Restoring a once beautiful pond....

psd99

psd99

psd99

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At one point this pond was amazing you could hear the water trickling down the path into the pond and there were fishes in there.



(I couldn't find a picture to show off the true glory and beauty of the pond back then)

the sound was mesmerising and so very peaceful, then the tenants came in and didn't give a care in the world for the beautiful pond and it got ruined. I always knew that this would happen.

Now it looks like this:









(yep it looks horrible)

- Roughly measures 3 metres x metres and has a good depth around 1.5 metres in the middle.
- Has a filter (like a big tank with brushes and lots of spiders) on ground above the pond
- A motor sits inside of the pond.
- Switch in the garage that controls everything.
- the pond is what appears to be full of algae and bits of a tree above.

I don't particularly have spare cash around to get a pond specialist in to "repair" or "restore" my pond, therefore I am going to attempt to restore this myself.

I was thinking of doing the following:

- getting a net and clearing out all of the dirt
- cleaning the filter out
- Getting the motor/pump out of the pond and giving it a good clean
- starting the pump up


then see where that all takes me!

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for me before I attempt this?

Thanks,
psd99.
 
A lot of following steps will depend on whether the pump was running or left off for a long period of time. If the pump was off then you may need to empty the pond and do a full water change as fish waste, rotting leaves and other decaying plant matter will have left the water in a very poor condition.

First thing I would do however is clear as much blanket weed/algae you can and see whether you have any fish in there. Transfer the fish to a holding tank if possible while carrying out your pond maintenance. Avoid cleaning out the filter with normal tap water as this will typically destroy beneficial bacteria living in the filter medium (such as in your brushes etc). If the pump wasn't running at all then they've all probably died anyway in which case this might not matter.
 
2 years?! :eek:

Clean everything out and start from fresh, that pond water will be stagnant and manky as hell. I'll be very surprised if anything is still alive.
 
psd99 said:
hi the pump has not been ran for 2 years plus

is it worth me totally cleaning the pond out then?
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Unless you're happy with living with a stinking swamp that would be a "yes".

The good thing is its still watertight. That means its recoverable. Take out the pump don't switch it on, clean out its filter it'll be full of gunk. Empty out the pond. Clean out the rubbish at the bottom it'll be full of dead leaves/sludge. You can leave a little sludge it contains useful bugs etc but there will be a lot of it.

Your biggest problem is duckweed. Its almost covering the entire pond. You'll want to get rid of every last trace of it leave even a single leaf and it'll cover the surface of the pond again in no time. Take out any plants still alive/worth keeping and wash every last trace of it out. Refill. Restock pond. It will take a few weeks for water to clear due to nutrients in it there are guides on how to do that. Think about netting the pond during the autumn to stop mass leaf fall into it.
 
When you take all the weed out leave it on side of pond for a day or two to let any wild life get back into the water - I bet there is quite a lot in there that will be useful.

Good luck with it but having been there got tee shirt I would never have a pond again - to much hassle

Herons had a good feed one day and then pump packed up and then we had a thunder storm and found quite a few fish floating next day

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thanks to be honest I really don't want to keep the pond BUT it was inherited by buying the property years back

the previous owners were garden enthusiasts just those rocks on the side are worth a bit
I just look forward to how lovely it will be when it gets back to almost how it used to look and sound on a warm summer's day!
 
What you've described above isn't restoration. It's general maintenance. When we had a pond, I'd be doing all of that at least weekly.

If the pump hasn't been running for 2 years, then I'd be getting rid of the water and starting afresh. However, if your hearts not in having a pond, I'd suggest you fill it in now. It will be a source of continual work.
 
I know it be tough work but it is a lovely pond
it will be the main feature of the beautiful garden. I'm prepared to perform some type of maintenance and it will be good for the kids but not for swimming though! lol I will get a good net and think about safety aspects when I have more money
 
Yup if it was 2+ years without circulation I'd drain it - but have a rain butt with dechlorinated water in just in case for fish. You'll need to run an air pump in the butt whilst the new water is de-chlorinating. If you don't find any fish... then you can use the dechlorinated water in the pond anyway.

Once drained - clean out the crap and decaying matter. Decaying matter reduces oxygen levels.

Next look at the filter give it a good clean out check the pump running - perhaps check the impeller first.

Then run it for a couple of weeks with water + "fresh start". Add some plants then after a few months then think about fish.
 
DXP55 said:
When you take all the weed out leave it on side of pond for a day or two to let any wild life get back into the water - I bet there is quite a lot in there that will be useful.

Good luck with it but having been there got tee shirt I would never have a pond again - to much hassle

Herons had a good feed one day and then pump packed up and then we had a thunder storm and found quite a few fish floating next day

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413321442.jpg
Click to expand...

If you have normal goldfish rather than koi you're not going to have anywhere near the issues.

If you have a "natural" pond then it pretty much looks after itself, the plants in the water will provide enough oxygen for plenty of fish and running a pump/fountain is more a decorative feature than an essential part of the pond. We had (parents still have) a reasonable size pond (2mx1.5x1m deep) with a couple of minor natural areas the water flows through when the pump is on, but the pump was basically only on a few months a year at certain times of the day when we were out in the garden. Herons are a pain though.

OP as already mentioned, clean it out fully, put plants on side for wildlife to get back in, give everything a rinse and refill and you'll pretty much be good to go in a few weeks other some more fish.

Oh, and weekly maintenance? What?! If it's a koi pond perhaps, but other than feeding regularly and some cutting and cleaning a few times a year a well designed pond should be less work than mowing the lawn every week.

I'd suggest giving the patio a good pressure wash first though.
 
Okay finally close to emptying the water and starting fresh... yes like a year plus later

Probably an obvious question but once I have the pond setup with the new water and it all looks lovely...

Should it just be a case of running the pump once in a while to keep the pond clean?

Also does anyone have a reccomendation for a decent net for the autumn time?
 
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