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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21
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OP
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21 |
Hi everyone,
Hubby and I just bought our dream home last fall, which coincidentally has a pond! Of course, it has not been cared for in quite some time and needs some rehab and TLC. I've spent the winter researching and learning, and am now starting to jump into the muck with both feet. So here goes:
1. pond size: approximately 20'x50', oval shaped, spring (artisian well) fed...i believe.
2. depth looks to be about 12"+ to the top of the muck. Beyond that, I'm not sure.
3. Vegetation: lots of overgrown grass and weeds (I'm starting to rake this out), ad also alot of water lillies. I'm not sure which kind specifically yet. right now, the leaves are still reddish pink as they are beginning to unfold. PS... I'm in NW PA.
4. Spring: There is a makeshift creek bed, that the spring seems to come out from underneath some rocks there. It basically trickles, but has been fairly constant flowing into the pond. There is no liner (that I can see)anywhere from the spring to the creekbed to the pond and out.
To begin my questions: I would like to utilize the resources I already have in place. While I would love a waterfall, and have a hillside on one side of the pond, I'm concerned that it would look unnatural, so, I'm "pond"ering if I can add a pump, and small water feature into the already existing creekbed? Would I need to remove all the rocks and add a liner and such, or could I just add and disguise it into the existing rocks and creekbed?
I plan on adding something so I can aerate the pond, but I'm unsure of what kind will be appropriate for the size of my pond. I need to get all the muck out. I've already begun digging and raking. Should I attempt to remove all of the pond grass and just leave the lillies? or leave some of the grass? How much of the muck should I remove? Should I put more rocks on the bottom and sides of the pond?...I read that rocks are a good surface area for the good bacteria to grow.
My hope is to spend my summer, rehabbing the pond...with the goal of adding fish by the end of summer. ...too ambitious?
Shellie
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 888
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 888 |
Welcome to Pond Boss Shellie.... I think I hear foot-steps coming from pond-meisters to help you accomplish your goal   .
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,655 Likes: 1
Ambassador Hall of Fame 2014  Lunker
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Ambassador Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,655 Likes: 1 |
Welcome Shellie, the real experts will likely be along soon, but in the mean time, how deep is the muck If the deepest part is only a foot deep it should be fairly easy to take several measurements of the muck.
"I love living. I have some problems with my life, but living is the best thing they've come up with so far." � Neil Simon,
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21
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OP
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21 |
TY guys. I'm not sure how deep the muck is. I'm trying to get the weeds,leaves, and twigs raked out first so I can actually walk out to the middle without tripping. how can I get an accurate MUCK MEASUREMENT?
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2 |
Can you take a photo of this pond and post it?
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21
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OP
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21 |
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 888
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 888 |
Is that a creek flowing through your pond?
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21
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OP
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21 |
well, from the left, it is a creek-bed, per se...that originates about 50f up the hill from a spring/artisian well. basically just trickles . I've been cleaning it out, thats why it looks fresh.
Tomorrow, I'll post a picture from below that shows the hillside above the pond and the spring/creekbed coming in from the left.
Last edited by Shellie; 04/21/13 08:32 PM.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 733
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 733 |
Your Pond is BEAUTIFUL!! does water continually flow from the pond or not??
Maybe a track hoe and a good dam operator would work well.
a poor operator might make the thing leak and not hold as much water.
I know no one in your area.
Looks like you have a fun summer planned??
are you thinking of a gold fish pond, or a go fish pond for kids, or swimming hole??
Water is the basis of all life, by design!
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,182 Likes: 29
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,182 Likes: 29 |
Welcome! Ponds are a great healthy addiction, even worse than gardening for me.
To me that looks like a hand-dug pond, so I would expect there to not be much depth.
What people do here is push in a pole by hand into the much as far as it will go. When you hit decent resistance, that is the bottom.
My first thought is if you find it very shallow to begin with (just a lily pond) you have to come up with goals of your pond. Once you have that, there will be plenty of folks far more experienced than I am to offer up recommendations.
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21
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OP
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21 |
TY so much! I'm very excited about it. Continuous flow???? well, we just bought our home/pond in november, so, I'm not sure what the flow does toward the end of summer. To the best of my recollection, I think the flow of water and level of the pond died off in the fall...I'm just not certain. I'm thinking about increasing the dam height about 3-6 inches...which should still be below the overflow height. Now, regarding my plans... I definitely want fish. Of course Koi are very popular, but I know their expensive and the risks of critters eating them could get costly. I just had my first grandson in December, so I'm extremely excited about this pond becoming our special place. One product I'm absolutely getting is a FISH SPHERE ( www.addashpere.com ). I fell in love with this when we bought the property and am planning on adding it as soon as I get the pond in shape. I never thought about the pond being a go fish pond for the grandkids... great idea... and I guess I figured I'd have to choose fish OR swim... not sure what the bottom is so I'm a little leary of swim. Any and all ideas are very welcome! Thanks again, Shellie
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21
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OP
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21 |
Liquidsquid... thanks so much for the advice! I will definitely get a measurement today! Beautiful out... I'll be up to my elbows in muck!
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,794 Likes: 71
Hall of Fame 2014
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Hall of Fame 2014
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,794 Likes: 71 |
wow...that thing is pretty cool...never seen one. Add-A-Sphere
Fishing has never been about the fish....
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 910
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 910 |
Add-a-sphere= target practice for GBH.
Two ponds, 13 and 15 acres on the Mattaponi River.
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21
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OP
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21 |
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,793 Likes: 14
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,793 Likes: 14 |
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,794 Likes: 71
Hall of Fame 2014
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Hall of Fame 2014
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,794 Likes: 71 |
 Nice pond Shellie
Fishing has never been about the fish....
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