"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!

Hi scottspond, some how didn't think she would, Florida vs Manchester, no contest really ;-) The area I live in is New Mills, in High Peak in Derbyhsire. If it doesn't ring a bell, it's just past Lyme park, Buxton is about 2 miles away, Stockport 9 miles and Manchester 20 miles (all via road) Handily the railway station is about 5 mins away from my home, so trips to Manchester are pleasent through the countyside and don't require I use the car ;-) And in summer I get to hop on the odd steam trian, every boys dream. My Mancunian mates reckon I've gone "all posh" living here, as I was born and grew up in Fallowfield and went to school in Rusholme. Regards ChrisC.

Hmmm. Yes, you really do need to find a way to remove some of your excess muck. Also, it appears you have your pump/screen in a shallow tray, about 10-20 cm deep. I might suggest you move that filter system to a deeper container to get the pump away from the muck. You may never catch up to the amount of muck the pond can produce in your current fashion. Get a major amount of muck removed mechanically, (swimming pool skimmer), and raise the pump/screen effective intake level by placing it in a utility bucket, (5 gal U.S., or 4 imp. gal, or 15 liters plus, many items like paint for contractors, etc are supplied in this size stateside, just be sure it is CLEAN!) and sink it to the bottom with the pump wrapped in the screen inside. (This way the water is going into the bucket from a higher underwater level, and collecting less muck.) Remember, the idea of the filter is to filter the water. Do not misunderstand. The bucket edge is totally submerged, so use whatever size suits your pnd depth, cutting to fit if needed. With the pump and screening inside as you are doing in the tray, just a deeper vessel. Once you have done a decent amount of removal of the muck, and run the filter, you will have a slower build normal up until the leaves start to fall. At that point, it is a fairly simple task to remove them with the skimmer net as they float or sink. And with your new strainer, you will have to do that nasty cleaning job far less often. Many people here clean the muck out at least once a year. I happen to be in favor of doing it as needed, in as many years as it takes to become a nuisance. Incidently, your plants will love some of that pond muck spread around them, so long as it is not piled so thick water and air can't get through. Congratulations on taking a really big step toward improvement already!! Cheers! -TT

I think you will find it hard to find anything to stick to the material used for those preforms, so fixing the leak may be a challenge. I would not cut a hole in the side if it for the same reason. Skimmers are meant to be installed with flexible EPDM liners. I do like skimmers for larger ponds because they do allot of cleaning for you by removing much of the floating and suspended debris that would otherwise sink to the bottom of your pond. If you intend to keep fish I would reline the pond with EPDM and maybe make it larger at the same time. If not you can try to seal the leak with silicone and a EPDM patch. Clean the surface very well. Mike