Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Tiny pond in north/central PA

Hello: My wife & I just purchased a piece of property that has a very small pond. Maybe a 1/8 of an acre or less. More of a puddle if you please LOL. The prior owner of the property could tell us nothing about the pond that I would deem useful or trustworthy. I'm pretty sure the pond is not man made because there are a bunch of similar ponds in my immediate area.
Right now, the pond is a huge scuzzy mess & funds are low because the septic system needed some work. I know nothing about pond stewardship, but can imagine I'm embarking on what will be a never ending work in progress. My long term goal is to experiment w/aquaponics if the pond is deep enough to sustain fish year round. When things are hot & dry around here later this summer I plan to wade out to see how deep it is.
Where should I start reading, researching, exploring, gathering info??? Are there any low budget things I can do now to improve the conditions of our pond?
Thanks & have a great day!

Welcome Leni. Step one is learning about the pond by observation. Go to the TAMU(Texas A&M) website to identify what the scuzzy mess is and what the options are.

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/ AquaPlant

Welcome. A small BOW has it's advantages as well as disadvantages. Areation can solve the winter freeze out problem if the pond is deep enough. Research every thing you're wondering about, starting yesterday. Ask more specific ?s as you get more info and decide what your main goals are. Fish are obviously #1 but ya might consider astetics(wish I could spell) and swimming. You will have fun improving your pond and be happy and proud when ya get near completion of your goals. Good luck and keep us in the loop.

Welcome, and so it begins the saga of pond ownership. It will indeed be a never ending work in progress. For many of us it's very rewarding, and not really considered work at all. Take Bob-O's advice your already on your way.

If the pond is not man made, which is doubtful, then that means it is OLD, many, many years old - hundreds of years. Old ponds have thick deep mucky bottoms composed of black smelly sludge from years of accumulating dead organics. If there is no flow through or decent constant overflow then this means the muck will be even deeper. Be prepared for it when you wade into the depths. Take along a long walking staff to probe the depths of the fluffy loose, unconsolidated mucky bottom. After your wading adventure, figure out a way to measure the maximum depth. Then report back with a picture of the pond.

Well, I'm not sure what to make of our pond any more. We were @ the property last week to check on the contractors progress & took a walk back to the pond only to find it 1.5ft below the outlet pipe. I'm pretty sure this is not a man made pond. There is no berm or dam to hold water. It's in a natural low area. I still plan to investigate further, but is it gonna be of any use if the water level fluctuates so much?

My pond is a ground water level pond and flucutates as much as 24-28"s. At first it really irritated me but then realized it could be 3' deep and only hold stunted carp and the grandkids would still love it. I aereate and feed and have a surprising amount of nice YP, HSB, SMB, WE, several uninvited CC and 20 TP during the summer. Water fluculation is less important than water quality.
You asked where to start looking when researching and I neglected to adress that in my first response. Seems like everyone has trouble searching the archives here. Looks like the most simple way is to Google what you're interesd in and add pond boss in the search. An example would be DIY aeration/pond boss or stocking rates for small bow/pond boss. If ya can read, ya can do it. Good wishes and keep us up to date.