I love the pictures of Emma! How did you get them inserted with a reasonable size rather than gargantuan like mine? Unfortunately, we've been dogless for two years. Because of the amount that I currently travel, it is probably going to be a couple more years before I can defend getting a pair of goldens again. BTW - I subscribe to the theory that goldens are much happier in pairs. Ours used to sit patiently under a big pine tree (where the large pond is now located) for hours after they chased a squirrel into it. What type of snail would work? I am not aware of any places locally where I can capture wild ones. Will the pet store variety work? Are frogs likely to stick around or will they go "on a walkabout"? Do I need to introduce plants before fish? Right now, the pond is pretty sterile. In a week or two, when the flowering trees drop their blossoms, some organic matter will inevitably end up on the bottom of the pond. BTW - we are at 1/4 mile from the nearest natural body of water. So, no need to be concerned about prison breaks by the pond critters.

Vicki, There are many filter systems used by ponders but keep in mind it is a system. Since it is a run off pond with rocks on the bottom I don't think you have a bottom drain. So that in itself means eventually you will have to vaccuum the pond or drain and pump out the mulm and clay that accumulates under the rocks. Most people with rock lined ponds do that yearly. Pond skimmers will help keep the surface debris from eventually ending up in those rocks. Bead filters and pressure filters usually require a prefilter before them, and you must frequently flush them wich requires a lot of water. May not be a bad option if you install a skimmer and use it after the skimmer. But you must commit to those flushes. Your pond is twice the size of mine. How deep is it? What are the dimensions. If it was my pond and the theme was more natural vs crystal clear here is what I might do. I might just use two large skimmers and take them to skippy filters. I don't think I would retrofit a bottom drain due to the clay. So I would do a yearly clean out. If the clay was not that big of a deal I would retrofit a BD to a settling pond or chamber and take that to a skippy. Others with better ideas will chime in soon. Regards, Lisa

A filter is the easiest and most effective way to keep the pond clear. Floating or stem plants will help but fish do best with a filter especially if it is more than a couple. If you cover the water with floating plants than the water should stay relatively clear and on the good side you do not really see the water that way. once you get a filter going the water should start to clear fairly quickly, couple weeks. If there are no fish or plants than dosing with an algicide will get rid of it for a while, but only if there are no fish plants and read the label to ensure that critters passing thru that take a drink won't be hurt

Bottom drains are only a bad idea for small fish and tadpoles if your drains are piped directly to a pump. If your drain goes to a settling tank first, then there is no problem because the fish and taddies will be safe sitting in the settling tank until you come along to rescue them. I like sequence pumps....but I do prefer W. Lim pumps. They are more expensive, but they are VERY efficient and well designed and also VERY quiet! I accidently ran one of my Lim pumps for around 20 hours with no water in it and it didn't hurt it a bit!! Here's a link to a DIY filter I built a couple of weeks ago. I am VERY happy with the performance of this filter! Here is a link that might be useful: DIY filter