Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Got a pond!

Hey there! Yep, so we got this pond. I've always loved messing about in and around ponds, streams, and rivers. Now we have this property and this pond. It's an older pond and could use some help. I have no idea where to start. There's about two feet of water over two feet of muck.

Pond gallery: Pond pics

Sounds like a wetland. Do you have interest in developing it as a wetland for wildlife?

Welcome to PBF!

Exciting times!! Congrats on the pond!

To expand on what RAH asked....what are your thoughts on what you want the pond to be? Fishing, swimming, wildlife refuge, etc? Tell us more about the pond. How big is it? How much land do you own? Would you have enough land to spread the muck and soil if you decide to clean out and deepen the pond? More info is better.

Again, welcome!

Bill D.

We've got tons of wildlife. Frogs, sunnies, great heron in residence, painted turtles, Kingfishers on occasion, one big ol' snapping turtle, geese in the spring.

What I'd like is to manage it well, and reduce the muck. I'm not sure how many acres it is, but my first post has an aerial view attached, and a link to a photo gallery. Photos are from a walk all around the pond.

There's no inlet, it's supposedly spring-fed, but my hunch is it's just low in the water table. The only outlet is a drain to keep it from overflowing over the driveway when it rains. That said, one end never freezes.

I don't much care to swim in it, but if the water was clear my dogs would LOVE it.

So mainly, reduce the muck and get at least one area clear so the dogs can swim and not get all swampy. I was thinking of getting koi to root around the bottom and help aerate, and get a trash pump to just move the muck around like crazy in the spring. Pretty sure the native life would make short work of any koi I can afford to add. Big'uns are hundreds of dollars and smaller ones will just be turtle and bird food.

We have 5.5 acres but no real place to just dump a ton of silt, unless I were to pump it, strain it, and tractor it by the cartload to where I want a garden someday.

Thanks!!!

Congratulations! You might consider removing muck from one part of the pond so as to deepen it without spending huge $ trying to do it all. Put in some sand & pea gravel for spawning & swimming in a non mucky area.

Be careful of government regulations on disturbing wetlands so you do not get hit with fines. Each jurisdiction can differ.

Thank you! I've reviewed the maps and we're not wetlands. We have some in the neighborhood, but not on our property, or flowing into or out of it.

Surely seems to be a wetland by your definition of its properties; do a lot or research before thinking not.

try: https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/what-wetland

the pool might be a listed wetland and you don't know it; your photos certainly gives the looks of a large vernal pool; many years ago farms dung shallow pools for water for their animal stock and gardens or fruit tree groves which developed into wetlands over time.

My farm has two hand dung vernal wetland pools -- they are protected by federal law

although it is most difficult to get caught...you are fortunate to have the size and variety of animal life...maybe your acres has a space/area to build a pond properly shaped and dug for fish and swimming -- man and dog

as others have said be careful; get professional experienced help to 'refurbish' what nature manages [perhaps man made, perhaps nature made, either way you have one beautiful pool]

There may be some non-mechanical (back hoe, etc.) methods that could help reduce the muck.

One would be adding some microbial agents, and you could check the Pond Boss resource guide for that.

The other method may be to introduce aeration to the pond; this could be done with 110V electric or maybe solar or wind powered.

I love that rail and the little rock bridge. I bet that place will look pretty cool in the summer time.