With the leaves and other muck on the bottom, I would recommend that you use
some Potassium Permanganate in the pond during cleaning to neutrallize the
hydrogen sulfide gas that is probably trapped in the muck. Put in the PP
and stir the bottom to release the gas. Hydrogen sulfide is highly toxic to
the fish. It gives off a rotten egg smell.
The size of the pond is marginal for koi, so if you want to start over, then
try to catch the fish, after cleaning most of the muck off the bottom. You
may need to pump the pond nearly dry to catch some of the fish. Put them in
some form of temporary container with a working filter. You could move the
sink filter to the edge of one of the Wally World inflatable swimming pools.
Then dig and install the liner.
For the number of fish that you say you have, and you didn't give a
breakdown of koi vs. goldfish, you should be looking at a much larger
filter. The rock filters work, but they are nasty to clean, require a
strong back and usually don't get cleaned as often as they should.
Divide the outflow from the pumps so that each will do its thing. If they
are connected with a "Y" then they are fighting each other. If both are the
size that you say they are, then they should be able to handle a pond at
least 4 times as big as your pond. It is a good idea to have the pumps
mounted up off the bottom so that if the plumbing breaks, the pond will not
be drained completely. The fish swim better than they walk.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"lu" > wrote in message
om...
> Thanks for the quick responses!
>
> Um, pond is approx 10' long, 6 or 7' wide,
> 1' shelf and up to my upper thighs when
> standing in it, 3.5' deep.
>
> I don't even know how many fish are in it.
> Possibly 25-30.
>
> Has not been cleaned, at least by me. Two years plus.
> Layer of leaves and muck at bottom.
>
> One pump is 1900gph, (other is close, I think )opaque black, sit on
> bottom, "y"ing into same hose.
> The hoses are 1.5", I think.
> This goes to that long white pipe that splits to the "wash basin"
> that is the biofilter(rocks) and the garden hoses that make
> waterfalls.
> I am only using one of the garden hoses as most leak or have to be
> cleaned too often.
>
> The biofilter has a layer of rocks at bottom and pea gravel over that.
> Often the pea gravel gets past the rocks and clogs opening. Pain
> ensues.
> And very hard to keep clean. Probably 'cuz there are too many fish.?.
>
> I would like this all to be replaced by a more manageable solution.
>
> Thanks everyone. Great ng. I have cruised a lot of pond sites from
> here
> and they are wonderful.
>
> Lu
>
>
> (Ka30P) wrote in message
>...
> > lu wrote << Gosh, I'm glad I found this newsgroup. >>
> >
> > We're glad you found us!
> >
> > Let's start at the beginning ~
> >
> > How many gallons do you think the pond is?
> > And if you're not sure what size is it, how
> > many feet wide from side to side and how
> > deep? One of our mathmatically inclined posters
> > can figure out the gallons from those measurements.
> > I think you might have too many fish in there from one of
> > the pictures but it is hard to tell. We recommend 1,000 gallons to start
with
> > and 100 for each koi after that. Goldfish should have between 20 to 40
gallons
> > per fish.
> >
> > Has it ever been cleaned? As in drained and all the slurry
> > sludge at the bottom taken out? Doesn't sound like it and there is a way
to do
> > it properly. The sludge makes great fertilizer!
> > Where do your pumps sit?
> > On the bottom? Or up on a brick? Pump sizes as in gallons per hour and
the
> > sizes of your hoses and what are them made out of? Are they clear or
opaque?
> >
> > Your plants looks great and plants are important for fish health. Many
of us
> > filter our ponds via plants alone. There are tests available at the
petstore to
> > help keep an eye on the water quality. Watch for expiration dates on
test kits.
> > Post the exact numbers.
> >
> > Pea gravel and rocks are hard filter media to maintain and need someone
with a
> > fairly strong back to deal with it.
> > You can do better ;-) Many of us use light weight material such as
black vinyl
> > screening, plastic bio balls, plastic curlers, shredded packing tape.
One thing
> > to be careful of is that the material used hasn't been treated for
various
> > stuff - bad for fish.
> >
> > We have fish experts here, filter experts, someone to help with each of
your
> > questions. I'm posting general questions for you to start with. Others
will
> > post more specific questions for you to answer and then we can help put
> > together a solution for you. (It probably won't be me - I'm best at
answering
> > predator and wildlife questions and I have a green water solution
primer, but
> > hopefully I've got you started on getting some good info for our experts
;-)
> >
> >
> > kathy :-)
> > <A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/">Once upon a pond</A>