What To Use For A Duck Pond And How To Keep It Clean??????

[myechostories]

I have baby pools and a toboggan that are dumped daily - unless I am home - then several times per day.  I am fortunate to live where we have real ponds, so I now only use the baby pools periodically.  I have sometimes considered adding a drain because the large pools are difficult for me to empty.  The sides are becoming funny from me stepping on them to empty, but I am pretty impressed at my $5 and $10 kiddie pools, now about a year old.

Well, I'm in a difficult situation because i too have a natural pond, but i seem to lose a lot of ducks to it
Which is why i'm making a smaller one. I just cleaned the ducks kiddie pool today and their not touching it, they've never done that before so we will see what happens

 

[myechostories]

In answer to myechostories & GardenerGal, I got the stones in bags at "Lowes" (I got bags as it was easier to haul bags to the pond site than if I had bought bulk rocks). The bags were called "River Stones". I chose them since they were mostly rounded on the top and bottom and looked like they would be easiest on their feet. They don't seem to mind walking on them.

Was it expensive to purchase to purchase the stones individualtiy in bags?

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I just dug a hole about 20' across and 5' deep. The rain flushes it during the wet parts of the year and in the summer I just drop the water hose in it every few days for a couple of hours to keep it topped off and to flush it a bit. Doesn't stay sparkling clean, but the ducks love it.






Edited to add picture.....

 

[Scott Barr]

Your welcome,

.
All that sounds very fancy, is it hard to install? I've researched pond vacuums, which appear to be the same thing as pool vacuums, so maybe after i drain it i could suck up the muck from the bottom? That sounds so much easier but i'm a noob, so who knows lol!

As far as ease of installation, I would need to ask the folks that did mine ... it took a pro crew 3 days to build so who knows how long it would have taken me! What I can tell you is that there is no muck on the bottom of our 600 gallon pond ... there may be some under the bottom round river rocks but I am not sure ... good luck with your project!

 

[Scott Barr]

I just dug a hole about 20' across and 5' deep. The rain flushes it during the wet parts of the year and in the summer I just drop the water hose in it every few days for a couple of hours to keep it topped off and to flush it a bit. Doesn't stay sparkling clean, but the ducks love it.






Edited to add picture.....

I love it ... wish I had that much surface area for the babies to play ... nice job!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I love it ... wish I had that much surface area for the babies to play ... nice job!

Thanks Scott. I spend a lot of time sitting near it in the shade just watching them play and dive.

 

[myechostories]

Do you guys know what to use for a pond liner? I was thinking a heavy duty tarp because money is tight right now. Has anyone tried that?

 

[myechostories]

I just dug a hole about 20' across and 5' deep. The rain flushes it during the wet parts of the year and in the summer I just drop the water hose in it every few days for a couple of hours to keep it topped off and to flush it a bit. Doesn't stay sparkling clean, but the ducks love it.


 



Edited to add picture.....

Its beautiful! Did you use a pond liner?

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Quote: I didn't use anything. Just dug it out with a small rented back-hoe, spread the dirt around it, then done the final shaping with a shovel and waited for a rain. It does have a tiny spring in the bottom, but wasn't enough to fill it as dry as it was when we dug it. The first big rain filled it up just fine though.

 

[animalz11]

I bought a $25 spa (it is HUUUGGGEEE!!!) and when it gets a bit dirty, I tip it out (and the ducks loove playing in the mud, so I'm sure to let the girls out when I do) and I rinse and scrub it out, then let the rain fill it and then fill the rest with tap water.
Hope this helps!

Or I get the biggest and deepest container I can find, and do the same thing and keep moving it around their pen so it doesn't kill the grass underneath it.