Newbie rehabbing neglected pond -where to start?

[Dan Fl]

We live in SW Florida. Bought our house as a short sale in late 2011, and have been fixing things all over the place. I'm just now ready to start on the garden pond.

Pond is 2200 gal give or take, with a two sided fountain. Average depth is 2.5 feet. Theres a submersible pump that works attached to a Clear Stream 1200 UV filter, and another pump (looks like a pool pump) that isn't currently working.

The pond is filled with at least 5 years of oak leaves and other muck on the bottom. I have 2 decent size gold fish that have been surviving for about three years with no feeding and only very spotty circulation. There's frogs, some smaller minnows that have all been surviving.

I have two good size water lillies. The rest of the veg is water hyacinth with some alligator grass. I know those are both invasives, but they shade the pond in the summer and i compost them when they get too out of hand. They have been good for the garden that way.

Eventually I would like to transition the pond to an aquaculture set up, with some floating pots for food, some edibles on the stair step fountain ledges, and some tilapia or other meat fish. My funds are not unlimited (see short sale rehab, above), and would prefer to work with what I have.

I know next to nothing about how to rehab and keep this pond. If this was your set up, where would you start? What resources should I start reading? Should I worry about the muck, the algae, the filter, the pump, the fish or the plants first? I'll post pictures if they will help.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

A complete clean-out is the first order of business.

 

[CountryEscape]

Definitely post pics. The first thing I thought of was to get rid of the muck. But, then you said you have fish and frogs and minnows living in there. Hmm .... so, if you stir up the bottom removing all the muck (even if you're careful, you will stir up the water), you will want to have some good aeration going, or better yet, remove the living creatures and put them in an aquarium or tub or something for the time being. You can put a shallow tub or tote near the pond for the frogs to temporarily use. Use a net and get as much muck out as possible. Turn off the pumps maybe while you do that, so the stuff can settle.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

5 years of accumulated organic matter will require a complete clean-out which means draining the pond.

 

[j.w]

Dan

 

[Dan Fl]

Thanks for the welcome j.w.

Meyer and CE - what would happen if I cleaned out the muck without draining?

 

[Lisak1]

what would happen if I cleaned out the muck without draining?

You're going to have a really hard time cleaning the muck without draining - the debris will get stirred up in the water. That much muck will require a shovel, I'm going to guess.

 

[j.w]

Yep you will have to remove the fish and critters cuz stirring up that water will make a real mess for them to live in. If you only have 2 fish and some minnows just take some of your unstirred up pond water and put it into a container big enough to hold the fish then get to sludging out the pond muck. It will prolly stink like a sewer but it makes great compost for the plants.

 

[CountryEscape]

It's possible to remove the muck and sludge without draining the pond, but would be easier to drain pond. If you are concerned about cost of refilling the pond, then try to do it by netting it out. If it's deep, Meyer Jordan is correct, you will need to drain the pond to get it all out. I'm picturing my pond in the spring, after it was cleaned out in the fall, not a pond that has been neglected for 5 years. Good luck! Be sure to take before and after pics.