pond problems

i have a pond that becomes almost stagnet at this time of year. It is in a low area of the farm and get little to no wind could this be the problem? Thanks for your help and ideas. Also how do you fill in a sink hole ?

[Maura]

Is this where all of your water drains to? It will be stagnant because there's no water circulating. You could put an air pump in it to get the water moving around and add oxygen. A fountain would also help improve the situation. Either way will break up the surface of the pond so that gases can escape, and bring air into the pond.

[chickflick]

This may sound silly .. but the only time MY pond got stagnet... was the summer I had no ducks or geese on there! I only keep a few, too.

EDITED: Um... maybe 'stagnet' is too strong a word.. lots of green pond scumm was kept away by fowl swimming around a lot!

[Little Quacker in OR]

You've got to have water going in and water going out. Yes, aeration will help a whole lot but won't keep evaporation from taking place.

I'd fill it in if you don't have or can't get a source of water to it. No one needs a place for mosquitos to breed. My idea of a pond is one that stays nice and supports a good balance of life without the stagnant thing. Maybe the suggestions above about providing aeration would carry it through the rainless times?

As for the sinkhole..I have no idea! How big is it? Just curious. They seem like Science Fiction to me. I get a little shiver when I see one on the news. LOL

LQ

[Jeff Hathaway]

You don't need water going in and out. If it is a very low area, it could just be 'ground water'. However, water bodies of this nature may become anaerobic (truly stagnant, with orangey coloured growths) in the summer due to increased bacterial action as the temperature rises (bacteria using oxygen faster than it can diffuse in from the air), and in winter if they freeze over for long enough for the reduced bacterial action to use up all of the oxygen under the ice.

An decent aerator of any kind (fountain, underwater airstone, etc.) will solve the problem.

Filling it in would not be beneficial, in my opinion. Many animals depend on water sources such as this, for drinking water and for breeding purposes (such as frogs and salamanders).

Jeff Hathaway

[Ken Scharabok]

Pond and sinkhole were separate questions.

On the pond, consider having it deepened if there will be sufficient run-off to keep it full going into summer. If you have a large trackhoe or dragline come in, they can put the dirt they pull out on the banks as a levee behind them, further raising potential water depth. Say a trackhoe costs you $100 an hour and it works for two days. That's about $1,600, plus a bit more later to level out the banks with a dozer, in return for a much nicer pond.

On sinkholes, usually long, large, solid items, such as old bridge pilings, are dumped into the holes hoping to create a block at the bottom. Once blocked, they are backfilled. Likely not worth the expense and effort.

Ken S. in WC TN

[Little Quacker in OR]

I was thinking more of filling it in and digging another in a spot that would have water available. Then the wildlife would still have the pond.

This is done frequently around here. Creates some lovely ponds with no die off and they are much nicer to be around. With most of the replaced ones, there was no way to get electricity to them. We have discussed a generator to help some of the former ponds through the dry season but it wasn't worth the noise and hassle.

Good luck with the pond..they are a great source of fun. I spend a lot of my morning "coffee time" on a bench that's set up on a berm watching and listening to the wildlife there. Now to figure out how to keep the dogs out of it! Jeez. LQ