Okay so I haven't been on here in a couple of years but my 1/3 acre pond is ready for a face lift. I have decided to suck out the muck. I got a quote of $8,000 to do the work, so I am trying to see what I can do myself. The pond is 1/3 surface acre and about 10 feet deep in the center. It was built in the mid 1970's and has about 2 1/2 - 3 feet of muck all the way around. I am attempting to use a 3 inch trash pump to suck it out and evenly disburse the muck in my yard to level it out. I will be posting pictures soon. I believe I will be starting September 2nd. Any past experiences would be appreciated.....and I will do the same!

eags30, I've tried that before on my 1/4 acre pond, and I got about 3 tank runs with my 3" pump before the silt ruined the pump housing, and it wouldn't prime anymore. IIRC, semi-trash pumps need 80-90% clean water to function correctly, and having that much silt content in the water sanded groves in mine. The housing on my pump is aluminum, so maybe yours will handle it better than mine did.

I haven't tried this myself but everyone I know that has, has said or gotten the same result at FireisHot.... It just doesn't seem to work very well. Just not made for that type of thing I guess.... I don't know.

RC

I have done that in my pond. I use a 3"trash pump from harbor freight I can pump about 10 yards of muck in about 3 hours. My pump has not worn out but I did burn one up by letting the oil get low.

Just to give you an idea what you're up against...

If you have a 1/3 ac pond with 2 ft of muck, that's .66 acre feet of muck. That converts to about 1000 cubic yards. At 10 cubic yards every three hours, that's 300 hours of pumping.

Boy you sure know how to make someone depressed. It is a good thing that I don't mind being in my pond getting rid of muck.

I think trash pumps would work better than Semi trash pumps or are they the same thing? I thought they are different. Would a 4" pump work faster...I was thinking of trying the same thing next spring on my small pond. Rent one from home depot and then just return it back to them to worry with.

A coworker's brother has a business that pumps out hog septic ponds/lagoons. I'm not sure of the details, but if he can pump lagoons, I would thinks a pond wouldn't be too different. Apparently he has a large vacuum pump truck/system. I also imagine the cost to be there, especially since pond muck has no resale value compared to lagoon waste that can be spread as fertilizer.

I am renting the pump....didn't wanna buy something and have issues that I would have to deal with my own equipment.

I know this might be a long process.....but I figure this would be a good test to see what I can get out of there. I figure getting some out is better than nothing. I have made two PVC pipes with 90 degree elbow to attach to the hose with a wire screen at the end to block large objects from getting into the pump. One PVC pipe is 5', the other is 10'. Pictures to come!

I recall a thread on PB about making a venturi syphon system for removing sludge. It bypasses pulling muck directly through the pump. I think the poster was Diver Cody maybe? If you google the forum threads, you should find it..

If someone could come up with something for this that didn't cost so dang much and worked well they would be rich quick....

RC

You mean that magic powder you sprinkle a few cupfuls on the pond, and it turns all the muck to clean water, and seals all the leaks? Let me think about inventing that.

here is a relevant link: http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=394371

Yeah that stuff.... Ha..

Great thread! Looks very simple to do!! One could easily rent one of those monster tow behind air compressors for a weekend for cheap and probably get a TON of dredging done!

One of my ponds is 1/3 acre. It started out as a settlement pond for the ponds below. It catches a lot of debris.

I've not had much success cleaning ponds with trash pumps.

If you can get near the shoreline on all sides, I'd recommend renting a small excavator or medium size trackhoe. They are very easy to operate. They have small dozer blades that allow you to spread the muck if you don't pile it up too high. (Note: Thick muck is not great for growing a lawn or pasture -- spread it thin.)

The picture below is kind of extreme photo for a small excavator, but it shows what I'm suggesting.



No, you can't get everything, but you can take out quite a bit of muck, out to 15-20 feet from the water line. Even more if you can get few feet into the water line. If you draw the pond down a few feet, you can get a lot more. Just don't drive it into the muck.

I believe that tilapia are legal where you live. If so, during the following late spring after cleaning it out, I'd add tilapia for at least three seasons. They can really do some serious muck reduction, plus they add a lot of forage for your top predators. I put about 100 3-4 inch tilapia into each of my ponds in May each season when the water gets to about 70 F degrees. They grow pretty fast in 80-85 F degree water. They die in the fall when the water gets down to less than about 60 degrees, so they don't become invasive.

Just some alternatives to think about ....

Ken

Here is some pictures of my pond layout and what I will be using. I made a screen on the end of the PVC pipes with wire. I will in the pond the whole time with this process.

If you aren't using a dewatering bag and letting the water run back into the pond, where will all the slurry go? How will you replenish the water in the pond?

The muck with the water will go into the yard. I am hoping with the muck/ water combo is will run to the low spots easier. The pond gets a lot of water runoff when it rains so should fill back up quickly.

Too bad you cannot get dynamite at the hardware store any longer. Enough of it would get the job done quickly.