Pond Question

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Hi ! I guess I need to take Pond 101. For next spring we were thinking of putting in a 15'x15' pond about 6 to 8 feet deep. Here in Minn. all you have to do is dig a hole and it will fill with water naturally, but we're worried about it becoming stagnant and becoming a breeding ground for Mosquitoes. We have geese and plan to get ducks. And we will probably stock the pond with fish . Thanks for your answers in advance!

-- Chandler in Minnesota (Providencefarms2001@yahoo.com), November 24, 2001

Answers

Small fish and minnows will usually take care of any mosquitoe larva.

-- bruce (rural@inebraska.com), November 24, 2001.

Only thing, ducks and geese will take care of the small fish. Been there, done that. My geese would have a feast in my goldfish pond. I have to keep them separate.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 24, 2001.

Hi, Chandler~ If the pond isn't being cleaned by anything, ducks are going to keep it quite dirty. They tend to crap as they go and pollute the water pretty good. I'd really doubt fish could live in it. However, there's nothing prettier than ducks on a pond, so maybe it shouldn't be too much of a concern. :)

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), November 24, 2001.

Get an aerator to circulate the water -- mosquitoes can't breed in moving water. I had 3 ducks in my koi/goldfish pond and never lost any, but my fish are 3" to 1'. I found another home for the ducks as they fouled up the water and destroyed all the plant life. Good luck and enjoy!

-- Marsha (CaprisMaa@aol.com), November 24, 2001.

Chandler, just digging a hole won't do it. You need a source of constant water going in the pond and an outlet for the water to escape. Otherwise you will just have a mess. In the summer it indeed will go stagnant(yuk)and then go dry. In the rainy period it will overflow and be a pain in the neck. Our pond supports fish and a duck population of about 20 just fine and we only dug it 3 years ago. But it is fed by sping water we bring down with a 2" pipe and has an outlet of 4" pipe. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), November 24, 2001.


Hi Chandler, I am really curious as to where you live in Minnesota. We live in Northeastern MN. and really have a hard time with gardening and such. Maybe you could give us some pointers as we are thinking of going south to the Ozarks which would be more familiar to our upbringing. Thanks, Deb and Steve

-- Deb Borgia (borgia@northernnet.com), November 24, 2001.

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