Recently emptied pond.............filled with COMPOST!

[Finstella]

Hello,
I have recently brought a house, with a 10x7 ft pond (4ft deep in the centre). Sadly the selling owner had filled it with compost and this had been heated and rotted through the summer to a point of stench, retching and discustingness.
I have emptied the pond at long last, nearly threw up no less than 10 times and had 6 showers, but am now wondering "what can i clean this with to make sure thats its clean enough for fishy's to flourish in the non to distant future"?
Your thoughts and advice?
Findlay

 

[sissy]

I would change the liner never know what is in there on the liner and hope you were careful you don't want to get sick from it

 

[Dave 54]

Had I read this thread first I would have said the same thing as sissy , get rid of your old liner and buy new but use the pond footprint as your guide to the shape you want it.
Depending how many years you want to enjoy your pond depends on how much you pay for the liner but personally I would go for a good butyl liner rather than a cheap one.
Use the link in my other post to you for any furure mishaps you may have with the new liner

rgrds

Dave

 

[j.w]

If it was just yard compost or veggie scraps or even any kind of food I wouldn't worry about using the old liner but if you saw any signs of oil, chemicals, or sharp things you might want to get a new liner. If you think it's ok then you could first fill it w/ nice clean water and check to see if it leaks. If water stays in there and doesn't drain out you could add some de-chlorinator liquid in there to rid it of chlorine if that is in your city water. Think they have some kind that gets rid of other chemicals also. Let it set for awhile and test your water w/ a good test kit and see how it reads. Whenever you add any fish just add a few small goldfish to see how they do. Do you have a filter and pump? A nice aerator would be good also to add movement to the water and help w/ oxygen. Waterfalls help also. Sounds like you have a nice size pond and deep which is good for keeping the water cooler in Summer and a good deep place for fish to go to keep warmer in Winter. An aerator is also good for keeping a hole in the ice during winter or a water bubbler works fine too. If you get too cold where you are you can invest in a de-icer that floats in the pond to keep a hole open.

 

[addy1]

I have compost piles, if it just garden, veggie stuff the fish would be fine. It would stink since the compost would stay wet cause of the liner and nobody flipping the stuff. I would fill the pond, check for leaks see if there is any slick on the water, like oil etc, then drain it fill with fresh for the fish test. See if you can tell what kind of liner the epdm will be nice thick rubber type material. The main issue you have would be if they managed to put some holes in it.

 

[Sheetmetalman]

If the liner is in good shape and holds water but has had antifreeze or motor oil (or cooking oil, if it was a food scrap and compost bed) or something else that is suspect in it, you could clean it then
pull it out of the hole--reverse it (if Possible, due to shape) and put it back in. I would probably put a new one in, but liners are expensive and your not really out anything but time to pull it and flip it. One thing if you do flip it--take the time after its out to check for sharp rocks or roots and remove them or cover with padding, carpet or sand. Good Luck.

 

[shakaho]

Since it appeared to be a compost pit, I'd use the liner. The nasty anaerobic stink may cling to the liner for a while, but isn't harmful in itself. I'd pull up the liner, spread it out, give it a good hosing, put it back in, fill with water, and check it out as addy1 said. Liners are expensive.

 

[Finstella]

Hello all.
Thanks for your posts.
As holes are plenty....... and to avoid playing around with monotonus regilarity.... A new liner is the way forward.
Thank you again for your advice.
Finstella.