Somewhere between the inspection report and moving day, it hit you: that "water feature" in the listing photos is a real, living pond, and now it is yours. Nobody handed you a manual. There may or may not be fish in there. The last owner may or may not have kept up with it. Welcome to accidental pond ownership. Take a breath, it is going to be fine.
Here is the good news. An inherited pond is rarely a problem. It is usually just a pond that needs someone to figure out what it has been up to. So let's do that.
First, don't panic, and don't drain it
The instinct is often to empty the whole thing and start over. Resist it. A pond that has been sitting a while has a living ecosystem in it, good bacteria, plants, maybe fish, and blowing it all up usually makes more work than it solves. Start by just watching it for a few days. Is the water moving? Is a pump running somewhere? Are there fish, and do they look active?
Get the water moving
If the waterfall or pump is not running, that is the first thing to sort out. Moving water is what keeps a pond healthy, clear, and, yes, free of mosquitoes. Find the skimmer, clear out whatever leaves and gunk have collected, and get the circulation going again. Half the "problem ponds" we get called about just needed the pump cleaned out and turned back on.
The spring clean-out is your reset button
If your inherited pond looks tired, a professional clean-out is the single best thing you can do for it. We drain it down, clean the rocks and gravel, sort out the plants, check the pump and look for any leaks, and get the fish back into clean, balanced water. It is a reset button, and a neglected pond usually comes back looking better than the last owner ever kept it.
"We bought a house that came with a small koi pond and two fish. What to do??? I called AquaReale. Eric emptied the pond, cleaned it, fixed all the rocks, repositioned the plants, got my skimmer working, answered all my novice's questions, and got the fish back in their clean new domain happy. Perfect! Thanks Matt and Eric."
— AquaReale client, Facebook review
Then decide how hands-on you want to be
Some new owners fall in love and want to learn every inch of it. Others just want it to look great without it becoming a weekend job. Either is fine. If you would rather not think about it, our maintenance plans keep the whole thing running while you just enjoy it.
Inherited a pond and not sure where to start? That is our favorite call to get. Reach out or ring us at 215-880-6811, and we will tell you exactly what you are working with. We cover Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey.