Anyone have a backyard pond?

[MrsDrewsky]

DH and I have been house hunting and one of the homes we're considering has a backyard water feature. It has a water fall that pours into a pond that feeds into another pond. I think it has goldfish, not koi.

Here is an example of what the pond looks like:

We like the home, but we're intimidated by the pond. We considered just demolishing it, but it's gorgeous. Our Realtor estimated it was probably close to $7k in landscaping we would be destroying.

Does anyone have a backyard pond? How many hours should we expect to dedicate to maintaining it? What do you with the pond during the winter?

We know we can probably hire someone to maintain it, but I'm not sure that would be in our budget.

 

[Lreip]

I have a front yard pond. It's a lot smaller than the one you have. It's fairly easy to maintain. Just clean the filter periodically. In the winter I put a small heater just to keep the top from fully freezing. Come spring I put the koi fish in a bin. Dump out the water, clean and refill. You tube has a lot of good tips. I would just ask the former owners how they maintain it. All my neighbors love mine. Nice to sit and listen to the water trickle down. hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

I have a front yard pond. It's a lot smaller than the one you have. It's fairly easy to maintain. Just clean the filter periodically. In the winter I put a small heater just to keep the top from fully freezing. Come spring I put the koi fish in a bin. Dump out the water, clean and refill. You tube has a lot of good tips. I would just ask the former owners how they maintain it. All my neighbors love mine. Nice to sit and listen to the water trickle down. hope this helps. Good luck.

Thank you!

 

[Imzadi]

If you don't take care of the pond correctly, it would be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

 

[kirstenb1]

Our yard shares a 4 acre pond with 4 other neighbors. Although larger in scale than what you describe, we have it stocked with fish of various sizes. It has a stream feeding into it, and an overflow stream on the back end. The most important thing is to keep it "alive", regardless of the size of it. Meaning keeping fish in it, with a water supply, and an exit for old water.

 

[kirstenb1]

editing my reply---not so much "old water" but runoff from storms, et.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

If you don't take care of the pond correctly, it would be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The water is constantly running, so I didn't think this would be an issue.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

Our yard shares a 4 acre pond with 4 other neighbors. Although larger in scale than what you describe, we have it stocked with fish of various sizes. It has a stream feeding into it, and an overflow stream on the back end. The most important thing is to keep it "alive", regardless of the size of it. Meaning keeping fish in it, with a water supply, and an exit for old water.

I'm thinking this is where it could get tricky. I'm reading you have to replace 10% of the water every week. I'm hoping if I ask, the previous owners will write us a maintenance guide.

 

[Imzadi]

The water is constantly running, so I didn't think this would be an issue.

Then it should be an issue. But, if there is a pump that brings the water up for the waterfall and it breaks, fix it right away.

 

[mimmi]

We have a pond with a waterfall and it requires barely any maiintenance.
We have fish that eat mosquito larvae and recently, two frogs moved in, maybe coming from the nearby river.
We clean the filter every few days and have many plants that prevent the growth of algae.

If the pond is built properly, with the right plants and fish, it shouldn't be much work.

 

[sue1013]

We have a couple ponds sort of like your picture. The only thing DH does is clean the filter, we don't have to add water unless we're having a drought. We let it freeze over in the winter no heater. I know DH does sometimes poke holes in the ice, I don't know why. Our ponds have goldfish since we have a heron that shows up that likes to steal the fish we gave up on koi. Goldfish are much cheaper to replace and they do grow pretty big. There are frogs in there too. No problem with mosquitos. My bedroom is in the back of the house and it's so nice to hear the waterfall at night when we can have the windows open.

 

[HannaBelle]

I have not had one personally, but my DB & his wife had one. She loved it and maintained it until a snake took up residence. She was done with it after that and would not have anything to do with it.

 

[krnlmustrd]

I have 6 water feature/koi ponds that wrap around my house. They're stunning and it's the reason I bought the place.

Would I do it again? NO.

But if it were just 1 or 2 ponds, probably. Mine require A TREMENDOUS amount of maintenance because they were not built with proper filtration. We've been adding it slowly over time. (We had a quote to install everything. $30k.) Pond equipment is pricey... Also, our ponds are concrete as opposed to liner so they aren't going anywhere anytime soon whether we like it or not.

Our lot is heavily shaded. That causes a lot of debris to fall into the ponds which requires extra cleaning. Make sure this isn't the case with your pond. Fall is a nightmare.

Also, ours are sunken into the ground. It looks very natural, but every time it rains, they get cloudy/muddy due to runoff. This also makes for easy access for predators - namely the Blue Herons in our area. They'll eat all your fish if you're not careful. We have to use string around our ponds to keep them out. And that's not pretty.

Yeah, koi are expensive too. (To buy and to feed!) And it's heartbreaking when the die or get eaten.

Yup, snakes like the water too. So do frogs. But the fish usually take care of that problem. Keeping the water moving will keep it from becoming a mosquito breeding ground. (That also means a higher utility bill.)

If you do buy the house, look for a local Koi Club. Ours meets every month and it's very helpful in terms of learning how to raise the fish, proper filtration and just having fun.

 

[Carl]

Then it should be an issue. But, if there is a pump that brings the water up for the waterfall and it breaks, fix it right away.

Do the above. The fish die quickly without the water moving to keep oxygen in it. Mine was off just over night and I lost one Koi.

 

[Mazel]

The water is constantly running, so I didn't think this would be an issue.

It's not

We have a pond with a waterfall and it requires barely any maiintenance.
We have fish that eat mosquito larvae and recently, two frogs moved in, maybe coming from the nearby river.
We clean the filter every few days and have many plants that prevent the growth of algae.

If the pond is built properly, with the right plants and fish, it shouldn't be much work.

All of the above are correct. We have a pond that we built in our yard with a waterfall. Not much maintenance at all. When winter comes the waterfall gets shut off and we just keep the pond running so it doesn't freeze over. No need for a heater.

We have never drained it, we do skim the bottom in the spring and in the summer a couple of times to get the junk out of the bottom. We have frogs and a turtle that have taken up residence. Plants keep the alge down and fish help too.

I don't find them expensive to feed at all. It's great feature to have and very relaxing to be around.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

We have a pond with a waterfall and it requires barely any maiintenance.
We have fish that eat mosquito larvae and recently, two frogs moved in, maybe coming from the nearby river.
We clean the filter every few days and have many plants that prevent the growth of algae.

If the pond is built properly, with the right plants and fish, it shouldn't be much work.

Thank you. I am hoping it would be a nice weekend hobby for us, and not too much work.

 

[Disneefun]

I don't have one for one reason: Snakes. Any sort of water feature will attract them. I don't know what part of the country you're looking in, but copperheads, water moccasins, and others are all attracted to water.

And running water won't stop them like it will mosquitoes. We have a creek nearby that is always running, usually pretty fast and there are always snakes nearby.

Being deathly afraid of snakes, you couldn't pay me to have a water feature in my yard. Ugh.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

I had typed a reply to everyone, and then I was logged off. I want to thank everyone for their info. DH and I have a lot to consider, including our 8 week old and his safety. Also my phobia of snakes