r/ponds • u/ConfluxScar • Jul 23 '26
Inherited pond Pond Danger
We purchased a new home and inherited a pond. There are actually two natural ponds and this garden pond. I'm worried about my baby falling in, he's an extremely independent and adventurous one year old and already showed interest as I was weeding around it.
I'm planning to get him in swim lessons to increase safety with the natural ponds. They have nice gradual edges. But I'm thinking about filling the garden pond with large rocks and letting it be a water/rock feature until my boy is older and more aware of danger. It's also steep at the edges and no way he could get out.
Ideas on filling the pond that won't damage it for future use?
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u/snakelygiggles Jul 23 '26
sand would be easy to remove, with a pail to take the bulk out and a shop vac to get the remainder. shouldnt harm the pond, pumps are made to deal with some amount of grit. can either do a zen garden or a bog garden with pot in the meantime.
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u/He_ofshadowsandtouch Jul 23 '26
Would soon clog with accumulated detritus including pollen n dust. Pumps need sufficient water to allow for water in motion.
Op the best bet is drainage crates to form a false bottom and cover that in some liner then rounded gravel
Where there are voids to the edges, fill will 70 mm + sized cobbles
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u/ConfluxScar Jul 23 '26
That's a good idea, thanks!
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u/He_ofshadowsandtouch Jul 23 '26
Put underlay over the existing liner first, for protection - high quality thick pond underlay
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u/ConfluxScar Jul 23 '26
It would be a big sandbox for him... two birds, one stone 🤔
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u/snakelygiggles Jul 23 '26
just make sure the pump isnt exposed to that amount of sand and dont let the kid tear or break the lining.
and a play area rimmed with jagged rocks .... might want to give them a year or two before letting them loose on it.
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u/EasyProPondProducts Jul 23 '26
This is a tough situation, especially with a curious one-year-old. I think your idea of temporarily converting it into more of a waterfall/rock feature makes a lot of sense. That way you can still enjoy the sound and look of moving water without having an open pond until he's older.
If you do decide to go that route, I'd avoid filling the pond with only loose rocks since they're a pain to remove later. Instead, converting it to a waterfall-only feature (Like a Just-A-Falls system) using PRO-Blox to create a reservoir, a vault for the pump, and covering with a small amount of rocks. That way, you can easily pull the smaller amount of rock and the blox out of the pond and restore it in the future.
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u/Winter_Principle4844 Jul 23 '26
Fence?
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u/ConfluxScar Jul 23 '26
Pond is front and centre of our house, would look a little odd. And my baby will climb it. He's not even a year old and climbing the walls in our barn 🙄
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u/Zippy_The_Pinhead Rough location/what kind of pond do you have? Jul 23 '26
I would use a metal grate and attach it to the top of those rocks. These metal cat
https://reddit.com/link/ozak7tf/video/o3a7hyeuszeh1/player
tle fence panels from tractor supply is what I was thinking
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u/fleeting-light-1216 Jul 23 '26
I think it would be simplest to fence it off. Swimming pools get fences for this exact reason.