by John Monahan | Jul 1, 2015 | Story Time
The Story of Old Moe as told by Ron Becker
“There I was” That’s how all good stories should be started.
This story starts out approximately 20 years ago when we built our family pond. We did everything in the construction of our pond to make it the best possible pond for fishing that we could. This included a wind powered aeration windmill from Becker Windmills. We also put structures in the pond to improve fish habitat. This included an old truck that the fish could go in, under, and around, right next to the air diffuser from the windmill.
Now about Old Moe, Old Moe is probably the biggest catfish in the state of Ohio. A few people have hooked Old Moe, but no one has ever landed him. Once in awhile people will see him and their jaws just drop open in amazement.
So one evening my son K.C. and I were fishing and we were catching a few when all of a sudden I got a strike and when I set the hook it felt like I had a hold of a huge log. Then it started to move and I knew it had to be Old Moe. No other fish could feel that big. I continued to wage war with him for probably a half hour or so when he started to surface slowly. The huge fish slowly came into view and kind of rolled up on his side like he was just flat tuckered out and I thought that the war was won.
As I was bending over to try to hoist him out of the water I got a little over confident and yelled to K.C. on the other end of the pond “K.C., I caught Old Moe”. Just then Old Moe must have gotten a second wind and he turned and swirled spraying water all over me as he made one last long run. And I’ll be dog gone if he didn’t swim into that old truck and roll up the windows on me.
The next day we swam down to the old truck and took the battery out. You see the truck had electric windows. No one would believe that a fish could roll up a crank window right?
by John Monahan | May 27, 2015 | Pond Cleaning Job
MuckSuckers was tasked with cleaning sediment from the Chase Bank Coporate Office building pond in Columbus Ohio.
This 1/3 acre pond was surrounded on three sides by office buildings and the fourth side by beautiful landscaping. Employees of Chase enjoy this courtyard pond and the garden’s walking path.
With years of organic sediment buildup, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep the pond aesthetically pleasing.
Diving at the Chase Bank Corporate office.
MuckSuckers removed the sediment from the bottom of the pond, without damaging the landscaping or ecosystem.
Now Chase can enjoy their clean, revitalized pond for years to come!
by John Monahan | May 27, 2015 | Pond Cleaning Job
MuckSuckers kicked off the Dive Season at Point Retreat in Sandusky, Ohio in April. We pumped out 2-3 feet of sediment from around boat docks. The water temperature was 47 degrees!
The intrepid MuckSuckers dive team!
by John Monahan | May 18, 2015 | Dredging, Pond Maintenance
The conventional way of dredging a pond is a very messy task. This usually involves first draining the pond, then allowing time for the sediment to dry. All wildlife is either killed off or relocated during this aspect of the operation.
Heavy equipment is then used to scrape the bottom of the pond. Dump trucks then haul away the sloppy sludge material. This process not only destroys the pond’s wildlife but also the entire landscape around the pond.
Conventional dredging where a pond is mostly dried out first. As you can see, the heavy equipment can easily damage the surrounding area.
After the conventional dredging is done, all banks will then need to be restored, trees and grass or other landscaping and will need to be replaced or reseeded. In many cases conventional dredging will not work. Sometimes ponds are “spring fed” and never dry out completely. Other ponds are completely surrounded by houses, trees, power lines, etc, leaving pond owners no option to use heavy equipment.
Another method of dredging involving heavy equipment on a barge. It’s better than the first method but can still damage the environment and pond liners. Plus it’s time consuming, awkward and costly.
Another option to pond dredging is the Sediment Removal Solutions of Ohio approach.
SRS uses scuba divers and high-volume suction pumps to suction the sediment out without the harmful repercussions of conventional dredging. The sediment is simply pumped to another location, either allowed to be absorbed into the surrounding landscape or contained within a geotextile container. This container passively filters out the water allowing the sediment to completely dry. This material can be hauled away usually at a fraction of the cost of hauling wet material.
The SRS of Ohio approach to restoring ponds is environmentally friendly, far less invasive, and leaves little to no ecological footprint behind unlike commercial dredging. It’s a great alternative to traditional dredging techniques.
Contact us today with any pond dredging related questions you have!
Call us (1-877-772-MUCK) or email us!
by John Monahan | May 6, 2015 | Dredging, Pond Maintenance
Dredging a pond is a damaging process. All water and all wildlife must be removed before the heavy equipment is brought in – and heavy equipment means felled trees and tattered shorelines.
Essentially, dredging is like saying goodbye to (or at best relocating) your wildlife, and then rebuilding the landscape after all the trucks have left the site. Surely, it’s a last-gasp choice to clean or save a pond. Surely, there’s a better way.
There is.
Sediment Removal Solutions of Ohio (SRS) employs scuba divers to avoid the wear and tear of conventional dredging. The divers use high volume suction pumps to remove the sediment from the bottom of the pond. The sediment is sent to another location, where it can be contained in a geotextile container, or simply absorbed into the land. (A geotextile container will allow the water to slowly drain away, so that the remaining sediment can be hauled away as a much lighter, and much more inexpensive load.)
With this system, no wildlife needs to be relocated. It leaves the surrounding environment virtually unscathed. The results are fantastic, too: with proper upkeep, a cleaning of this sort should last from 15-20 years.
The grounds surrounding a pond are often pristine, and difficult to bring back if damaged. (Photo courtesy of sedimentremovalsolutions.com)
Here are some added benefits, from the main SRS website:
- The restoration of the natural bottom without disturbing existing aquatic life in your pond.
- Cleaner water and a healthier ecosystem without damage to the existing landscape.
- A dramatic reduction of weed and algae problems.
- An expanded living space for your fish at a cost up to 75% less than dredging.
- A reduction in toxic gases and nutrients.
The cost of this service is dependant on the size of the pond and the amount of sediment. SRS utilizes daily rates, and these can be obtained through request. Meanwhile, the cost of dredging can mean so much more. Again, from the main SRS website:
“The average cost (for mechanical excavation) is around $75,000 per acre. To dragline wet, remember the sediment is in a soft liquid state. When the bucket hits the sediment, the sediment explodes in the water, saturating the entire water column, (like a spoon stirring chocolate in milk.) Yes, you will have a deeper pond, because they can remove the hard clays and soils at the bottom when they dig. But when they are finished and the pond settles, you are right back where you started.”
When it comes time to dredge, it’s good to know that there are options out there. SRS affords its customers a less damaging and more environmentally sound alternative to old fashioned dredging.
