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How Many Different Kinds of Ponds Are There?

Are you considering adding a pond to your HOA, golf course, or residential/commercial back yard? If so, you should be aware that there are several different kinds of ponds that you can select. Fish-only, farm, and Koi are just a few of the many types of man-made ponds out there.

At American Underwater Services, we’ve been providing pond dredging services to businesses and homeowners alike for well over 20 years. We want to inform you of the various types of ponds that exist and what it takes to keep them healthy and looking as good as the day they were first filled with water.

Fish Pond

A fish pond is one that merely exists to hold fish. They’re used for both commercial and residential purposes. Many Homeowner’s Associations will have at least one or two dedicated fish ponds on-premises for the residents to go fishing.

The main challenge with a fish pond is that they produce a lot of natural waste that needs to be disposed of properly. If not, the fish will eventually die off from the massive amounts of nutrients created.

A good fish pond should have abundant plant life, which can help absorb the excess fish food and waste. In many cases, a filter is also required if the body of water is too small. It can help supplement the natural waste-removal processes but will need to be cleaned and maintained regularly.

Decorative Pond (No Fish)

Decorative ponds are often found on golf courses and in some HOA neighborhoods. There are usually no sport fish (e.g., trout, bass, crappie, catfish) added to the pond unless a resident or guest adds a few in.

Sometimes HOA’s and golf course managers will add mosquitofish to help control the mosquito population during the warmer months. These small fish are very hardy, self-sustaining, and don’t require any maintenance at all. If there are no mosquitos to eat, they will turn to the zooplankton that’s found throughout the water column.

Koi Pond

A Koi pond is explicitly built for people to enjoy the beautiful and colorful Koi fish, of which can range in price from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars or more.

A Koi fish is a type of hybridized carp. They’ve been kept as pets since at least the 1800s and are selectively bred for color and shape. Koi are usually hardy fish, which means they can survive the cold winter months, although some people will add a heater to the pond to ensure the water temps remain at comfortable levels.

Koi ponds usually have a small deep end for the fish to escape to during the warm summer months. The rest of the pond is somewhat shallow. This is so that people can readily see and enjoy their beautiful colors and shapes. The pond itself usually has a man-made bottom, as the fish can stir up a muddy bottom and that will result in reduced water clarity.

Farm Pond

Farm ponds are created by farmers to hold water for their livestock and crops primarily. These types of ponds are usually lined with a clay-like soil, which prevents water seepage so that it stays full of water year-round.

Sometimes farm ponds are fed by nearby canals, which in turn are fed by nearby rivers or lakes. Inevitably, gamefish and other aquatic wildlife will take up residence in a farm pond. Crappie, largemouth bass, trout, and catfish will all thrive and multiply.

It’s not advised to put Koi or other slow-moving goldfish in a farm pond as many of the other fish are naturally aggressive and will eat or nip the fins of the more docile ones. Farmers will also add carp to ponds to control native vegetation as they have an insatiable appetite for the delicious green stuff.

Mini Pond

Mini ponds are becoming more and more common throughout many households in the U.S. As their name suggests, they are smaller than the average pond. In some cases, they’re only 3’ x 3’ in size. Small decorative fish and plants are usually added along with a waterfall or other water aerating feature.

The main downside to a mini pond is that smaller bodies of water are much harder to keep healthy than larger ones. This is especially true when the nitrates and nitrites of a mini pond become too much. A fish or plant die-off can easily occur in a mini-pond unless the owner is diligent in checking water parameters and performing necessary water changes regularly.

Fort Worth Pond Experts

At American Underwater Services, we’re the foremost experts in pond dredging in the U.S. We’ve been around for well over 20 years and have the experience and know-how to dredge any pond, no matter how small or big.

If your pond hasn’t been dredged in a while, or you’ve experienced nuisance algae outbreaks this past summer season, give us a call at (817) 377-8512 or contact us via our website for more information.

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AUTHOR ANTHONY DI IULIO

AUTHOR ANTHONY DI IULIO

Anthony Di Iulio the founder, president and co-owner of American Underwater Services, Inc., started his business in 1999 with only three employees. Today this commercial diving company employs nearly 30 people and handles over 500 projects annually. Anthony moved to Fort Worth from Louisiana with his family in 1976. He worked summers during high school welding underwater for a marina on Benbrook Lake. Eventually he took scuba lessons after almost drowning on the job. Those lessons led him to training at a deep sea diving school in Houston, which included training on offshore oil rigs. Anthony spent several years in Louisiana working on offshore rigs and on inland jobs at power plants and dams before starting American Underwater Services, Inc.

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