Hello All! Just trying to make my pond the best it can be!

[Rijodan]

Hello all, I am fortunate enough to have gotten a house that has a large pond already built and holdong water in the back yard. It has been more or less abandoned for years, and I want to get it back running and looking great!

I am quite endeared into the saltwater/reefing hobby so I understand that theres alot to keeping water right, but man am I clueless to anything freshwater! Especially to anything this large and so many variables outside my control.

 

[combatwombat]

Welcome! Post some photos. Step one will be figuring out the state of the liner and cleaning the years of muck out to get back to square one.

 

[GBBUDD]

or if it even has a liner or if its an earthen pond/ dirt floor

Especially to anything this large and so many variables outside my control.

and you are correct starting with pics is a good start as @combatwombat sugested

 

[Rijodan]

So Basic info, the pond is a kidney shaped pond with a large waterfall/flow going down the divet of the kidney surrounded by what is to be a flower bed. there are tiered steps into the pond to help hold plants though I'm not the depth of these shelves. No idea the exact depth as its variable as well as it is massively full of leaves, sticks, frog eggs and so much more.

The pond is 24'x(9'/7'/8')xmaximum of 4' I'm told.
the water fall is 5ft wide and roughly 12from start to top

Currently there is no pumps or any filtration on this at all, actually as im writing this no water other than the rain as i drained it to start removing all the debris. I am looking into different pumps to run not only the waterfall boxes (2 at the top of it) but also the filtration. So I will be looking into different filtration types as well as equipment for this monster. Currently i am thinking a 55g barrel with mesh filters and lava rocks as mechanical and bio filteration as i dont think i will have enough room for a bog or the finances for a true pressure mechanical washer.

Fish wise I have none, but wanting more than just koi. Not only are they just shiny carp, its quite over done and curious what else is survivable in a backyard pond. my mind's eye has a single butterfly tail koi (though no idea what price is) and some smaller utilitarian and pretty fish.

 

[GBBUDD]

Where are you located

 

[Rijodan]

Im working on transferring photos off my phone currently. so bear with me on that and ill post

Where are you located

Im outside memphis so Western TN

 

[Rijodan]

or if it even has a liner or if its an earthen pond/ dirt floor


and you are correct starting with pics is a good start as @combatwombat sugested

Welcome! Post some photos. Step one will be figuring out the state of the liner and cleaning the years of muck out to get back to square one.

It does have a liner, a thick rubbery material, exactly what im not sure. and it does hold water. Ive been in the house since april and it was never much lower than the normal height except durring our heat/drought wave we had for a week or two last year

 

[GBBUDD]

so not quite tropicals but more options than just bass sunn fish and carp. But take my word for it i was not looking at carp when i built the pond l. their colors and shapes can be amazing

 

[GBBUDD]

It does have a liner, a thick rubbery material, exactly what im not sure. and it does hold water. Ive been in the house since april and it was never much lower than the normal height except durring our heat/drought wave we had for a week or two last year

Then it is probably edpm 45 mil

 

[GBBUDD]

but you had a pond full of muck yes but it also had tones of beneficial bacteria / the photo plankton of fresh water. by draining and cleaning your back to square one.

look into a bog filter

 

[Rijodan]

Here's some pics, son for size comparison

 

[GBBUDD]

understood why the drain it and start over.

While you have it drained do you have desire to hide the liner ?

 

[Rijodan]

but you had a pond full of muck yes but it also had tones of beneficial bacteria / the photo plankton of fresh water. by draining and cleaning your back to square one.

look into a bog filter

Quite aware of the nitrogen cycle. With not knowing the depth, what was in the pond, the large amount of fieldstones deep in the pond, and the evictions of 2 moccasins last year, it was a weighed decision. My motto with my reef tanks is nothing good happens fast so patience is nothing new to me.

I saw the bog filter mentioned often in this forum as i looked earlier today but a quick glance shows its incredibly low maintenance but also large space needed, with my pond being built on a retaining wall in front and to the right, against a fence to the rear, and a large oak to the left i dont think i have much space without removing the waterfall, also the area to the left is graded away from pond so even if i worked around the tree it would take landscaping to grade it back towards the pond so the water flows back.

 

[GBBUDD]

My motto with my reef tanks is nothing good happens fast so patience is nothing new to me.

keep that philosophy and your golden

 

[Rijodan]

understood why the drain it and start over.

While you have it drained do you have desire to hide the liner ?

Not entirely, with the rock that i do have i will rebuild the water fall and build a "border" of such around the pond hiding the liner, once underwater i dont have much need other than to have a few hiding places and habitats for fish.