Thanks for all the responses so far! Darn, I still haven't made up my mind about whether or not to buy the shop vac. And now the more expensive one has gone on sale. $179 down to $149, on sale till this Thursday. I still have a few more questions... 1) Sounds like it works well to suck out the muck and old leaves at the bottom of the pond. But does it ever clog up from the sediment? Or is the shop vac well suited for this purpose? 2) When most people use it, do they use it for their annual 'full cleanout'? Or do they use it for occasional cleaning while still leaving most of the water in the pond? I prefer not to totally clean and empty out my pond. I was planning to use it for it weekly in the spring for cleanup of muck (sucking out only 15% water at most at a time). Then once most of it is clean, I'd use it only on occasion. 3) Can I leave my fish in the pond while using it? I was planning to leave my goldfish in. Would this be a problem, suction too strong if they happen swim somewhat near where I'm cleaning??? 4) I was going to get a separate pump for doing water changes, but I guess I could just use the shop vac. Is it a hassle to have to set up each week? Maybe throwing in a pump hooked up to a garden hose is easier? Well I guess I'm going to have to decide asap, otherwise once it regular price, my husband will talk me out of it.

I have found the hose powered type of vac plugs up, is slow and not really all that great a tool. I use a shop-vac that has the internal pump,though I don't use the internal pump as it is slower than molasses. I have a 1¼" ball valve fitted to the drain port of the vac, that I open to empty the vac when the canister fills. I sit the vac over a half 45[Can] gallon drum, secured, so it will not fall off into the pond. The half drum is lined with quilt batting and an old mattress cover. It has a short length of 2" ABS pipe with a 90° elbow, fitted to the drum's drain plug threaded hole. The 2" pipe overhangs the pond's edge to return the clean filtered water to the pond. I also fit an onion [net] bag [or pantyhose can be used] over the inside of the in-put port of the vac, to catch the leaves and heavier lumps of crud. Although it may seem like quite a bit of a set up to use. It is not something that you would use daily or even weekly. I use it twice a year, at most, Spring and Fall. So I don't really need a vac with an internal pump after all, but it's still handy for other purposes. "Horton"

Don, is yours the Pondomatic and not the Pond Vac 3? If it is the pondomatic, does it stop when filled to discharge and then start again? Or does it continually run? And JC, I would love to be able to buy the pond vac 3, but husband would kill me! Thanks, Barbara

I have used fountains in my pond(s), but on a much smaller scale. I think smaller fountains and waterfalls and streams are more common in the home ponds you see on here. The type of large scale fountain you seem to be talking about is very pretty, but I have only seen it near me in front of more commercial buildings. I have seen it in front of an upscale apt complex near the entrance, and in front of a commercial building with professional landscaping. While there are all kinds of ponds, most here seem to have fish and/or be water gardens, and people like to see the fish. I have small ponds so I have only ever used a small multi tier fountain nozzle and a "bubbler" fountain. Spray leaving the pond from the wind is always an issue. So for that reason only, I would consider going with the smaller one. Because if you find the wind blowing the spray out of your pond, it will drain your pond and make upkeep difficult. Since you can't return it, that would be a waste of money. That is another reason people with smaller ponds probably don't use them a lot. And most "backyard" ponds are probably smaller than yours.