Keeping the Pond Clean

[Table4Six]

So, I've been looking for different ways to keep my ducks pond cleaner, at least for longer periods of time. It's a lot of work having to clean out the pond every other day, though the ducks are totally worth it. I'd love to here your guys' methods and ideas on keeping the pond clean. Thanks.

 

[PirateGirl]

Do you have a photo of your pond you can share? How many gallons or how big is it? What is the bottom made of; is it lined? Do other plants/animals use the water?

 

[Table4Six]

It's dark here, so I'll have to get a picture tomorrow. It's a medium sized pond, somewhere around 500 gallons. I bought the medium sized Smartpond liner from Lowes. The chickens will occasionally get drinks from it, but other than that it is only used by the ducks.

 

[Table4Six]

@PirateGirl
My pond is honestly a really weird design, but my ducks love it. I just need it to stay cleaner for at least longer periods of time.

 

[HuffleClaw]

@PirateGirl
My pond is honestly a really weird design, but my ducks love it. I just need it to stay cleaner for at least longer periods of time.
View attachment 1593389 View attachment 1593391

That’s a really cute setup! And not to mention adorable ducks!

 

[Table4Six]

Thank you!

 

[Compost King]

I put a a lot of thought into creating a pond, to keep mine clean I would pump water out to higher ground (even if I have to create higher ground) and let it flow back in. I would put in a water fall to where the water would land on a bale of straw which would suck the nitrogen out of the water before it returned to the pond. Its a crude Carbon filter but that can get expensive to those whose number one reason for having birds isn't to make compost. I figure a bale of straw a week would cost $300 a year unless you can get straw much cheaper than I can. And you probably do not have the high demand for compost like I do. It would likely be cheaper to buy a filtration system

 

[Table4Six]

That is a very creative way of filtration, thank you for sharing, but I really don’t need that much compost. I’ve been looking into a filtration system, but there’s a big problem there, the pond is no where near close enough to an electrical outlet. Is there any such thing as a cordless filter? I’m not sure.

 

[PirateGirl]

I would say most filtration requires a power source. I would think there are things you can plant to help keep the water clean, however, the ducks might just eat all the plants. In the past I'd looked at DIY barrel filter systems. This link will give you a few ideas. You can try and set up a gravity fed system without power. I have not actually done this, but there are some good tutorials online.

http://hngideas.com/outdoor/backyard-ideas/10-diy-pond-filter-inexpensive-and-easy-to-build/

 

[Table4Six]

Those ideas are great! Thank you so much! I am going to attempt a gravity fed system.