[potterthompson]

We are preparing to move to TV this fall...hooray! We would like to know about installing a pond in our yard. In TV magazine I see ponds pictured, so I know they must be allowed somewhere/under certain conditions. We are not talking about a big pond...probably one of those 8 ft by 10 ft plastic ponds (18 inches deep) that we would landscape around. Can anyone tell us about restrictions on this? We have asked our Villages realtor about these kinds of things, and he hands us a list of deeds and restrictions, BUT we know from driving around that different neighborhoods have different deeds and restrictions. When we ask him about how those restrictions differ from neighborhood to neighborhood, we basically get no answer. We would appreciate input.

[travelstiles]

While ponds are really beautiful, I know of a few people who did have approved ponds in their yard, but decided to give up on them because snakes and hawks seemed to take over and eliminate the koi fish and turtles. Think about this before investing.

[samhass]

They are work!!! I have one up in Pa.

[villages07]

potter...

they are allowed ...but you would have to submit an application with your plans to the deed compliance office for approval. If you're not sure what limitations there might be, call the deed compliance office for guidance first. They are very helpful and preferred to be consulted up front rather than after the fact.

[thegreenerside]

My wife had one in the backyard and after two years we filled it back in with dirt. It was nice, but became a maintenance nightmare.

[graciegirl]

We have a pond and a fountain in our home in Cincinnati and thought we would like a water feature in TV, but changed our minds for the reasons already stated. It would be a sushi place for predators... Or the upkeep would keep us off the golf course, away from the lifelong learning college or out of our golf cart visiting friends.

We also changed our mind about bird feeders for pretty much the same reason.

Don't worry. You will find other things to enjoy!

GracieGirl

[samhass]

In Pa we fight herons, coons, and snakes . A pond is work. Our filters have to be cleaned every 2 days in the summer. You have to fight various algaes. You have to skim it regularly if you have trees. It is high maintenance. I have two different filters, waterfall, and UV light going. It is an ongoing expense..from special fish food to pump, UV light replacement, etc.
I'd think long and hard about a pond.
I have a live in caretaker to do that stuff while we're down here. Otherwise I would have to
get rid of the fish and cover the pond.

[JohnN]

I prefer to enjoy my neighbor's pond, unfortunately he filled it in recently

[samhass]

Ha! I've been tempted, John, to do the same.

[Mikitv]

I have a small pond with waterfall by my screened porch here in Arkansas and while we love the music of the water, it does involve work. As others have said, skimming, cleaning, algae tablets, snakes, frogs, etc are just some of the things. Because we do get some cooler temperatures here in the winter we shut it down, so you have to remove the pump and drain the pond. Winters rains means it has to be drained again in the spring months when we start up again. We have no fish in our pond because of the critters around here they would be gone in no time.

When we move we plan on maybe a nice fountain on our screened lanai.