Help With An Old Fountain/pond?
I just bought a place that has an old man made pond. It was owned by an old lady that was in a wheel chair for years so the yard was in real disrepair. I have cleared away the brush and have dug down a bit on the pond. It has white sand below the layer of dirt on top and has a small plastic pipe embeded in the head ( larger grouping of rocks that form a wall ) and nothing is attached to the pipe. Is this where a pump would go to run the water from the pond over the rocks? why is there sand in it? wont that clog the pump? do ponds have running water or can I just fill it every once in a while? What is the best way to figure out how the pond was operated? This pond is about 5 feet across and looks to be about 4 feet deep and slopes down towards the bottom.
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Filed under: Water Fountain Pumps
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It sounds to me like he probably had the pipe attached to both a pump and a fountain fitting to circulate the water. There should not be sand or other debris in the pipe as you are correct in that it will clog the pump. Most ponds and fountains use a recirculating pump to continuously use the same water so that it does not become stagnant. You will have to add water every now and again because of evaporation, however. If you attach a pump, be certain to purchase one that handles the amount of water in the pond, they are usually sold with a capacity rating (i.e. my small one is 155 gallons). You also have to have a source of electricity to be able to plug the pump into a power source. The pump usually sits at the deepest or lowest point and has plastic hosing or pipes to where you want the water delivered (i.e. a fountain head or under rocks to a waterfall). I highly suggest lining the pond with a heavy mil plastic pond liner to keep mud and dirt from the pond bottom from clogging the pump.
The first answer seems to cover all the bases. I would add, check to see if a liner is already there under the sand (if so it may be degraded after all this time).
The sand is there to give a natural look to the pond. you can place the pump on a piece of flag stone to keep it above the sand as well.
Try this site for more info: http://www.all-about-water-gardens.com/
I just saw your edit that the pond is from the 50′s. Most likely you’ll need to re-work the entire pond (plumbing, liner ect) to bring it up to working condition.