Any ideas how to keep duck ponds clean without major costs?

[KansasKid]

Didn't take the time to look through everyones posts before reading so forgive me if someone has already posted this idea.

I have been using a skim filter type to keep the water "clean" it doesn't stay crystal clear but i can still see the bottom after 3 days.


I'll upload pictures momentarily...

 

[KansasKid]

Alright...I just dug a hole next to the pond and bought a plastic storage tub and a plastic dish pan from walmart along with some aqua-tech 20-40/30-60 fez-change filter cartridge's and zip ties, scotch brite pads, i also got a oil less sump pump from atwoods. Also if you have a place to get barley straw that might work better than regular hay/straw. i think TSC carry's it.

I cut a chunk out of the front of the green plastic tub so the pond liner had a place to fit in/over, make sure that the pond liner comes over the edge of the tub and down that way it isn't dripping back and under your pond.

I then drilled holes at the corners of the black dish pan and around the inside of the red tub and with the black tub inside the green tub up against the front where the slit for the liner and water to run through is i zipped tied it in.

I then drilled holes all in the bottom of the black tub for the water to run through, placed my fish filters in the bottom of that then took a piece of chicken wire and folded it in half. I unfolded it and placed the scotch brite pads on one end then hay on top of that. i then re-folded it and place it on top of the fish filters in the black box.

I attached a hose to the sump pump, place it in the green tube, placed it in the hole next to the pond, folded my pond liner over the slit in the green box and into the black box, filled it up, made sure everything was flowing right and tada!


3 days and this is how the water looks

Filter box and hose push water in a circle to catch feathers and hay from the pen

Filter box with feathers and hay caught on top of the "filter"

Water flowing in the holes in the black tub into the green tub and the top of the sump pump

 

[jynxster]

wow very complex but much appreciated.

 

[KansasKid]

Quote:
I may have made is sound complex but its really not. 2 cheap tubs, zip ties, filter pads, and a pump. Thats all it is.

 

[jynxster]

cool probably try it and thanks for all the detail actually very decriptive and again much appreciative

 

[gbrash]

I may have made is sound complex but its really not. 2 cheap tubs, zip ties, filter pads, and a pump. Thats all it is.

Hi, came on here looking for something to fix my own problem and it works perfectly, or will do once I've repaired my over-enthusiastic butchering of the pond-liner. Really good idea, thanks for that.

 

[dishrag]

Alright...I just dug a hole next to the pond and bought a plastic storage tub and a plastic dish pan from walmart along with some aqua-tech 20-40/30-60 fez-change filter cartridge's and zip ties, scotch brite pads, i also got a oil less sump pump from atwoods. Also if you have a place to get barley straw that might work better than regular hay/straw. i think TSC carry's it.

I cut a chunk out of the front of the green plastic tub so the pond liner had a place to fit in/over, make sure that the pond liner comes over the edge of the tub and down that way it isn't dripping back and under your pond.

I then drilled holes at the corners of the black dish pan and around the inside of the red tub and with the black tub inside the green tub up against the front where the slit for the liner and water to run through is i zipped tied it in.

I then drilled holes all in the bottom of the black tub for the water to run through, placed my fish filters in the bottom of that then took a piece of chicken wire and folded it in half. I unfolded it and placed the scotch brite pads on one end then hay on top of that. i then re-folded it and place it on top of the fish filters in the black box.

I attached a hose to the sump pump, place it in the green tube, placed it in the hole next to the pond, folded my pond liner over the slit in the green box and into the black box, filled it up, made sure everything was flowing right and tada!

3 days and this is how the water looks

Filter box and hose push water in a circle to catch feathers and hay from the pen

Filter box with feathers and hay caught on top of the "filter"

Water flowing in the holes in the black tub into the green tub and the top of the sump pump

cool probably try it and thanks for all the detail actually very decriptive and again much appreciative

Hi, came on here looking for something to fix my own problem and it works perfectly, or will do once I've repaired my over-enthusiastic butchering of the pond-liner. Really good idea, thanks for that.

Hey guys, I'm wondering how this solution worked for you long-term. How often did you need to drain the water? Other maintenance?
I have a small tub (just one) with a filter pump, and yeah the filter gets clogged fast, then the pump stops... I am afraid of having a big pond, cos then that's more work to drain and clean, right? But this 2-tub idea is interesting. Also snails and fish and plants, but with a net to keep the ducks from eating them all.
Thanks for anyone's help!

 

[feasel]

Our pond is quite small - 1 x 2m I think, and about .5m deep at the deepest point. The ducks were initially afraid of it but now they cannot get enough of splashing about in it!

It's just a liner in the ground, no filters, plants or pump and it's getting predictably quite whiffy and gross. I wondered about the following:

some snails to keep it oxygenated (perhaps also some plants but not sure which..?)
a fortnightly system of using a small siphon pump to take the water out into a small water barrel and then refilling it with the hose (I reckon the water would be AMAZING for our veg with all that nitrogen in it?)

What do you think? Do any of you have a similar pond set up and is my idea to siphon the water out periodically with a hand-pump like this madness? And will doing a fortnightly water swap be enough? I do not want the ducks to get ill from swimming in dirty water every day, but am I over-worrying?

 

[feasel]

This is a really great set-up, I wonder if I could add a similar modification to our pond or if it would be a bit of an over-engineered solution given that our pond is so small... the only thing is: does your sump pump need mains power? Did you have to lay a cable to your pond outdoors? We would have to do that if we wanted to install something like this here...

 

[dishrag]

Our pond is quite small - 1 x 2m I think, and about .5m deep at the deepest point. The ducks were initially afraid of it but now they cannot get enough of splashing about in it! It's just a liner in the ground, no filters, plants or pump and it's getting predictably quite whiffy and gross. I wondered about the following: some snails to keep it oxygenated (perhaps also some plants but not sure which..?) a fortnightly system of using a small siphon pump to take the water out into a small water barrel and then refilling it with the hose (I reckon the water would be AMAZING for our veg with all that nitrogen in it?) What do you think? Do any of you have a similar pond set up and is my idea to siphon the water out periodically with a hand-pump like this madness? And will doing a fortnightly water swap be enough? I do not want the ducks to get ill from swimming in dirty water every day, but am I over-worrying?

Im confused. If that picture is yours, it's clearly larger than 1x2m. Anyways, a 1x2m pond that's always available to your 3 (or more?) ducks will get nasty faster than 2 wks. Probably 5 days? It also depends on your individuals--e.g. one of my ducks stays in the water so much, she naps there.