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Old 12-09-2006, 12:42 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Ellie Bentley Ellie Bentley is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Aug 2006
Posts: 11
Default Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?

MB,

We have a large oval pond about 30 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 4 feet
deep. Immediately upstream are five smaller ponds. The first two
catch the gravel, twigs, and silt that comes downstream into our
property, yet the buildup of sludge in the large bottom pond is
relentless. A lot of it, of course, is falling debris, in autumn
particularly. We keep about twenty fish in there - carp and gold fish.

We would like never to have to bother with removing the sludge but we
have decided we have to. Because if we don't the buildup will be
relentless and eventually it won't be a pond any longer but a large tub
of mud with a streamlet trickling over its surface from inlet to outlet.
There is something magical about a vast pool of deep clear water! We
have about three square meters of waterlilies tucked at one end, the
fish, and a couple of attractive decoy ducks in the shadlows. This
gives it interest. The other option would be to let it become a
mudpool which would of course host all sorts of plantlife but there is
no way we could control that plantlife, i.e. keep out of the grasses and
unattractive plants because to enter would be to wade in 4-feet of mud
and disturb it all.

So as odious a job as it is, every summer, when the water's not so cold
and in the incoming water is a trickle, we jump in, take a breath, dive
under, unscrew the lids of the vents set in the bottom but 1 foot above
the concrete bottom so as not to be lost in the sludge, let it all gush
out down the side of the hill (thirsty sheep rush to drink!), then to
get rid of the remainder we bring in the dirty-water pump until all that
is left is about 9" of ooze. That's when the back-breaking work
begins! Shovelling it all into buckets, lifting them out, and carting
them round the garden to spread over the flower beds - rich stuff
although watercress and the like then sprouts up all over the garden!

Uncle Marvo wrote:
Unless you're very anti-fish, introduce a brace of sterlets into the pond
and wait. There are other pond-clearing fish but the sterlet's the best,
IMHO.


Pond-clearing fish? Sterlets? Tell us more! Anything to avoid the
misery of clearing the pond each year.

Right now, after our annual dig-out two weeks ago, our pond has refilled
and I have to admit it's worth maintaining. It's beautiful.

Ellie.