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| We purchased our house about seven years ago. It came with two cement lined ponds. Neither pond had been cleaned in years. I have been able to clean and maintain one of the ponds however the other one was just too much.
The previous home owner, who installed the pond, decided that she wanted plants in the pond so she added a layer of dirt. She then added a big turtle who in short order ate all the plants. Over the years the pond began to fill with leaves and dirt and such. I decided that it was time to finally clean it out. The pond is 20� x 20� and holds about 5,000 gallons. Last weekend I attempted to drain the pond. Everything was going "ok" until I got down to the bottom of the pond where all the muck and stuff was. The muck was so dense that the pump could not continue to pump the muck out even though there was still water in the pond. I began to shovel out the muck and remaining water and dump it elsewhere on my property. In short order I found that this was a bigger task than I had anticipated. I called a septic tank cleaning company and asked them if they could pump out the remaining water and muck and haul it away. They said they could and their price was reasonable. Has anyone tried using a septic tank cleaning service to do something like this before? Are there any drawbacks that I am not considering here? If I decide to go forward with this approach, the turtle, who is about the size of a dinner plate, and as many of the big fish that I can catch will be moved to the other pond. Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| The septic tank clean out will not be a problem--it's the same as pumping out your septic tank if you have one. I find it surprising that a cement lined pond has not cracked over the years but I live in zone3B where it would freeze and crack. For a pond that big and the cement is not cracked you might want to consider putting in a couple of bottom drains even if they are over the cement. Someone who has a big pond like yours may have suggestions for keeping the bottom clean as it sounds like it is deep as well. If you don't want to keep the turtle maybe a local pet store would take it. Then you could have water lilies at least and marginals. Is there a pump on this pond? |
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- Posted by msulli2472 (My Page) on Fri, May 13, 11 at 14:47
| I live in Central Florida so while we get freezes, it has less of an impact on the pond than it would in your zone. These is a pump and bottom drains currently in the pond. The drains are above the cement. We will be keeping the turtle...he is currently basking in the other pond. |
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| Your bottom drains will work well once all of the muck is out of there. One day I will get the muck outta mine (6 1/2 ft deep). LOL Great idea on the septic company - I think it's a great idea! You will be fine b/c you are working w/ concrete, not a liner that can tear, etc. Keep us posted! |
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- Posted by msulli2472 (My Page) on Thu, May 19, 11 at 13:53
| Here's the update. The spetic tank cleaning company came out. However there was too much debris in the pond so the line (3") kept getting clogged. They got 20-30% of the stuff out of the pond but it looks like I may have to do the balance by hand. |
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