Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction dredging

I know this subject has probably been beaten to death but is there a general consensus here on the best method to dredge a small pond yourself? I have a 1/2 acre pond 6 to 8 feet at the deepest with 1 1/2 feet of muck and weeds I'd like to get rid of. I have looked at the piranha dredge. Any info on that would be helpful. I think I will probably build something myself though. I am seeking information to shorten my learning curve. Best type of pump, nozzle info, etc... Thanks for any replies

I have about the same size pond but mine is deeper and the muck is deeper. I use a 3"trash pump from harbor freight. I have done it a couple of ways. I built a device out of 2"pvc pipe with 3/4" holes drilled in it . I attached it to the flexible intake hose and tied a rope to it. I will see if I have pics I pump to another pond and let the water settle then drain back to my rearing pond. But I am setting up a new arrangement. I am going to set up an above ground pool with a 4"drain on one end and a 2" from the pump and teed to the second pond. I should be able to let the muck settle dump the water to the pond and drain the muck to a pit and let it dry. It's a lot of work but I can get through 1 1/2' of muck fairly quickly.

I have done some dredging with a 55 gallon steel drum. You will need a strong vehicle to pull it. Its not easy work, and moving mud is always a mess, but it can be done.

To build the dredge get a 55 gallon steel drum and cut the top open. Leave the rim on it to add strength. Put an eyelet on either side of the rim and attach a couple feet of chain to each eyelet. The other ends of the chain must be attached to the ends of 2 feet of 1 1/2" or 2" pipe. Then your pulling rope should be attached to both ends of the pipe. This way the force will pull evenly on the rim of the drum, otherwise you will squeeze the rim closed when the weight gets in the drum. Drill a bunch of 1" holes in the bottom and sides of the drum to let the water out as the mud comes in.

You can put the drum in the water on one side and pull it very slowly across the pond and then out. You can take the drum out in a small boat and drop it in also. Do that all correctly and you will have a drum completely full of mud that likely weighs over 500 pounds. Your going to need a tractor or skid steer to move the drum or even to dump it out.

If your still reading this you must really be on a mission to remove mud! Here is how I used it. I put a pulley on a chain in a tree near the pond. My 2000 pound break strength rope went through the pulley to the drum which I took out on the pond in a boat. Then I slowly pulled the rope with my 4x4 tractor until the drum was beneath the tree with the pulley. I used a short chain on the loader to hook into one of the holes toward the back of the drum, then lifted the drum dumping it out. Then its back to the boat and make another pass.

A long arm excavator will get the job done a lot quicker. The main reason I built the dredge was because I had a couple shallow areas farther out than the excavator could reach.

You can see the devices I use to dredge muck from my pond in the new uploaded pics.