Old pond, new - older - house and newbie

16 years ago

My husband and I bought a new (old - built in 1926) house this past fall that came equipped with a pond. While I've had a very small goldfish pond before (when I lived in Miami) things are a bit different now that I am in the Chicago suburbs.

The house had been vacant for about a year, and the elderly owner had a gardener that kept up the yard/gardens for her. The pond is about 8-10 feet long by 5-7 feet wide. The edge is done in limestone rocks, and there is a fountain/waterfall built into the rear of it about 3 feet high, with an outlet nearby for the pump. The gardener apparently didn't want to deal with the pond, so he installed a wooden cover (that I can't figure out how to remove) over the top. (the cover is partially plywood and partially 2x4s apparently put together with deck screws).

Perhaps it's the nesting instinct (I'm 8 months pregnant and ready to redo everything in the house and garden at once) that's making me so anxious to get the pond cover off and see what's underneath.

I guess, my question(s) are:

1) once we get the pond cover off, what do we do? Now that the pond has been covered and any water in it has been stagnant and covered for a year or more - I'm sort of petrified as to what may be under there. Will we need to pump out the water and start all over? Unfortunately, until that cover is off, there's no way (that I can figure out at least) to tell if it's a hard sided plastic pond/plastic sheeting, etc. or even how deep it is.

2) there are two scraggly arborvitae planted at the front of the pond's corners that we'd like to tear out and replace with Japanese maples. Looking back at pictures from last fall, there are apparently also some kind of irises, and other plants that I (the very green -though not green thumbed novice) don't know what are. (speaking of which, is there a FAQ as to how to post pictures?). The area is fairly shaded and apparently gets a lot of needles from the pines that cover it. Does anyone have recommendations of trees to replace the arborvitae with that won't cause issues with roots if it's a soft plastic pond?

Is there anything else that I should watch for? Granted, we're expecting 7 inches of snow tonight, so I guess my hopes for getting to the bottom of the pond mystery are on hold for now.

Any suggestions for resources for newbies like myself who are excited but overwhelmed at this new part of my garden?

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Comments (7)

pikecoe
16 years ago
You need to first download your pictures to your computer. Then join something like photobucket.com It is free and allows you to download pictures to an album. Just follow the instructions for downloading to your album. When your pictures are downloaded and you look them up in your album there will be 4 lines underneath the pictures. Just highlight and right click to copy the Html Code line the third line, starting with the >a. Go back here to the Post a Follow-Up. In the message area right click and paste and you will see several lines of gobbledegook. When you preview you will see your picture. Then you can go to the correction area and add your text and them submit when you are ready. You can go back and forth to add more pictures with your back arrow. It really is not hard to learn. If I could do it anyone can. If you have further questions, just ask.Glenda
garyfla_gw
16 years ago
Hi
You'll definitely want to clean it out. Certainly no rush you'd want to wait until warmer weather anyway.
After that, you'll want to fill it and check for leaks.
Check the pump out probably replace it. Also might want to check out the electrical lines and put in a breaker if it doesn't have one.
Of course before anything you'll have to find out what's underneath lol. Whatever it is I'm sure you won't want it in your pool lol gary
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billykunz
16 years ago
After you uncover the pond disconnect everything. Check all your electrical lines. Leave disconnected. Power wash the entire pond. Pump out all that scanky water. Let it dry out then check for tears or holes. Patch them if needed.Make sure the perimeter of pond is secure add dirt if needed. Now fill the pond and see if the level drops . If not your good to start getting a filter going. Now you can add bacteria like microlift and let it run for a couple of weeks. Water still cold there in Chicago. So wait till the water gets to 55 or better before adding fish. A couple @ a time. Good Luck. It takes alot of patience@ first so take the time in the beginning to enjoy it later on. Remember you need to filter the water at least twice an hr. So if your pond is 3000 gallons you need a pump. 6000gph.and so on. of course if your putting koi or comets etc. in there.
sleeplessinftwayne
16 years ago
If I was rehabing this pond I would wait until I knew what plants I had before ripping everything up. You are likely to have some treasures. Maybe the old gardener could give you some info if he is still around. I would leave the actual cleaning of the pond to your DH since you are so close to delivery. Even if the gardener was very good there was likely to be some rain water that got into the pond and it would be full of anerobic bacteria that will get cleared out eventually by running the pump and filters but there is no sense in taking chances. Sunlight and aeration can work wonders. There really is no hurry. Sandy
redesq
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you all for your kind and helpful information. My husband spent the weekend cleaning out the beds surrounding the pond, and your advice is helping us greatly.

When you move into a house with rambling gardens that you didn't plant, it's sort of Christmas morning each day when we stroll through the garden trying to decipher what's coming up.
sheepco
16 years ago
I agree with Sandy, find out whats coming up before you drain it and powerwash it. There may even be fish in there (knowing from experience how hard it is to remove them all) and frog and snails, etc. Even if it's skanky it probably won't smell til it warms up, tee hee! A partial water change would help that.
Let us know what you uncover, I for one love a good mystery and we all love to help restore a forgotten pond!
Sarah
mike_il
16 years ago
Redesq, you say you live in the Chicago suburbs. I have a pond business in the suburbs and I would be more than happy to come out and give you my opinion on your pond for free of course that may be what it is worth. If you want you can email me or call me at my store (630)406-9330 or on my cell (630)768-0142. And yes those are my real phone numbers and anyone on this forum is welcome to call them if they need help.
Mike

Old pond, new - older - house and newbie

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pikecoe

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