circulating, which I'm assuming would eliminate the need for mosquito dunks. Is that a safe assumption? "

Do you need a filter? I would think you don't need much of a filter for a 6 x6 x 3 pond with out too much load but you will have sediment to handle. How do you want to keep your pond clean, by hand? It's your call.

I don't have any experience with a solar pump. Sorry. I like mag drive pumps because they are oil-less and have great dependability and don't use as much electricity as regular pumps. A simple pump will do for you and your situation. You won't have to spend more than $100. You won't get a break from discouraging mosquitos, at least not too much of one, if you add a pump and circulate water. There are always areas or pockets that can support their existence. It is best to do the dunks or the fish.

"Also, I've cleaned out most of the leaves again, but is there any reason why I shouldn't empty the pond entirely and refill it with clean water? I'm assuming the tadpoles will be back, so I should probably take care of most of this within the next month."

Water chemistry, I guess. I would try to leave water that doesn't include chlorine or chloramines in it. If your water supported tadpoles last year then you probably have sufficient water this year. If you go and empty the pond you should expect an algae bloom and perhaps a reduction in aquatic life, unless you use a de-chlorinating water conditioner. Most city water in KS uses chloramines (make sure your water de-chlor. is able to handle this because some dry formulas cannot).

I'm really not that lazy, but it's just me, and between working full time and going to grad school, there's only so much I can do! I'd like this to be fairly maintenance free, so I can devote any spare time I have to a garden. Thanks in advance for your help!

It sounds to me that you can go either way. Not do a whole lot besides hand cleaning, or. you can invest and make a beautiful ornamental pond out of it and have aquatic plants.

I just can't imagine a pond without plants!

One or two hardy water lilies and some anacharis (sp), a few floating water hyacinths. And you have an easy and beautiful pond.

Good luck!

Any pond well planted with carefully chosen, easy to maintain well behaved aquatic plants is going to be low maintenance, pleasant feature to sit by and enjoy on a pleasant dday.

I little sprinkler, or a trickle to top it up on a hot sunny day is the only water squishing that might be needed

Take care to avoid unsuitable plants that might choke the pond too rapidly and become a nuisance.

Large lotus, hybrid odorata waterlilies, yellow flag iris are plants that should raise red flags for anyone with petite or dirt bottom size ponds

Its fairly typical in season for iffy folk to dump pond busting plants cheap or free on the market to devestate ponds, in the hopes of getting lucrative future work or new pond building projects from unsuspecting desperate ponders.

Experienced special interest collectors will steer you toward more appropriate choices

I like a low maintenance pond that fits my busy life too! The 1st two responses are right on.

If you decide to go with a small pump for a little spray or fountain you can make a DIY filter easily - search Adam's filter, or skippy filter if you decide to eventually get fish.

I try to stick with dwarf varieties of plants. As sdavis said, many aquatic plants grow like weeds and will take over our little ponds.

Don't drain the pond if you can help it, it's like starting all over and yes, you'll have an algae bloom.

Ponds really can be very little work!

S

My pond is the same size as yours. I have been considering going to a solar pump and the one I like the best so far, price-wise vs what it does, is on Ebay. What I like best is it has a backup battery so that it will run on cloudy days and at night. I have fish, so I want it to run 24/7. If I didn't have fish it wouldn't matter if it shut down at night, so a less expensive one might suit your needs just as well.

A filter is used to filter out things that would clog the pump and keep it from working. If you have a pump in a pond you want a filter whether or not you have fish. Plant debris and leaves would eventually clog the pump. You don't need a filter in a table-top fountain, but you do in a pond. How often you have to rinse it varies depending on the debris and other gunk in the pond.

If you don't plan on having fish, I don't think you need to have a pump. However just a note: I find taking just a few minutes to sit pond-side, watching the water and listening to it, taking a few deep breaths, to be SO relaxing and it sounds like you might benefit from that.

If you don't have fish, then, yes, you will want to continue with the mosquito dunks. Even though you don't want fish, I do agree with Pondbucket about maybe getting mosquito fish or some other small fish. Some County Extension offices give them out free in the spring. It will save money on buying the mosquito dunks and, even though they aren't colorful and don't act as pets like comets and koi, they are fun to watch darting around.

You say: "The main reason I would do a pump is to keep the water circulating, which I'm assuming would eliminate the need for mosquito dunks. Is that a safe assumption?" NOPE, it isn't a safe assumption. Sad-to-say, the circulation isn't enough to keep the mosquitoes from breeding the offspring from reaching maturity. I learned this the hard way in my stream. I built little collecting pools in the stream and discovered that, even though there was a fairly swift flow of water, the mosquito wigglers and tumblers would gather in the shelter of rocks and little quiet spots. I used to scoop them up in a cup and pour them into the pond itself. Gave the fish a live snack.

Go ahead and do whatever is easiest for you as far as cleaning the debris out of the pond goes. The predominent cause of an algae bloom is when there are more nutrients (fish waste) in the water than is being used up by the plants or removed during water replacements. If you don't have fish there is little nutrient value in the water which is why it was pretty clear last year.

Water lilies are pretty maintenance free. Put them in the water (if you fertilize them, be sure the fertilizer can't leach into the pond as that is food for the algae - trust me, I learned this lesson first-hand), wait a bit and watch them grow. They are fun to have and can be left in the pond all winter.

Since you enjoy gardening you should have a great time planting around the pond. There are many wonderful plants that take little or no maintenance to have growing in and around the pond. You might even enjoy having a floating planter or two. They are fun.

Here's a link to threads on this board about floating planters. They are quick and easy to make and provide LOTS of enjoyment.

http://search.gardenweb.com/search/?forum=ponds&sp-q=floating+planter

Here is a link that might be useful: Solar Powered Pump