Cleaning an old pond..

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!~