Whoever said ponds are 'easy' must not have a pond! While my pond had been fairly clear it recently became very muddy and black. The culprit was not algae but mud. We had a fellow pond enthusiast (who you'll meet Friday) visit us and he said I needed to clean the filters every few hours to get rid of the mud. Great idea! Cleaning the filters was working for a while then I went out of town for a quick sec and when I came back the pond was blacker and browner than ever. Throw in a few rain storms and I had a mess.
Really the only solution was to drain the pond completely, vacuum out all of the debris, then refill the pond. I'm happy to say all was accomplished in one day and the fish did not suffer any trauma in their move. It's very hard to catch koi but once the pond was lowered adequately we were successful and we now have a clean pond. The problem with my pond and mud was not so much runoff (although I haven't completely ruled that cause out) but with the muddy rocks and the plants that I used to build the pond. I underestimated the effect of all the fine silt that clogged up everything and made it impossible to see the bottom of the pond. I am hoping I don't have to clean and drain the pond again but if so, at least now I know how to do it to keep that mud OUT.....
in the garden.....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
It is common sense to me just by seeing ponds that they are probably high maintenance...don't know that I could keep up with one.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a learning experience for you all, but wow, what an end product. Your pond is really nice and I am sure the falls provided wonderful sounds of splashing water.
ReplyDeleteI love this pond! Koi are illegal here in Me but are a beautiful fish!
ReplyDeleteNothing harder in the garden IMHO an to create and maintain a natural looking feature. Yours is lovely. Kudos on getting through this ordeal with it.
ReplyDeleteTina,
ReplyDeleteI have a gardening friend that installed ponds for a living for many years. Her name is Jan and you can contact her here if you like. http://pondlady.blogspot.com/ Her profile has an email address. I feel fairly certain there is no problem you could have that she couldn't assist you with. She's a realy sweet heart.
PS Please forgive my typos. LOL
ReplyDeleteThat pond sure has been a lot of hard work but I guess most everything has kinks that have to be worked out and then it is enjoy easy street. It is very beautiful. UP here people just get a backhoe and did a hole and it will fill up with water. Also as you know, ponds are much bigger up here but they are for pond lilies. Don't think fish would live in the winters here. Then again, maybe they would with what they call winter now days. At least here on the southern coast. You will be rewarded for all that hard work.
ReplyDeleteThe Saint will enjoy this post today! I have been after him for a pond in our gardens and he keeps reminding me of the work involved. This will be more ammunition for his case of us not having a pond. Ha, think I shall go with a portible water feature instead. Ponds are awesome though, I love the sound of the waterfall and it would be so nice to have one. But the work in the middle of July, no thank you.....
ReplyDeleteYour pond is beautiful again, tho it sounds like a LOT of work for you. I am sure the koi thank you.
ReplyDeleteLast time I checked in you had a hole in the ground. What a fantastic pond you've made! I want to swim in it with the fish :)
ReplyDeleteI think the mud is common in a newly built pond. Maybe from now on, you won't have any problems, and you'll think ponds are easy after all! Besides, such beauty is worth a little trouble!
ReplyDeleteGreat clear pond...fish will love it...sorry to hear you had to drain it
ReplyDeleteYour pond looks marvelous. Sorry you had to drain it. Poor fishes, glad they are ok. Don't think a pond in this sandy soil would work.
ReplyDeletebeautiful pond! Hope to be working on one soon. Can only hope that mine will look as beautiful as yours!
ReplyDeleteI think I missed seeing the photo earlier of your finished pond, Tina--wow, it's beautiful! Keeping it clean sounds like an awful lot of work, but worth it to be able to enjoy this lovely area.
ReplyDeletejust a thought, If you don't want rain water and the mud coming with it, raise the plastic lining around the edge with rocks, letting the water drain through the rock and under the pond instead of going into the pond. It is a beautifully set up pond by the way.
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