Overgrown pond - how to convert it to a happy pond?

With photos to follow, we could really do with some advice on how to take this pond back to a level that is managable, clean and healthy with some beauty about it.

It is cloggy and nasty, the water seems solid to the point where the poor pond skater inhabitants dont skate it but moon walk it!

Is there anything i should be aware of when cleaning it out? It doesnt have a filter, but the lining seems pretty new, a couple of years old maybe? Such a shame the last inhabitants of the flat used it as an ash tray. :(

Having said that, there are so many lilies, and other plant life in it, i was wandering if it is worth trying to keep and look after some of the plants, or just dump the lot and start from stratch?

Is there anything that we should be aware of as we sort it out now that might help us in the future for its care?

 

We have a large pond and it does "turn over" (or whatever the term is) now and then, as does everyones. It can happen almost overnight but sooner or later it goes back to normal itself. We recently had this problem plus a lot of green alge, looked like clouds, worse than we had ever had. So hubby used our neighbours self-made gadget to get a lot of air into the water. Gad, it looked like a volcano bubbling and the smell - could have gone into competition with the sewer works, whew! It took a while this time but now the water is crystal clear again. We don't have a filter in our pond.

To the water lilies, they go overboard and need thinning out perhaps every 2-3 years. The same goes for most of the water plants.

I don't know how bad yours is with all the cig butts in it (how disgusting) but I think the best thing would be to drain perhaps 3/4 of it and work from there - sorting out, thinning, perhaps rearranging while you are at it. If it is really so bad maybe starting from scratch would be the best. You can get rid of all the gunge on the bottom, use it as fertilizer in the flower beds.

The green alge threads that appear sometimes are a sign of very good water quality, but don't let them get out of hand. We scoop them out whenever we see them. The same goes for the tiny green leafletts that also appear now and then. Not to forget the autumn leaves.

Do you have fish in it? We finally gave up as the heron kept coming for lunch. How big is your pond, how deep at the deepest point and how much water is in it? Ours is about 6 x 8 meters, about 80 cm at the deepest point and about 13 cubic meters.

Let us know how you progress. A pond is worth having, when it gets settled there are so many different insects, etc to watch.

 

I just had another thought, we have the rainwater from off our Wintergarten roof, running down a thick chain (popular over here)and into one of these large black builders tubs sunk into the ground and filled with rocks. This then flows down a tiny "stream" over rocks and into our pond. This way you always get fresh water and not have to use the sometimes awful tap water. Perhaps you could construct something along this line too.

 

good idea KEDI-GATO.WE HAVE SOMETHING TO COLLECT rain water but not as good AS YOURS.

 

Thanks for your response! I will take some measurements and have a close look and get photos tomorrow and see what people reckon.

I expect we may start from scratch by the looks of things, and that idea of the fresh water stream is great, unfortunately the pond is quite far from the house, a good few yards so its unlikely but i'll have a good look!

 

We collect rainwater to water the garden with from the roof on the other side of the house. The rain collects in a huge underground cistern from where hubby pumps it up via some sort of suction pump (can't think of the name at the mo)and into another one of these big black builders tubs. From here we can fill the watering cans. If there is a lot of watering to do, like on the other side of the garden, then hubby uses the hose attached to the pump.