Please help me--Keeping a small pond healthy without a filter?
foodfiend_gardener
12 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (26)
groundbeef
12 years agoannedickinson
12 years agoRelated Discussions
2 Grand to fix my pond?! Please help me decide (w pics)
Comments (10)There are a number of ways to make keeping your pond maintenance more efficient without the outrageous price your handyman puts on the job. The first problem of fine leaved Honey Locust leaves could be solved by making a screen sided or mesh sided basket to put into the top section of the pond to collect the leaves. Just leave it in place between cleanings. If you are handy, the screen sided bucket is simple enough but premade mesh fish nets come in some rather large sizes and shaping the handle to serve as a cup type handle is easy enough as is making some sort of shelf to hold the net in place. Just lift the net out by the handle, let the water drain back if it is sufficiently clear and dump the leaves out. I am putting in a link for a website that happens to show several products on the same page that would do a good job of cleaning the mulm under the bottom drain. The fish capture nets are there, too. The Muck Vac is about as simple as it gets. The price is a bit steep but it works. All you need is 50 lbs water pressure in the hose. The leaf vac uses a bag to catch debris and I use one to collect leaves on the bottom. It isn't as good for mulm unless you get the extra bags for that purpose. The price is hard to beat. It adds water to your pond so prepare as for a water change. The Python pond vac is a more elaborate version of the Muck vac designed to collect leaves and mulm. It is more difficult to get into tight places and I have a problem opening and closing the jar that collects the debris because my hands hurt a lot. The pond vacuum on this page is pretty expensive but you can get a garage(utility)vac with a continuous flow(water)discharge for between $75 and $90. It works, too. Just add a hose to run the water to the garden. I got one at Walmart and I've seen them at Lowes, Menards, etc. It took me a while to get the hang of it but Horton came through for me with proper instructions. UV, UV. Hum-mm. I don't see anywhere the flow rate would be low enough to let the UV work. I see you have valves all through the system that makes in-line space at a premium even if it lets you adjust the flow. It seems to me that adding another pipe with a valve to control that flow would make the system complicated to the point of maintenance inefficiency and it would certainly raise the scream level. Maybe I am wrong. Since you are going to move, I would use a small submersible pump and a stand alone UV + filter. It might even be possible to get by with only the sponge included prefilter to protect the pump. The object is to increase dwell time to allow the UV time to work. You can get small fountain pumps for cheap. Try Harbour Freight.I found the UV and filter from Laguna on sale for 45 bucks. several years ago. That screwdriver must be a sign of ingenuity or ineptitude. I don't know which. One of these days you will laugh at it. In a number of stores I see wire shelves that are stackable in the laundry and storage departments. I don't see how deep the hole is but I bet you could find one of those shelves that would fit close enough. You might need to do a bit of bending or cutting. Please do not put stones on the bottom of the pond. It will make cleaning an impossible task and eventually the water will become stinky. Now I will let the smart guys take over. I still like your pond. Sandy Here is a link that might be useful: Simple inexpensive ideas that work well...See MorePond Edge - bog / plant filter
Comments (19)Thanks Jason and Sandy :-) Ouch Sandy! I have limited experiece with lava rock, but I can imagine the discomfort. I think experimenting is great fun-- you never know: one day you might be the one to discover the perfect pond setup that nobody else thought of! Sorry I don't have much of a philosophy on ponds, Jason. I too just keep experimenting and hoping all goes well. Of course, reading the wealth of knowledge on this forum doesn't hurt either. :-) What you can't see in the photos is that our pump won't prime when hooked up to the skimmer,so right now there's a big black intake hose sitting on the pond bottom with a strainer designed for a sump pump attached to the end. Real beautiful. When I complained, my DH's only comment was "Well, there's the bottom drain you always wanted!" I probably should add the statistics of our pond to the bog page, but the size is roughly 15x30' x3.5'deep, the bog is a little less than 1/3 that size and about 2' deep. David or anyone else that migth still be interested-- here is a link that was helpful when we started researching bog/veggie filters. If nothing else, it has a great list of plant to try in and around ponds & bogs. Sherry Here is a link that might be useful: Nelson Water Gardens -Bog Filter Construction.pdf...See MoreOK...looked thru pics..please help me build a small pond for.....
Comments (18)Hey there, Brenda. Lots of research does make things easier and total immersion in the topic, just like learning a new language, helps you catch on to the things that are important. This forum has a lot of info being talked about by lots of people, some of whom get pretty technical. There are plenty of others who keep it simple. Now I am going to be mean. Sometimes the limitations we cannot change make us give up some things we really want. A list of each can help see the realities. After I looked at the pond you like and read what you wanted, I realized you can't have all of it. I don't want to discourage you. You can still have a lovely and totally satisfying pond/water garden. The pond you like is a rigid preform. It is probably 72"x48" and 18" deep. It holds 125 gallons and will take 3-4 3" fish. Those dimensions are for Maccourt ponds which seems to be the most common preform. There are some new ones that are foldable made of virgin vinyl but that doesn't seem to be what you are looking at. There are also some pond kits that include plastic liners and EPDM rubber liners are very versatile. The volume of water in any of these ponds would prevent you from having koi. Koi grow to very large proportions and soon your fishies wouldn't have room to turn around, literally. I have a 1000 gallon pond and some of my 6" koi are now 12-14" after only one season. One that is 3 years old is now even larger than that. In addition I have a population of comets, sarrasa and other related fishies and they started breeding last year. Many of them started as 1" feeder fish. All of them need room to move! Fast! I'm getting nervous. There are many colorful fish other than koi that you would enjoy but you would need to control the numbers and figure out a way to keep them over winter. I put my gourami and guppies in the pond for the summer and put them back in aquariums in the winter. The cold would kill them. In your zone, it is possible for an 18 inch pond to freeze solid but more likely it would only have ice to 4-6 inches. I would wait through a full winter to see just how deep the ice goes before investing in fish other than goldfish. Gases that accumulate in the water could kill larger fish with only that much free water. An EPDM or plastic lined pond could give you the depth you need but the volume still would limit the number and type of fish. Don't despair! No one ever got it right the first time they were designing a home and you are designing a home for fish... and plants. Now that I have managed to scotch some of your dreams, (sorry, sorry, sorry) the necessary hardware can be put up for discussion. Sandy Here is a link that might be useful: preform ponds...See MoreWays to naturally filter a small pond
Comments (2)Don't put 'normal' soil in the bottom of the pond. This contains too many nutrients and you will forever be battling green water/blanket weed etc. If you feel the need to put soil in the bottom, use aquatic soil (this has been 'baked' to remove nutrients)and will also act as a natural filter....wet it thoroughly first. You can 'bare root' your oxygenators and some 'bottom' plants in this. Because you have soil on the bottom, the water will be 'murky' for quite a while but will gradually clear as the plant roots help bind it together. Any marginal plants should be planted in aquatic pots to allow the roots to grow through, either in aquatic soil or preferably peagravel as this keeps the pond cleaner. Adding a bucket of pondwater from a friends or neighbours (healthy) mature pond will add bacteria to start your pond 'cycle'. Alternatively you can buy commercial bacteria from any aquatic centre. Expect the pond water to be green next Spring, have patience, as the plants grow and the pond matures it will clear. My first pond was similar to this and I reared goldfish and shubunkins in it without a pump or filter and had no problems....See Moreserenae
12 years agogoodkarma_
12 years agoerniem
12 years agofoodfiend_gardener
12 years agogoodkarma_
12 years agoeyecndiggit
12 years agoMinding
10 years agochas045
10 years agovici1
9 years agoDebbie Downer
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoatokadawn
9 years agobllgl37
9 years agodavallan8
8 years agodavallan8
8 years agoJeff LeBrun
8 years agoAlyy White
7 years agodavallan8
7 years agoTaraMaiden
7 years agoNicky Rosendale
7 years agochas045
7 years agoNicky Rosendale
7 years agoNicky Rosendale
7 years agoTaraMaiden
7 years ago
Related Stories
PETS10 Tips for Keeping Indoor Cats Healthy and Happy
It's National Cat Day: Ask not what your cat can do for you (because it will ignore you) but what you can do for your cat
Full StoryGARDENING AND LANDSCAPINGHow to Make a Pond
You can make an outdoor fish paradise of your own, for less than you might think. But you'll need this expert design wisdom
Full StoryINSIDE HOUZZInside Houzz: More Filters Make Photo Browsing Even Better
Find the inspiration you’re looking for faster with room-specific filters for the millions of photos on Houzz
Full StoryHEALTHY HOME16 Ideas for a Healthy, Feel-Good Home
Making these small tweaks and bigger shifts at home can help you thrive everywhere you go
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHow to Keep Your Citrus Trees Well Fed and Healthy
Ripe for some citrus fertilizer know-how? This mini guide will help your lemon, orange and grapefruit trees flourish
Full StoryHEALTHY HOMEHow to Choose a Home Water Filtering System
Learn which water purification method is best for your house, from pitchers to whole-house setups
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHow to Keep Your Trees Healthy
Ensure your trees’ vigor for years to come with these tips for protecting roots, watering effectively and more
Full StoryHOUZZ TOURSHouzz Tour: The Concord Green Healthy House
New home built for efficiency and flexibility finds its place in historic New England neighborhood
Full StoryHEALTHY HOMEGet Cleaner Indoor Air Without Opening a Window
Mechanical ventilation can actually be better for your home than the natural kind. Find out the whys and hows here
Full Story
TaraMaiden