Please tell me what to do with this 'POND'???

12 years ago

We recently moved and inherited a pond - kind of. The water in question might actually be termed a reflecting pool, or even just an overgrown mud puddle. I'm not sure what to call it, and of course, my camera is acting up so pictures aren't an option right now.

It is about 20' in diameter when full, almost a perfect circle. The edges are only a few inches deep, the center is perhaps 18". I am not sure if it is a natural feature, or if someone actually dug it many years ago. There are some huge granite and moss-spotted stones nearby, as well as mature pines, which appear to have been placed there intentionally. Its very Zen in effect.

The problem is, even though the pool has some wild "pond lettuce" (looks like pale green silver dollars)and algae growing in it, it seems to dry out very quickly. Today it was down to around 12' in diameter. Just eleven days ago we had three days straight of very heavy rain, and it was pretty well filled.

My question is this - is there anything worthwhile to try and keep this little pond? I have zero experience, and want to ask here to get unbiased advice (unlike the handyman kind -"sure, I can fix that!") The water is brackish right now and seems only useful as a mosquito breeding ground. I was planning on adding some mosquito-eating small fish, but after seeing how quickly it lost diameter I am afraid even very small fish won't survive.

Right now, I am leaning towards filling it in, but that has brought howls from the rest of the family who think it might be salvageable. So please, if you have any advice, let me know.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

chas045
12 years ago
It sure sounds intentional and slightly taken care of. Otherwise I would think it would have naturally filled in. I assume that you have already poked around with a shovel or something, and not found a rubberized liner at the edge.

I suppose that filling it in would cost some money. Adding a rubber EDPM liner would cost $400+. Perhaps much more or impossible depending on your accuracy on size. I have heard that there are some clay like materials that can help seal natural soils. I have no idea of costs or workability. Perhaps someone here can help on that approach.

Surprisingly little else is really needed. I have a utility pond that I use for watering. It is nothing but a lined ditch fed by a french drain with 3 goldfish (now ~40) and some acqurium plants (seriously invasive if they got into natural water). There is no pump or filtering. There have been periods when the fish got no extra food, but they have grown larger than fish in my smaller maintained and fed decorative pond.

Assuming the object IS a reflecting pool, you could still add an in pond pump just to circulate the water around in the deeper part, but it wouldn't be necessary.
s8us89ds
12 years ago
It sounds like there is some sort of underground liner/container that is trapping the water - but it has holes in it - so it's draining slowly. Evaporation hopefully wouldn't account for that much water loss. I agree that carefully poking around in the bottom of it might help you discover what's going on. You could also drain it with a $50 submersible pump from a home improvement store (or hours of bailing it out with a bucket) to see what's underneath. It could be that you could patch the holes in the liner/container. Or you could put down another liner on top of it, like the other poster suggested. If there are no holes in the liner, maybe it was just a poorly-designed pond that needed to be constantly refilled with a hose. Or maybe there was some other source of water piped to it, above or below ground, that has long since been disconnected. If there is no liner underneath, and just hard-packed clay earth, maybe there are cracks in the clay, or maybe it's not as hard-packed as it needs to be. I would definitely try to fix it and see how you like it once it's fixed, before you decide whether to keep it.
Related Discussions
2 Grand to fix my pond?! Please help me decide (w pics)
Q
Comments (10)
There are a number of ways to make keeping your pond maintenance more efficient without the outrageous price your handyman puts on the job. The first problem of fine leaved Honey Locust leaves could be solved by making a screen sided or mesh sided basket to put into the top section of the pond to collect the leaves. Just leave it in place between cleanings. If you are handy, the screen sided bucket is simple enough but premade mesh fish nets come in some rather large sizes and shaping the handle to serve as a cup type handle is easy enough as is making some sort of shelf to hold the net in place. Just lift the net out by the handle, let the water drain back if it is sufficiently clear and dump the leaves out. I am putting in a link for a website that happens to show several products on the same page that would do a good job of cleaning the mulm under the bottom drain. The fish capture nets are there, too. The Muck Vac is about as simple as it gets. The price is a bit steep but it works. All you need is 50 lbs water pressure in the hose. The leaf vac uses a bag to catch debris and I use one to collect leaves on the bottom. It isn't as good for mulm unless you get the extra bags for that purpose. The price is hard to beat. It adds water to your pond so prepare as for a water change. The Python pond vac is a more elaborate version of the Muck vac designed to collect leaves and mulm. It is more difficult to get into tight places and I have a problem opening and closing the jar that collects the debris because my hands hurt a lot. The pond vacuum on this page is pretty expensive but you can get a garage(utility)vac with a continuous flow(water)discharge for between $75 and $90. It works, too. Just add a hose to run the water to the garden. I got one at Walmart and I've seen them at Lowes, Menards, etc. It took me a while to get the hang of it but Horton came through for me with proper instructions. UV, UV. Hum-mm. I don't see anywhere the flow rate would be low enough to let the UV work. I see you have valves all through the system that makes in-line space at a premium even if it lets you adjust the flow. It seems to me that adding another pipe with a valve to control that flow would make the system complicated to the point of maintenance inefficiency and it would certainly raise the scream level. Maybe I am wrong. Since you are going to move, I would use a small submersible pump and a stand alone UV + filter. It might even be possible to get by with only the sponge included prefilter to protect the pump. The object is to increase dwell time to allow the UV time to work. You can get small fountain pumps for cheap. Try Harbour Freight.I found the UV and filter from Laguna on sale for 45 bucks. several years ago. That screwdriver must be a sign of ingenuity or ineptitude. I don't know which. One of these days you will laugh at it. In a number of stores I see wire shelves that are stackable in the laundry and storage departments. I don't see how deep the hole is but I bet you could find one of those shelves that would fit close enough. You might need to do a bit of bending or cutting. Please do not put stones on the bottom of the pond. It will make cleaning an impossible task and eventually the water will become stinky. Now I will let the smart guys take over. I still like your pond. Sandy Here is a link that might be useful: Simple inexpensive ideas that work well
...See More
please tell me what I can do to save my tree!
Q
Comments (8)
Why a weak dose of fertilizer? Because I read on this forum about the "weekly weakly" thing. I had also already fertlized with Jobe's Organic but it is the kind you just sprinkle around the base of the tree and water in, I was afraid the tree might need something a bit more direct until that had a chance to soak in. The fertilizer i just used is 8-7-6. What formula? The fertilizer i just used is 8-7-6. When did you last fertilize? Yesterday How often do you fertilize? Haven't been since I got the tree a few months ago, just started with the Jobe's about three weeks ago, then the 8-7-6 liquid yesterday. What kind of soil is it in? gritty mix How much light does it receive? in a sunroom with S/SE exposure Could the aphids be causing this? I've been spraying with neem.
...See More
Please tell me what to do re: refrigerator!
Q
Comments (2)
We are happy with our KA SXS 42" built-in (it's a regular BI, not inset or totally flush with the cabs like some of the newer SZ's). It has ice/water in the door, and we chose it because the ice maker is in the door itself, leaving more available shelf space in the freezer compartment, rather than more of those dinky door shelves. It's still not a huge freezer, but we have our old SXS in the garage (as planned), so we're fine with that. We also liked the shelf/drawer set-up in the fridge compartment vs. some of the other's we'd seen, and the price was lower than SZ's and some other's as well.
...See More
Please just tell me what to do re: laundry room
Q
Comments (14)
DD2's laundry room is also the entrance to house via the garage. She did not want to see W/D all the time, so DH made the top (also panel to hide water cut off, etc) and I sewed her a skirt. The top and small back are paint grade plywood. The back can quickly be removed during an emergency to cut off the water. Cabinets were original to house, but she painted. Counter is high, and lip across front hides the curtain rod. She kept saying she wanted to put something on top (tiles, laminate, etc) but the paint is easy to keep clean. Cats food/water is there now. I'm like you, have front loads now, but plan to have top loaded or stacked front loads in next house (depends on room). I had a dark basement laundry "area" for 20+ years, so when we were designing our current home I always said "pretty laundry room." It is pretty and it is functional, but I am only getting older and bending down (or getting on the floor) to do the laundry will not be in my future.
...See More
sleeplessinftwayne
12 years ago
I agree that you need to figure out just what is there before making any final decisions. Draining it is probably the only way to find out if you have a Dew Pond that needs repair, a water garden that has filled up with gunk or a rain garden that isn't absorbing rain. It may be an unpleasant cleaning job but it could be well worth it.

Please let us know what happens. Mosquito Dunks can control the mosquitoes.
chas045
12 years ago
I agree about the semi cheap submersable pump; Harbor Freight or ebay. These pumps are handy to have around anyway so it shouldn't be a waste. I'm not so sure that it would be that messy a job to empty the 'pond'. Those pumps are powerful when you are not pumping them through long or high distances. You could attach the outlet to a few feet of large diameter flexable tubing that can be pointed back into the mostly emptied pond to disturb and dislodge muck from the bottom or sides. This can then be partially sucked out to get a view of the sides. Of course, this assumes that at least one edge is near an area that can have lots of muck dumped there. Great soil later!
gardengimp
12 years ago
I have to agree with your howling family, it sounds like it could be quite charming. You might want to start with a call to your local county extension office. They might be able to give you some more solid ideas based on your locale and the soil type of your property.

~dianne
buyorsell888
12 years ago
Mosquito Dunks are your friend. They work great and are non toxic to wildlife and pets.

Please tell me what to do with this 'POND'???

Comments (6)

chas045

s8us89ds

Related Discussions

sleeplessinftwayne

chas045

gardengimp

buyorsell888

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US