How To Clean Up A Garden Pond With A Mini Excavator And JMA Buckets!

Today we’re taking on a project that hits close to home — cleaning up Mom’s old koi fish pond in the backyard, and Dad and I brought out the iron to make it happen! What once was a peaceful little pond had turned into a rock-filled, algae-choked crater… so we fired up the Hyundai 17Z-9A mini excavator and got to work!

Using the JMA Attachments 36" Skeleton Bucket, I carefully scooped out stones, muck, roots, and years of buried debris while Dad hauled everything away with the Bobcat T870, making quick work of the heavy lifting. Once the pond was stripped clean, we brought in fresh black dirt, and I swapped over to the JMA 36" Ditching Bucket on the 17Z-9A to smooth, level, and reshape the entire area — transforming the old pond into a clean, graded space ready to plant grass and bring the yard back to life!

This one has family nostalgia, precision excavator work, satisfying grading shots, and some good old-fashioned teamwork — the kind of project that reminds you why we love running equipment in the first place.


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✅ WHAT’S IN THIS VIDEO

✔ Cleaning out a backyard koi pond
✔ Precision mini excavator control
✔ Skeleton bucket rock separation
✔ Bobcat T870 hauling & cleanup
✔ Bringing in black dirt fill
✔ Fine grading with ditching bucket
✔ Father & son project nostalgia
✔ Satisfying before-and-after transformation


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🧰 EQUIPMENT FEATURED

🔸 Hyundai 17Z-9A Mini Excavator
🔸 JMA Attachments 36" Skeleton Bucket
🔸 JMA 36" Ditching Bucket
🔸 Bobcat T870


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💥 WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS ONE

Satisfying excavation footage

Rock and debris removal close-ups

Smooth grading shots

Family teamwork and humor

Backyard makeover transformation

Real-world use of JMA buckets

Mini excavator skills on display



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👍 LIKE • COMMENT • SUBSCRIBE

Drop a comment and tell us: Should we rebuild the pond… or keep it a fresh new yard?


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