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#423049 09/04/15 08:09 PM
Joined: Mar 2015
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I haven't been on in a while and it is time for an update and some help.

The update - I bought this property with a ~5000 sq ft pond (.15 acres) last fall. It had not been maintained in a long time (30ish year) and was very overgrown. I have been cleaning up the banks, cutting back the over growth and have been managing the FA by mechanical removal which is working well for this pond.

I have learned that the pond is pretty shallow, 1-2 feet around the edges with a deep section of 7-8 feet in the center toward one end.

Apparently at one time the original owner maintained the pond very carefully and it had a sand bottom.

It is spring feed and has constant out flow and there is not surrounding farms or fertilizer sources to speak of.

I would now like to clean out the muck so that I can enjoy that sand bottom.

There is 3-6 inches of dark gooey muck for several feet out from the bank all the way around which I think is due to years of accumulation of leaf decay.

In earlier posts as I was first learning about ponds and getting suggestions, several suggested that the best and only way to clean up problems like this was to bring in heavy equipment and dredge this pond. I don't think this will work for several reasons including difficulty in getting equipment in, the damage to the bank and habitate and the disruption of what I thing is a good sandy bottom.

Using manual mechanical means - i.e. lowering the water level and shoveling it by hand is a potential but will be a huge amount of work. I plan to try this in a small section, maybe this weekend to verify what I think is under the muck.

What about bacteria - I have read posts that introduction of some bacteria stuff can eat out the muck. What is the experience with this approach in a pond like this?

What other ideas can the experience here give me of how to approach this step of pond improvement?

Thanks for you comments and ideas.

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JWF, bacteria helps break down decaying matter like leaves, dead fish, etc. Bacteria will not remove what is left as it is essentially soil once bacteria consumes all it can...only physical removal/relocation will do that.

You might be shocked how little damage heavy equipment will do in the hands of a good operator, and frankly, a large track hoe is your BEST bet for getting a good sand bottom again, if it's there. Springs often bring in the sand, and if the pond has a spring in the bottom, there is probably a lot of sand in there.



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If you only have 3-6" in a.15 acre pond I would get a 3"trash pump from harbor freight and suck the muck out.I am trying to remove 6 feet of muck from a two acre pond.you could probably get most of the muck out in one day.

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So I have been thinking about this 3" trash pump tidea for sucking out the muck.

I am wonder what others have done to pump and then separate the muck from the water. Has anybody posted a homebuild system to pump the muck and then filter the muck while flowing the water back toward the pond?

This doesn't seemm like it should be such a major engineering effort but I always like to learn from others and use the good ideas.

Can any body guide me to the good ideas?

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the engineering is not hard, but the venturi siphon and LOTS of hose is crazy expensive for a one time use. The de-watering bags are also expensive, and you'll need heavy equipment to move them, and a downstream place for dumping spoils after drained.

Given the comparatively small size of your pond, Draining the pond then getting a track loader or hoe to clean it out, deepen, and spread muck on the dam's backside should take a day or less. That should cost way less than suction and de-watering, and be far more complete.



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For an infrequent use, I would get the 2" semi trash pump from Harbor Freight, some suction hose, a good strainer, and some poly pipe. Poly pipe is a lot cheaper than discharge hose, and you can hook it up directly to the pump outlet with the proper fittings. That's the way I do it. Pump the pond down, get a long reach track hoe scheduled to come in right afterward, and muck it out. Let the springs refill it.

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HF pumps suck, I know I have owned a couple of them and for the cost of the original and replacement, one can buy a Honda. Save up your money and buy Honda powered trash pumps. Last long time smile


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