The hole in my backyard

[tbendl]

Hi everyone,
Like so many others it seems, I bought a home with a "pond". I use that term loosely in that I really have a leaky liner covering a hole in my yard. I am in the process of renovating the hole into a pond. I have been reading a few forums and everyone has been advocating a bottom drain but now I am reading about the possibility of using a bog for filtration instead. The pond is about 19x21. I'm not sure of the depth yet as I haven't gotten to the bottom of the liner currently in. The bottom is covered by a few inches of muck and then at least 1 foot of sand. I'm assuming the depth to be about 3+feet. I had visions of throwing in a recycled billboard tarp, building a waterfall with my submersible pump, throwing my feet up and having a cool beverage by my new water feature....Butttt it seems that I need to plan a little bit better as far as filtering the water. I am open to either plants or fish or just water but would like some tips on the easiest pond to maintain/build and then see if the pond fever sets in to do more elaborate builds. Thanks in advance!

 

[tbendl]

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what I'm dealing with.

 

[dieselplower]

Wow what a huge disaster! Do you want it to be that large? Having that much area would require more like 2 or 3 bottom drains to be effective. I would be tempted to dig one half deeper and fill in the other side with what was removed. You could go the bottom drain route but it isn't required. A pump in the bottom would also work. I think a skimmer going to a waterfall is always nice as well. Oh and if you don't want fish, you can surely skip bottom drains.

 

[tbendl]

Well that was kinda my thought, no fish so I was hoping not to have to do the bottom drain and if I am reading about bogs correctly, I may be able to bog a large section of the kidney shape, put a waterfall pretty much in the middle where my pelican sits, and maybe call it a day. I am reading Addy's post on her pond install as she seems to be the "Boggess" of the forum. Lol.
I don't have to worry about freezing since I live in the South but I do have to worry about Algae, since, well I live in the South and it gets pretty dang hot down here.

 

[dieselplower]

You sure could do half bog half pond but that would require digging it all out for an entire new liner. The kidney shape is also not ideal for a liner. Think about the extra folds. Round-ish is better.

 

[Shan]

We have a pond because we needed a bigger space for my children's goldfish that I ended up really liking. If we didn't have fish, and I was in your situation, I would make it into a smaller pond, add a fountain to watch the birds bathe, throw my feet up, and have a cool beverage.

 

[timvz]

Fish will be better for the nitrogen lifecycle of your pond, but you can always just throw fertilizer in. If that is too large an area for what you want, I would also try deepening one side and filling in the other. Once you get it running, I imagine it will be very tempting to add fish. They add at least as much interest, IMO, as a waterfall. Very fun to watch. And, plain ol' goldfish or comets don't cost much. I didn't bog my pond because I didn't know enough when I started. Next pond I build will have a bog. Fish would probably also make your bog grow better as they will stir the gunk a bit and add some of their own.

 

[addy1]

Think on the positive side! You have a hole without digging! I would leave it the size it is, dig a shallow bog on one of the sides, use the dirt to help build a nice waterfall. It looks like your ponds edge is level with the dirt of your yard, you could use the bog dirt to build up the edges of your pond. I would also dig a shallow shelf around the pond to hold rocks that will nicely cover the liner, they would be part under the water and partly above the water, looks great.

 

[tbendl]

Well I was under the impression that I had to dig out the old liner which meant if remove the top layer of gunk and move the 1' of sand. Do I have to remove the old liner? After reading about the bog as a filter could I use 1 1/2 of the pond as a bog, put a submersible pump in and let the bog filter the water for me? If I planned the bog level correctly that could essentially be my waterfall feature as well right?

 

[timvz]

Would be a short waterfall, but yes water flowing out of the bog could fall into the pond as a waterfall. I would remove the liner if it was me. Looks like a lot of plant material in there too. That will decompose and compress over time if you build on top of it, causing your liner to stretch. Sand would be ok, though. I would also put the bog on the opposite side of the pond from where you will sit. Looks like it could be in that little protusion from the kidney bean (about 1/3 of the area?). Also, consider going out there and poking lots of holes in the liner that is there and letting it fully drain before moving material around. It will weight less, but might take several days.

 

[addy1]

Deeper is better where it is hot, helps keep the water cooler. I would muck out the stuff and remove or really cut up the old liner, you don't want water to get between the old liner and the new liner.

 

[michey1st]

Much of the manual labor (the digging) is nearly done for you, and what you are left with is the fun part -- making it your own! If you are going to make a bog, you'll need to raise the edges around it in order to give enough height for a waterfall feature. I like the idea of digging the pond side deeper and using that dirt to shallow up the bog area. Then, consider something like cinder blocks to raise the edges around the bog even further to give you a waterfall.

Also, never underestimate how much gravel you will need in order to adequately fill the bog (which is why I recommend trying to fill it in so it isn't more than 12-15 inches deep including the raised edge. My bog is TINY (about 4' x 3' by 12 inches down, and it took me 20 bags of pea gravel to fill. If I knew how much I would need going into it, I would have just gotten some delivered in bulk and saved some coin.

Lots of potential, here! Can't wait to see it evolve!

 

[CometKeith]

hi Tbendl, You are off to a great start with your pond. With the ideas presented above it can be really nice. Re:fish...Just throw in a few goldfish and then you can relax. They will multiply over time but it won't be too much work for quite a while.

 

[Lisaebetten]

Your gonna have a lovley pond!!!! Looks like a lot of work getting the growth out but you can then fill it and track the water level for leaks. Maybe you don't have any!!!!! I hope you keep us posted with updates. With that size you will need some nice sized filtration, bog or mechanical what ever your choice.

 

[Fishylove]

Welcome tbendl! I love love my bog, in fact I envy addy's bog and wish mine was as big ha! We added our bog after the initial pond was built. The water is crystal clear even with the carpet algae on the sides and... Well everything lol. But that's ok! My fish eat it and keep it "mowed" lol. Don't be scared of a bog it really is very simple, especially how addy explains it. I have so many plants exploding everywhere in the bog I'm going to have to thin before long
Oh and my bog spills over back into the pond.
Good luck!