Hello,

I am new to this site. I recently moved into a new home in the country. I have a small pond/swamp in the back of the property. I am on 1 acre, and the pond is about 80ft X 50ft, so maybe 1/8 of an acre. It is in rough shape. It is over grown with weeds, most of what i believe is cattail, and reed grass. There are quite a few lilly pads, many frogs, possibly muskrats, etc. The water is nasty looking. brown, muddy, smelly with about 1 to 2ft of muck on the bottom.

I would love to get it cleaned up. I purchased aquapro, and have sprayed it twice already. A lot of the vegatation is starting to die off. I plan on getting an areator at some point. Should i get something to break down the sludge? I think there is a lot of runoff, which is causing nitient overload. I would like some guidance so i know i am heading in the right direction.

At one point i thought about bringing in a machine and dredging, but i don't realy have any place to put the sludge. Will i be able to maintain a healthy pond if there is a lot of runoff?

I can provide pictures if need be.

Thanks,

Mike

Hello Mike and welcome to Pond Boss. Since it's a holiday weekend things are a little slow on the forums. Hang on though and you'll get some expert feedback.

Mike, welcome to PB. If you get a chance post some pics of your pond…..we like pics.

ok, here are a few pictures. As you can see, a lot of the vegetation is dying off. I applied AquaPro. What would be the next coarse of action? [img:center]http://img718.imageshack.us/i/dsc02651u.jpg/[/img] [img:center]http://img35.imageshack.us/i/dsc02652zw.jpg/[/img] [img:center]http://img191.imageshack.us/i/dsc02649tg.jpg/[/img] [img:center]http://img408.imageshack.us/i/dsc02648q.jpg/[/img] [img:center]http://img31.imageshack.us/i/dsc02653d.jpg/[/img]

Thanks!

How deep is it?

Welcome to Pond Boss Mike! Runoff is good for a pond, actually essential in most cases in keeping it full. But yes, this runoff can bring in sediment and other things you don't want in there. Looks like you have good grass as a buffer from bringing in too much sedimentation though. Do you know how old the pond is? Every pond has sediment build up over time so if it's an old pond, that sludge on the bottom is normal. Definitely something you'd like to fix if you're capable though. Looks like you got a nice head start on taking control of it and look forward to the expert replies you'll receive and the progress I hope you keep us updated with.

I believe it is only about 5 feet deep at most. Like i mentioned, there is probably 2ft of sludge on the bottom. The neighbor told me that the previous owner dug it out a lot. If you look at the very last picture posted, the burm you see in the background was built up from the pond being dug out. I have no idea how old the pond is. I believe it is natural, other than the fact it has been enlarged somewhat. There might be septic runoff going into the pond. I am not sure at this point.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Will i be able to get this to a condition where it is clear, and somewhat clean, and my dogs can at least swim in it without smelling funky?
Can a pond liner be installed as a last case resort? I mean pump the pond out, dredge it, and install a liner....? I just want to get it in good enough shape that i don't have a mosquito breeding ground in my back yard. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Welcome to PB Mike, do you know if the pond level is fairly constant even in the summer, if your gonna put some money into it make sure it's not something that dries up in the summer.

Since it's not that big you could use an excavator or large backhoe to get out alot of sludge and make it as deep as possible. A deep pond will cut down on plant growth and then having aeration is another plus to help keep the water clean.
Liners can get expensive but they are mainly used where water seepage is a problem.
Check around in your area for people who have experience digging ponds and get some quotes, it shouldn't cost too much to clean out a small pond, but you should try to make sure the pond has a fairly stable water level first.

You may also consider a pond that size and depth as a wetland and develop it with this in mind. Wetland plants can be quite attractive and wetlands are great for wildlife. It really does not look bad in the photos. It would also will help purify any septic runoff. Just a thought...

I suppose that is an idea as well. I never really thought much about it, nor do i know much about developing it into a wetland. I suppose i would have to do some research on what type of plants would be used. Thanks!

Yes, it does have a constant water level. It is mid-summer now, the grass is drying out, not much rain lately, and the water level has not dropped at all. I think the backhoe might be a good option. I will keep this in mind. I will be cutting down all the dead vegatation this weekend. I'll post pics afterwards.

What about the microbes/bacteria that is added to break down sludge? Does anyone have experience using any of that stuff. I know it's quite expensive. Is it worth the money spent, or would i just be better off dredging it with a machine?

Thanks!

I'd vote for the machine. While some people have reported success, it takes a lot of time. The bacteria doesn't work overnight, and more people have reported success using a machine than using bacteria.

Roughly where in PA are you located?? Around here that silt could likely be hauled away and given to someone local solving one problem, and then you could dig it out proper. Tough to know what all is in the pond to begin with, i.e. trees, trash, rocks, glass, all of which I found while digging my own, but surely someone would be able to use the material you remove.

Thanks Joe G. I am about 20 minutes north of Scranton, PA. A machine does Sound like the best solution. What would the silt be used for? Any recommendations on how to get rid of it? Do i need to drain the pond before digging it out?

I think i am going to luck out! My neighbor informed me that his brother inlaw happens to be selling an excavator. He asked him "why don't you let me use it before you sell it?" The trouble is transporting 10,000lbs+ I was told that when he finds a way to get it to his property, we could definitely use it to dredge. Hopefully it happens!

As for the pond. The neighbor told me that the previous owner dug it out a few years ago. Made it a little bigger. He said it was good for the first year or so, then it grew in. Judging by how the home has been maintained, i highly doubt the pond was! There's a lot of sludge. There's a lot of runoff entering the pond. As i mentioned in the past, i believe there is septic entering the pond as well.

I cut down all the dead vegatation this weekend. Also noticed there are a pile of bullhead living in the pond. I will post pics later. What now, dredge it?

Ok, i just took these pics today. The last picture is before i cut all the shoreline vegetation down. I did leave an island area in the middle for some wildlife habitat. The pond is pretty much horseshoe shaped.

It looks a lot bigger now that it's cleared. What to do next....? As you can see from both the picture with the burn barrel, and also the picture which you can see the neighbors garage, this is the front of the pond. There is a lot of algae, and cattails. the front receives a lot of runoff from the yard. This side is very mucky! The back side, drops off pretty good into about 2ft or so, but also has a lot of sludge. Whats my next plan of attack, the machine? How do i keep the weeds from growing back? Future treatments of Aquapro?

Thanks for the help!