Creating a pond?

[HeatherMo]

What do you all do for your ducks? I’ve been using a kiddie pool but the dumping is creating a mucky mess. I live on a 20 acre farm, all but a couple acres is crop land. Heavy clay. Our dog died last fall and when my husband dug a hole to bury him he couldn’t dig very far down because it starting filling up with water. We hated laying his body in a few inches of water . But sounds like ideal conditions for a pond, right? There’s probably a lot more to it than just digging a hole but I have no idea. I’ve googled it and I’m finding instructions involving liners, sand, rocks. Does it have to be complicated? Has anyone found a simple way?

 

[Steven Bussell]

If you have a TS close by they have some nice ponds or other things to use. I'm using a 50 gallon pond.
But unless you do a large filter system your going to still have to pump/dump the water.
I made a 150 gallon filter system for my small pond. You'll need a dirty water pump that can move at least 1/4 material.
But you will still need to do a partial water change once a week to control ammonia.
To control nitrates use plants.
Also make sure you use rocks in your system to help make a bio filter.
It may sound like a lot to do. Really its just a super sized aquarium filter system.

 

[Steven Bussell]

I should add if you don't already have trees or plants close by I would plant some. I use all my water from the pond to water trees and garden.
They love the nitrates and duck droppings. I'm seeing more oranges that are sweeter and juicier than before .

 

[BReeder!]

What do you all do for your ducks? I’ve been using a kiddie pool but the dumping is creating a mucky mess. I live on a 20 acre farm, all but a couple acres is crop land. Heavy clay. Our dog died last fall and when my husband dug a hole to bury him he couldn’t dig very far down because it starting filling up with water. We hated laying his body in a few inches of water . But sounds like ideal conditions for a pond, right? There’s probably a lot more to it than just digging a hole but I have no idea. I’ve googled it and I’m finding instructions involving liners, sand, rocks. Does it have to be complicated? Has anyone found a simple way?

Similar dirt here, but I dug out a 4ft deep pond with a mini extractor I rented. It cost a 200-300 for a day, but it was well worth it. Perhaps you have somebody nearby who owns an escavator? It would be cheaper to pay a neighbor with food and drinks or a small amount of cash.
Our pond is 5ft wide, 12ft long and 4 ft deep. With put a rubber (EPDM) liner in. To keep things clean there are 5 pvc pipes ran lengthwise on the bottom that all connect on one end to a pump. The PVC pipes are buried in smooth gravel about 4" thick and have a line of holes along the bottom of the pipes so they act like drain tile and the gravel filters the pond water. It acts like a huge bio filter.
I intend to add another filter eventually using a rubbermaid trough I got my hands on, but the water is clear right now with 3 ducks and 8 fish in the pond.

 

[HeatherMo]

Dynamics shook here, but I dug out a 4ft deep pond with a mini extractor I rented. It cost a 200-300 for a day, but it was well worth it. Perhaps you have somebody nearby who owns an escavator? It would be cheaper to pay a neighbor with food and drinks or a small amount of cash.
Our pond is 5ft wide, 12ft long and 4 ft deep. With put a rubber (EPDM) liner in. To keep things clean there are 5 pvc pipes ran lengthwise on the bottom that all connect on one end to a pump. The PVC pipes are buried in smooth gravel about 4" thick and have a line of holes along the bottom of the pipes so they act like drain tile and the gravel filters the pond water. It acts like a huge bio filter.
I intend to add another filter eventually using a rubbermaid trough I got my hands on, but the water is clear right now with 3 ducks and 8 fish in the pond.

I’d love to see a pic! Do you have to drain and refill from time to time? If so, how often?

 

[DuckyDonna]

You could just siphon out the kiddle pool you already have in the meantime until you decide what to do. It's so simple and takes no time at all plus you can direct the water to plants or trees so it's not wasted.

 

[happy duck]

I use a kiddie pool and it works great but I so understand your not wanting to dump yours out. I don't have an in-ground pool for my ducks so I probably wouldn't be best person to help you but I would love seeing how this goes! Following.

 

[Fishkeeper]

If it's really so wet there that holes start filling with water, I'd imagine you could just dig a hole and it would become a pond. May be worth some testing.

And it's not what you asked about, but in terms of burying pets: why not a cairn or something similar? Or a burial mound. Plenty of cultures bury people in ways that don't involve holes.

 

[HeatherMo]

If it's really so wet there that holes start filling with water, I'd imagine you could just dig a hole and it would become a pond. May be worth some testing.

And it's not what you asked about, but in terms of burying pets: why not a cairn or something similar? Or a burial mound. Plenty of cultures bury people in ways that don't involve holes.

Luke didn’t mind the water. We felt sad but I don’t think it really made any difference. I just think of it now because I’m hoping to find a good solution to constantly dumping the water. I have 2 ducks but 3 more ducklings getting mailed out tomorrow.

 

[BReeder!]

I’d love to see a pic! Do you have to drain and refill from time to time? If so, how often?

Here's a picture. Excuse all the weeds. I am waiting for the ducks to chow down on them. They are slowly devouring them.

As for draining, I haven't done so at all so far. I will likely drain some before winter and refill with fresh just to ensure cleaner water for the winter months. We built the pond last year and didn't drain/clean for the winter, but we didn't have ducks then either. Hopefully I will have the trough filter installed then, as that would a make draining the pond much easier because I could just use gravity to drain from the above ground trough.