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