# Keeping a pond clean



## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

Say that a large garden is perched on a slope above a large pond, maybe 50 feet away...What kinds of actions would you take to assure the pond isn't contaminated with run-off of fertilizers? Any & all ideas are welcome.


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## Boomy (Mar 17, 2012)

Run a pump through a 55gal drum with charcoal in it...


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## Boomy (Mar 17, 2012)

And a French drain between them would help too


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Go organic


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

Boomy said:


> And a French drain between them would help too


A what...? :scratch

And we do expect to be organic, barring possibility of starvation & loss of our crops.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Other than not using easily leached fertilisers there's not a lot you can do, other than redirecting the water run off. After the water is contaminated there are quite a few things you can do though. Throw in a few bales of barley straw (google this, it's a well known natural algae prevention), create a gravel bed in the pond and plant with high food demand plants. Grow a fast aquatic plant in the pond and harvest it for compost or feed. The best of these are duckweeds (Lemnoideae), they are super fast growing and very high in protein. Yep they'll take over the pond but only if the water is polluted, they will shade the water and prevent algae growing.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

If you could set it up where you could use the pond water on the garden, your veggies would love it :2thumb:


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

tsrwivey said:


> If you could set it up where you could use the pond water on the garden, your veggies would love it :2thumb:


Forgot that one, LOL. If you have the water you could do regular water changes. We do exactly that here, use the pond water to irrigate and refill the pond. It makes better use of our well water and we don't have to go crazy with filtration. Our well water is very high in iron and has a touch of phosphorus so it's pretty fertile on it's own and will grow a pretty good crop of algae, so it's still not ideal.


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

PrepN4Good said:


> A what...? :scratch
> 
> And we do expect to be organic, barring possibility of starvation & loss of our crops.


A French drain is a ditch with a drain tile in the bottom and the ditch is filled with gravel. Water runs through the gravel to the pipe and runs away instead of into your pond. A lot of people use French drains next to buildings that have metal roofs as opposed to installing gutters on the building. (Ice slides down metal roofs and destroys gutters)

If you are using organic fertilizer, I don't think you need to worry. (At least I hope not, because I have the same situation)

I found an organic fertilizer plant about 35 miles from me. I've been buying there for 3 years. It is A LOT cheaper than buying organic fertilizer from a store. I first found it by seeing an ad in Farmworld news.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

jeff47041 said:


> A French drain is a ditch with a drain tile in the bottom and the ditch is filled with gravel. Water runs through the gravel to the pipe and runs away instead of into your pond. A lot of people use French drains next to buildings that have metal roofs as opposed to installing gutters on the building. (Ice slides down metal roofs and destroys gutters)
> 
> If you are using organic fertilizer, I don't think you need to worry. (At least I hope not, because I have the same situation)
> 
> I found an organic fertilizer plant about 35 miles from me. I've been buying there for 3 years. It is A LOT cheaper than buying organic fertilizer from a store. I first found it by seeing an ad in Farmworld news.


Organic fertiliser will effect water quality. It takes very little nutrients in water to create problems. It all depends on what your pond is going to be used for.....


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

I use my pond to water my garden, water my animals, & eat the fish. I better check into this huh?


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

jeff47041 said:


> I use my pond to water my garden, water my animals, & eat the fish. I better check into this huh?


Small amounts of nutrient won't cause the garden or livestock any problems. The health of the fish, general water clarity and algae growth will be a problem as some nutrients rise though. 
The same principles apply for small and large bodies of water, look at aquaponics troubleshooting, growing plants in aquaria (great place to learn why plants, including algae, grow at rapid rates), natural swimming pools (heaps of good info on water quality there) and managing aquaria for fish health (start with presence of nitrates and dissolved oxygen).
The biggest problem with large bodies of water is that they are large and problems can take a while to solve. A simple fix in 20 gallons of water becomes a massive undertaking in 2 million gallons. On the other hand things take longer to happen and there are many more natural solutions that can be applied to large bodies of water.


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## Jimthewagontraveler (Feb 8, 2012)

We have several ponds here and every scum pond we have is
Very shallow.
I think 5'+ ponds have a lot less trouble.


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## Boomy (Mar 17, 2012)

PrepN4Good said:


> A what...? :scratch
> 
> And we do expect to be organic, barring possibility of starvation & loss of our crops.


A trough cut between the two with a perforated pipe laid in it and cover the whole thing with gravel. It can be used to divert water to a specific area.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

Wellrounded said:


> Organic fertiliser will effect water quality. It takes very little nutrients in water to create problems.* It all depends on what your pond is going to be used for*.....


The plan is, irrigation for the garden, stocking with fish, and, should TSHTF, drinking (if the well fails).


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Nutrient runoff into ponds if managed well can be beneficial, think of it as an extension of your garden. The key is creating a life rich environment to use up extra nutrients.


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## farmers (Jul 28, 2012)

With organic gardening, you still have nitrates, phosphate, etc. We build terraces to keep top soil from erosion. What it does is redirecting run off from heavy rains. You can apply the same principal to protect your pond. You would not have to install gravel tiles or pipes for your water shed. On your hill side build mounds of dirt about 2 ft high. Staggering them. I have done this on my sugar sand. I did put some dry cement in my mounds, sand moves easy. Look up soil erosion, and solutions you should get a good idea what will work for you. Good luck


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