Help! Clueless

[Kelleymarie212]

Hey guys I'm trying get some help for my pond, bought a house a year ago. It has a pretty large pond in the back maybe 26 by 14 about 3-4 feet deep lined with roofing material I believe? The house was sitting for 4 years the pond has no filter no aeration, basic just water and sludge. Tons of fish looks like goldfish and maybe some koi , had a ton of frogs in the summer, all seem to be doing well. My question is how do I make this pond a lot better looking and clear it up(it's completely green)

? Is there anyway to do it without filtration? Budget friendly option? Thank you!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!

Nice looking pond. The only way I know to keep it "clean" is filtration of some sort. If it has a lot of muck on the bottom you could get a net or a vacuum and work on cleaning it out.

 

[Lisak1]

Agreeing with Addy here - clearing up the muck and debris from the bottom will help make it cleaner. It's really not hard to add a biofilter and falls, though, which would help clean up your water and also add interest to your pond. You've got the basics of a lovely pond already, and if you want to keep it natural (i.e., no filtration or falls) you could certainly do that. Obviously the fish and frogs don't mind it just the way it is right now!

One thing that I would do to improve the appearance is work on the edging. I would replace some of the piles of small rocks with several larger ones. It looks more natural that way. It looks like you already have some plants growing in the pond, but more plantings around the outside will also help add a more natural feel and soften the edges. Rocks are cheap, especially if you can find a local source that is FREE! And plants can be added slowly over time.

Somebody loved that pond at one time - it just needs someone to love it again! You'll find lots of advice and help on this forum!

 

[dieselplower]

The cheapest options to begin clearing the water are remove most fish and run an aerator to get water circulation and increased levels of dissolved oxygen.

 

[morewater]

It would be helpful for you to provide your location. Given that information, it would be easier to give you options that would pertain to the time of year, and the effectiveness of any application.

 

[Nepen]

welcome to the group!

Wow, you could do lots with that pond.

If it were mine, I'll start with getting a pump..a good submersible pump (on sale right now) then go buy a quilt batting and put that in the basket, pump the water through the basket to filter the muck in the water that's floating, probably going to have to change the batting pretty often. Also get a large net, then scoop out the bottom muck. may be do partial water change, then leave it until next spring.

i'm sure there would be tons of dragon fly nymphs in there, also the other critters too.

Or the second option (for me) would be to drain the pond, scoop out the muck, then re-fill. this will be a big job so I dont know if I'd do it until next year.

 

[j.w]

Kelley
That pond has good bones to start with and you could really make it look nice but you will need some kind of filter to keep it clean once you get the sludge out. Gonna be a long process. Get a good strong net and start scooping. If you are in a cold area you might want to wait till Spring to start this project.

 

[Lisaebetten]

Is there any sign of what the previous owner used in the pond? A skimmer or a waterfall box on the edge? You'll need circulation and bio-filtration will do wonders. You could make a bog for filtration. You will have to do some research this winter and look for some supplies. Try craigslist or harbor freight if you can. Make sure you get a pump strong enough to handle all your water. In the summer you will need some lily pads to to provide some shade to the pond. Read up on algae.

 

[Dave 54]

Kellymarie its the wrong time of year to be doing mayor things to your pond its best left now till spring comes around

Dave

 

[Kelleymarie212]

You guys are great! I was told to look at making a skippy filter? We plan on waiting til spring to do a lot of the work like cleaning up the rocks there's a ton of weeds and those ornamental grasses that get to be like 6ft high, wasn't expecting that, could barely see the pond this summer. Lots of dragonfly and I'm afraid to get in there because I read the frogs hibernate down there? I just want to keep it somewhat healthy over the winter. I'm in new Jersey so it's getting chilly here now.

 

[Dave 54]

Kellymarie where are you from in the world the UK US or other all will effect your fish diferently when it comes to wintertime however with 4 ft of water your fish should be safe.
Skippy filters would help you can buid them in sequence say three filters all with differing filtration in them will take care of your ponds needs .
So you have plenty of planning time over the winter months to think about what your doing how your going to set about it and how much it will cost etc to get your pond spick and span again

Dave

 

[addy1]

I'm in new Jersey so it's getting chilly here now.

dave she is from new jersey, us

 

[morewater]

Leave it alone until Spring. It's survived without you this far.

 

[callingcolleen1]

I would at plant lots of sedges around the outside to help clean the water. I would get clumps of native grasses, rushes, cattail, and any other native wild plant growing naturally from your local wetland areas. That is what I did many many years ago, I picked up some Needle Spike Rushes and Horse Tail Rushes. They need all day sun and I do not have lots of all day sun so they did not really take off too well for me, but I did get hardy Yellow Flag water iris from local greenhouse way back in 1991. The Wool Grass Bull Rush, {which is really a grass} I cannot exactly remember where I got that cause it was so very many years ago, They all come back every year and do quite well. I have had to split the huge Yellow Flag water iris several times cause it really grows large. See if you can find a nice Marsh Marigold for very early spring color around the outside edges.