Cleaning an old pond..

Reel Mckoi Wrote:
"Kameleon" wrote in message
...-

My Nan & Grandad have an old pond that mesures about 2x1m and this
summer has seen it become very overgrown with lillies and dirt.

The pond has no filters / pumps etc and so one end has become thick
with all mannor of nasty stuff (the same end where the lilly roots
are).

What I would like to know is what would be the best way to approach
cleaning it out and removing some of the (far too many) lilly pads
that
are in there - without diturbing the 4 goldfish too much!

Many thanks in advance.-
===========================
My approach to such a pond would be to remove the fish to a suitable
safe
place and clean the whole mess out. Remove and discard the mulm/soil
whatever it consists of. The lilies are probably all connected by
roots
and shoots. Most can be given away or discarded. Start with several
nice
small healthy ones spaced out, in their own pots, to give them room.
Refill
the pond and either dechlorinate the water or wait 24 hours - then
return
the fish. Even a small pump and filter is better than none at all.
Good
luck.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Well that was a bigger job than I thought - the lilly roots were caked
in so much filth that we just removed the whole lot, cleaned it all of
alge and are ready to rebuild it again...

The pond is 4' long and 2.5' at its widest point, it has a depth of 3'
at its deepest point with a 1.5' deep margin running around 3/4 of it.
It is only intended for 4 goldfish that have been in the family for a
while and the occasional frog that needs a home. So with that in mind
my questions a

a)What plants should I include in order to maintain health water
(flowering ones would be nice).
b)Will a simple pump/fountain be enough or do i have to concider an
expensive pump/filtration system?

Once again many thanks.


--
Kameleon

"Kameleon" wrote in message
...
Well that was a bigger job than I thought - the lilly roots were caked
in so much filth that we just removed the whole lot, cleaned it all of
alge and are ready to rebuild it again...

## This is often the only way. It's a good clean start.

The pond is 4' long and 2.5' at its widest point, it has a depth of 3'
at its deepest point with a 1.5' deep margin running around 3/4 of it.
It is only intended for 4 goldfish that have been in the family for a
while and the occasional frog that needs a home. So with that in mind
my questions a

a)What plants should I include in order to maintain health water
(flowering ones would be nice).

## It depends if you want hardy plants or tropical plants. Those that use
loads of nutrients and help shade the water are water hyacinths and water
lettuce, both tropicals. Pickerel weed is another heavy feeder with blue
flowers and is hardy. Water iris bloom in various colors in the spring and
early summer and are hardy. Do a search on Google for pond plants.

b)Will a simple pump/fountain be enough or do i have to concider an
expensive pump/filtration system?

## A fountain isn't a filter. It's pump and spray-head will quickly clog
if you have fish and plants in the pond. You would do better with a regular
filter and water-pump. There are many to choose from. Prices vary.

Once again many thanks.

## Glad to be of help. :-)
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 21:49:50 +0000, Kameleon
wrote:

The pond is 4' long and 2.5' at its widest point, it has a depth of 3'
at its deepest point with a 1.5' deep margin running around 3/4 of it.
It is only intended for 4 goldfish that have been in the family for a
while and the occasional frog that needs a home. So with that in mind
my questions a

a)What plants should I include in order to maintain health water
(flowering ones would be nice).
b)Will a simple pump/fountain be enough or do i have to concider an
expensive pump/filtration system?

Since you have had the fish for years you must realize a pump and
filter isn't really necessary for the 4 fish to survive. I didn't
have a filter for a couple years, but decided I wanted more fish and
increasing the fish load means more fish waste. A pump and filter
allow for more processing of waste and more fish.

This crowd likes lots of fish and has a saying: "If you look out the
window and see green lawn there is still room for a bigger pond."
You don't have to agree with them/us.

I know of a small pond that has canna as the pond plant, another that
has rush, the roots are held in place by stones/river rock and no dirt
or clay is used in the ponds. The stones are necessary to protect
the young root shoots from the fish. I had more blooms with lilies
planted in garden soil, but they must have been beneficial to the fish
that lived in your pond. I would suggest stones as the planting
medium unless other nutrient removing plants are used.

The ideal plant according to a waste control article I read is
cattails, but I just can't handle such a large plant. What makes it
ideal is it begins growth at 40 degrees F and grows rapidly absorbing
nutrients from the waste ponds.

Regards,

Hal

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 21:49:50 +0000, Kameleon wrote:

The pond is 4' long and 2.5' at its widest point, it has a depth of 3'
at its deepest point with a 1.5' deep margin running around 3/4 of it.
It is only intended for 4 goldfish that have been in the family for a
while

If I understand correctly you did the recommended treatment of catching the
fish and cleaning out the pond. It is really important now that you don't
kill these fish due to the clean out. What you need is a test kit for
ammonia and nitrite, and a product that detoxes ammonia and some kosher
salt for nitrite. As I'm quite sure these fish are much bigger than when
they first went in the pond and things are more apt to be a bit unbalanced
till the equilibrium (cycle) is again established.

As far as filtration, since you've been getting along without it, I would
think all you'd need is a box filter and a bell fountain. Or, if you're
handy, I have several pictures of fake flower pot filters, that work great
for that size pond and cost under $20 to make. Click on *My filter* and
scroll to the very bottom of that page. www.jjspond.us ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~