Smartpond sludge remover?

[Shugercube]

I’m hoping someone has some input on this! I’m trying to get this darn duck pond into good shape, and really working on making it into its own self-sustaining ecosystem. But right now, it’s really not, and it’s gross.

So I found this stuff in the pond section at Lowes, and it’s basically a crap ton of beneficial bacteria, intended to feed on all the decaying matter in the bottom of the pond (ie duck poop!). It *says* it’s “safe for all fish, plants, and wildlife.” BUT it also says “not for fish used for human consumption.” Does this mean I should also not use it for ducks for human consumption?? I don’t plan on eating my actual ducks, just their eggs, but I definitely don’t want to add anything to the pond that could potentially contaminate their meat or eggs. Thoughts??

 

[DobieLover]

Don't waste your money. It won't be able to keep up with the constant load of duck poop that's going to be going into the pond.
Sludge removers are designed more for water gardens or goldfish / koi ponds that have mechanical and biological filtration.

 

[Shugercube]

Don't waste your money. It won't be able to keep up with the constant load of duck poop that's going to be going into the pond.
Sludge removers are designed more for water gardens or goldfish / koi ponds that have mechanical and biological filtration.

Thanks. Is there anything I can do to try and keep the muck to a minimum while trying to get everything established? I mean without having to drain and refill constantly?

The “duck pond” is a large baby pool. I’m making a “natural filter” using a smaller baby pool filled with sand, gravel, larger rocks, and water plants, that the water will flow through and then back into the larger pool. I’m even looking into possibly adding some bottom feeders like freshwater clams to the big pool to help break down their waste. But it takes time to find the right balance, and until that happens, yuck. They won’t stop drinking the pond water, even though I keep fresh clean water in a separate trough. But I can’t keep up with draining/refilling their pond frequently enough to keep that water a drinkable quality. I’m hoping to at least help it stay cleaner longer, but ultimately I hope to get it just right so that it just eventually keeps itself clean and balanced like a natural pond would.
Edited to add: I know I’ll still have to add fresh water to keep the water level the same, and probably even change out a small percentage of the water occasionally, just like I would for an aquarium. But again I’m hoping to get things balanced so that the water doesn’t have to be completely changed out very often, if at all.

 

[raingarden]

I don't think you can get there from here. If you are adding much over three grams of feed per square meter of pond space it is going to be a mess.

Luckily, ducks have a strong stomach. Pekin duck farmers in Asia have some god-awful water all the time. It is thick with gunk but the ducks just keep on quacking.

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks. Is there anything I can do to try and keep the muck to a minimum while trying to get everything established? I mean without having to drain and refill constantly?

The “duck pond” is a large baby pool. I’m making a “natural filter” using a smaller baby pool filled with sand, gravel, larger rocks, and water plants, that the water will flow through and then back into the larger pool. I’m even looking into possibly adding some bottom feeders like freshwater clams to the big pool to help break down their waste. But it takes time to find the right balance, and until that happens, yuck. They won’t stop drinking the pond water, even though I keep fresh clean water in a separate trough. But I can’t keep up with draining/refilling their pond frequently enough to keep that water a drinkable quality. I’m hoping to at least help it stay cleaner longer, but ultimately I hope to get it just right so that it just eventually keeps itself clean and balanced like a natural pond would.
Edited to add: I know I’ll still have to add fresh water to keep the water level the same, and probably even change out a small percentage of the water occasionally, just like I would for an aquarium. But again I’m hoping to get things balanced so that the water doesn’t have to be completely changed out very often, if at all.

It comes down to the volume of water and having good mechanical and biological filtration. You would need a much larger body of water than a kiddie pool.
The bog filter will help but not enough and it's more of a biological filter than anything.
I am in the process of building a goldfish pond. I built one a decade ago that required vacuuming and a lot of cleaning and that was just with some gold fish. I can't even imagine a flock of ducks crapping in it all day long!
My current pond is a little deeper at 3.5' instead of 2.5' but holds about the same amount of water. I'm installing a 4" bottom drain that gravity feeds into a settlement tank that I will pump out weekly with a sludge pump until I know what it will need. From there the water will feed through poly shavings and a Matala filter before going through the skimmer and out through a UV clarifier and into a moving bed aerated biological filter. I've also switched from a submersible pump to an external pump to move the water.
I would think something like that would be easier to maintain than what you are doing but it's not cheap.

 

[raingarden]

It comes down to the volume of water and having good mechanical and biological filtration. You would need a much larger body of water than a kiddie pool.
The bog filter will help but not enough and it's more of a biological filter than anything.
I am in the process of building a goldfish pond. I built one a decade ago that required vacuuming and a lot of cleaning and that was just with some gold fish. I can't even imagine a flock of ducks crapping in it all day long!
My current pond is a little deeper at 3.5' instead of 2.5' but holds about the same amount of water. I'm installing a 4" bottom drain that gravity feeds into a settlement tank that I will pump out weekly with a sludge pump until I know what it will need. From there the water will feed through poly shavings and a Matala filter before going through the skimmer and out through a UV clarifier and into a moving bed aerated biological filter. I've also switched from a submersible pump to an external pump to move the water.
I would think something like that would be easier to maintain than what you are doing but it's not cheap.

That will work great for goldfish.

But, ducks will not let the sludge settle, the mats and the moving bed media will be coated in sticky ooze within minutes, the UV will not be able to penetrate the water.

Duck water is thick with algae and biological floc. Both algae and floc are consuming a lot of nutrients but there is very little export of nutrient from the system so it just keeps cycling internally. It's sot of like composting without ever hauling the composted material to the garden. The pile just keeps gets larger.

 

[Shugercube]

I don't think you can get there from here. If you are adding much over three grams of feed per square meter of pond space it is going to be a mess.

Luckily, ducks have a strong stomach. Pekin duck farmers in Asia have some god-awful water all the time. It is thick with gunk but the ducks just keep on quacking.

I can’t imagine. Lol. I can’t even get past the smell after about 8 hours

I’d feel so much better if I could convince them to ONLY drink from their trough and not the poop water

 

[Eggstatic ChickyDoo]

I’d feel so much better if I could convince them to ONLY drink from their trough and not the poop water

I know exactly how you feel, but I'm starting to think that ducks think of clean water as "not yet flavored" water. I've given up. Mine have access to clean water where the cistern dribbles into a bowl and then into the pond and they constantly put junk in there so they can fish half of it back out.

 

[raingarden]

I know exactly how you feel, but I'm starting to think that ducks think of clean water as "not yet flavored" water. I've given up. Mine have access to clean water where the cistern dribbles into a bowl and then into the pond and they constantly put junk in there so they can fish half of it back out.

Ducks are slobs. It's in their DNA. If you like ducks then you have to like slobs.

 

[Shugercube]

"not yet flavored" water.