Ponds Gone Wrong

In this opinion piece of a pond gone wrong example. We are focussing on a pond located right here in Georgia at 711 liberty bell run in Hoschton, GA 30549. Below we will list the many things wrong with this pond in our professional opinion as a certified pond contractor. This will help you understand the differences from a well built pond to one that is built poorly. Additionally, if you are considering purchasing this house at 711 liberty bell run we hope this article will help you understand the many thousands of dollars that will need to be put into pond repairs. 

Depth

The pond located at this house is over 4ft deep! This is unsafe for small children because they would not be able to get out if they fell in. There are no rocks on the bottom or a ladder to help small children get out. Ponds are typically built at a depth of 2 to 3ft. This makes it deep enough to house goldfish and koi and greatly reduces safety hazards. Additional, many ponds are built with shelves every one foot, which would act as a staircase if anyone were to fall into the pond. These shelves are also great for aquatic plants to grow. Ponds as deep as 4ft we believe need to have a fence around the property for safety. As you can see from the pictures the house does not have a fence around it, so you may want to factor that into upgrade costs if you are considering purchasing this house. 

Filtration

The Filters at this pond at 711 liberty bell run are essentially swimming pool filters. These are very poor choice for any pond because these types of filters are intended for swimming pool situations were chlorine is used. Chlorine is sterilizer that reduces organics, among other things, and cleans the pool that way. In a backyard fish pond no chlorine is used which leads to a lot more organics such as fish waste, leaves and other debris. What this means is that swimming pool filters have a hard time keeping up and need a tremendous amount of maintenance to keep everything running properly. The filter on this pond, shown in the picture, is antiquated and in likely need of a full replacement or many replacement parts. Everything from the multiport valve, to seals and media in the filter should be replaced. This type of filter needs backwashing, which includes pumping water out of the pond through the filter every week or so and refilling with hose water. There are swimming pool skimmer filters located on this pond. These are baskets located near the surface that catch debris such as leaves, frogs and mulch. Since the are small swimming pool skimmer filters, they need to be checked and cleaned often. 

Electrical and pond pump

The type of pump installed on this pond is a Hayward swimming pool pump. It looked very old and may be the original which would mean it probably due for replacement soon. This pump uses 3 times the electricity of pond pump and uses higher volts. Replacement of swimming pool pump to a pond pump would also require re plumbing of the existing pvc piping. There is electrical located near the pump and filter behind a rock wall on this pond. The electrical box looks old and may not be up to code, so that should probably looked into further. We suggest any pond have a 115 volt 4 outlet weather proof receptacle located 10ft away from the pond and two feet above the ground installed by a licensed electrician.