Self-cleaning duck pond

[owkaye]

Hello all,

I have an acre of land and I want to build a duck pond on the lower part of this property where it is always muddy and wet -- because the water that collects there every time it rains drains away very slowly. This past summer it rained so much that the ground never got hard enough to walk on without sinking 6 inches into the mud. The previous summer was much drier, but even in dry years the ground is always wet. My proposed pond site is under some big trees too, so it is at least 50% shaded all year round, and shaded even more in summer when the deciduous trees are full of leaves.

I have a bunch of old bathtubs that I never used for a previously planned hydroponic gardening project, so now I'm thinking of using them as containers for pea gravel around the pond. Then I can grow water plants in them to act as a natural biological filter for the pond.

My goal is to hire a trackhoe to dig a pond as deep as possible, not only to create as much volume as possible in a relatively small pond 'footprint' area, but also so that the water that fills the pond will remain relatively cool in our unbearably hot Biloxi summers. It would be nice to jump in and cool off in it once in a while, but this may never happen so I'm not worried about this possibility. Instead my primary goal here is to have a pond that can handle a bunch of ducks swimming and pooping in it on a daily basis without having it turn into an open sewer.

Any helpful suggestions you can offer me in terms of planning and building a biologically self-cleaning pond will be very much appreciated.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Welcome to the forum, Owkaye! Question: Is it possible you have an underground spring since the ground never dries in that area? I had a similar situation once and it turned out to be a very cold underground spring. In that case, you absolutely don't want to install a pond liner over a spring. Just a thought. I'm thinking you need a pretty good size pond since you want to have ducks & big enough for you to take a dip. Depth is nice but they will need room to swim and a reason to hang around like being fed. Tree roots will be an issue. What are you thinking of using for pond material? Could you please post a photo of the area and perhaps a sketch of your idea? Sounds like a fun project.
Again, welcome!
Stephen

 

[j.w]

@owkaye

 

[Jack B. Nimble]

If you have power near pond definately build a bog wetland area it will clean that water well.

 

[owkaye]

There's no underground spring, it is simply a low spot in the land. Water drains into this part of the property from the surrounding area. The more rain we get, the longer this area stay wet and muddy. It takes several months of very little or no rain before it dries up enough to walk on without sinking into the mud. In other words, the water table is very close to the surface most of the time.

Yes, I'm hoping to have a pond with a surface area of 40' by 40' or 50' x 50'. Swimming in it might be nice but it is not a priority by any stretch of the imagination. Hopefully all I have to do is hire a trackhoe operator to dig a hole, with a shallow area around the perimeter for water plants.

We raise ducks. I want this pond for them to swim in. There's no electric in the area. I COULD bring electric to the area, but after starting this thread I learned that it might be possible to avoid pumping water by planting lots of water plants around the sides of the pond in shallow water. If I can get this to work (to remove excess nitrogen from the water) it would be better than running a pump.

I don't care if the water is perfectly clear. It would be nice of course, but as long as it is clean enough -- and safe for the ducks to swim in without getting infections -- that's all I ask for.

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum! Sounds like a neat project.

 

[MitchM]

Before you get too far along in the planning process, check with your local authorities/county that your work will not be altering any wetlands.
You would hate to be part way through construction only to have someone from the county show up and hand you a very large fine.

 

[owkaye]

Hello MitchM,

I'll need a permit to dig before I start so I will check into the requirements at that time ... but given that my property is zoned residential, and completely surrounded by residential properties on all sides for at least 1/2 mile in all directions, I don't think it is a designated wetland. It's just 'wet' because of the lay of the land, that's all.

A realtor told me when I bought the property that I should have the back half (the low part where it is wet all the time) subdivided so I could build a home on it and sell it for a profit, or rent it out. But I prefer to keep it for my livestock. It's just too wet the way it is for most livestock, thus my desire for a pond. I can raise the land around the pond with the dirt that's dug out of the pond. Then I still have water in the pond plus a much drier and more pleasant and useful area around the pond.

 

[Secretariat]

There's no underground spring, it is simply a low spot in the land. Water drains into this part of the property from the surrounding area. The more rain we get, the longer this area stay wet and muddy. It takes several months of very little or no rain before it dries up enough to walk on without sinking into the mud. In other words, the water table is very close to the surface most of the time.

Yes, I'm hoping to have a pond with a surface area of 40' by 40' or 50' x 50'. Swimming in it might be nice but it is not a priority by any stretch of the imagination. Hopefully all I have to do is hire a trackhoe operator to dig a hole, with a shallow area around the perimeter for water plants.

We raise ducks. I want this pond for them to swim in. There's no electric in the area. I COULD bring electric to the area, but after starting this thread I learned that it might be possible to avoid pumping water by planting lots of water plants around the sides of the pond in shallow water. If I can get this to work (to remove excess nitrogen from the water) it would be better than running a pump.

I don't care if the water is perfectly clear. It would be nice of course, but as long as it is clean enough -- and safe for the ducks to swim in without getting infections -- that's all I ask for.

There are solar powered fountains that are great! They will keep the pond water moving so less algae will grow and Trapdoor snails will eat algae and food debris. The snails are hardy as long as there is not any solid freezing of the pond. These snails will not overwhelm the pond.
I'm not sure about the ducks - do they eat snails?

 

[Mmathis]

@Secretariat Another old thread, and not sure OP still around and following.