Cleaning/clearing existing small pond

[mzimmers]

Hi all -

I moved into my current house about 5 years ago. Some 100' from the house is a very small (15' diameter) pond. I have absolutely no idea what feeds it, but in my time here it's never run dry. It is an opaque brown/green color, though, and I'd like to do something to clean it up.

It's got hundreds of little fish in it, so I'm reluctant to drain it in order to seal it, but I'll do it if it's really necessary.

I can get water and power to within a few feet of the pond with a little effort.

What might anyone recommend to get this thing looking better?

Thanks...

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

IDK, but the first thing I would do is have the water tested by a lab — find out what feeds it and if it’s toxic, or whatever.

 

[mzimmers]

I can have the water tested, but given how many fish I've seen in it (and I've never seen a dead fish floating), I doubt it's toxic. I don't know what feeds it, but it's not sewage or household runoff.

 

[JRS]

Welcome! Must be some sort of a small spring feeding it if not rain fed. Wonder if the fish aren't mosquitofish, which your state has a history with:

Meet the mosquitofish: California scientists debate whether it’s menace or messiah

The problem, experts say, is that the mosquitofish don’t discriminate between snacking on the rice-sized offspring of disease-ridden mosquitoes and critically endangered marine life.

www.mercurynews.com

Adding some aquatic plants or a bog filter might help clear the suspended algae.

 

[j.w]

@mzimmers
If the fish are doing fine in there then no toxic stuff otherwise they would all be dead!
Might be hard to keep it clean as it has low sides and all the dirt runoff runs into it whenever it rains. Not sure how you can stop that. Maybe some one as some ideas? Usually we would build a berm up higher all around the pond edges to thwart off dirt etc. from running in there. That would take a lot of work! Wonder if a trench around it would divert the runoff? Just thinking out-loud here.

 

[GBBUDD]

BECAREFUL what ever you do, you change the parameters , you appear to have ground run off coming down the hill into the pond normally that's a no no . but why fix what works

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

You could build a bog filter, just pump some of the water into it for filtering, if your pond fills up fast enough to handle water movement.

IE loss from evaporation, splash etc.

 

[mzimmers]

Thank you to everyone for the ideas. How does one build a bog filter?

 

[Mmathis]

Thank you to everyone for the ideas. How does one build a bog filter?

You have come to the right place!

Just so the bog idea doesn’t get lost in this thread…..why not start a new thread, maybe with a title specific to “how to make a bog with natural pond.” I say this, because each pond and pond situation is different. You are about to get inundated with “how to” posts, but it will be easier for you (and anyone else following) to keep up if the topic is specific to your situation. I hope that makes sense…..

 

[mzimmers]

Good idea, TM. I'll do that right now.

 

[GBBUDD]

What state are you in ? that maybe considered a Vernal pool . You don't want to mess with a vernal pool. I had a worker on a project who was a mechanic who took down a bunch of trees so he could see his little pond . It wasn't a pond but vernal pool he got shaped with 40 k in fines

 

[mzimmers]

I'm in California. Pretty much everything is illegal here (except marijuana). Fortunately, I'm in an unincorporated community. I imagine that as long as I don't do anything too disruptive, I'll be OK. Also, this pond never runs dry (at least it hasn't in my 5 years here, and we've had a nasty drought), so I don't think it qualifies as a vernal pool.

 

[GBBUDD]

Then you know what I'm talking about and even if it's not a vernal it's still a resource tread lightly

 

[GBBUDD]

You can defecate on city streets but don't you dare improve the water quality of a mud puddle