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.

It seems that the choice is going to depend on what is most important to you. Since I'm not in the greatest physical shape and don't like to spend a lot I am willing to go with the simple and low tech spa and small pool cleaner I found at Wally World. It is $20. It is slow and gives the pond a water change but it doesn't make me hurt too much. I lied. I probably have spent more trying out different inexpensive products than it would cost to hire some one to come and do it for me. I have a good shop vac that does a good job. I just have a problem hauling it out and getting it put back. It gets clogged with the red oak twigs that wind up on the bottom a little faster than the Wally World Vac. There are extensions and longer flexable tubing available. That puts the price over $120. A very good variation is one from an absent ponder named Floyd. It may be overkill for your pond but it does the job. http://members.shaw.ca/floydn/ The python works but the collection jar is too small for debris and too large for small hands. Do a search in the window at the top of the main page of the Pond forum and you will find opinions for almost any tool and device. Good luck. My next pond will have a bottom drain and I am looking for a dredger for those blasted branches. Sandy

Back years ago, I think in this forum, several members were interested in building vacuums specific to cleaning fish ponds. I was one who got into it. I developed several vacuums and went to several people's ponds to test vacuums in different conditions. Here's my page on vacuums. There's also links to building vacuums. I don't know your pond, but in general, some species of string algae when alive and mature is like horse hair. Bind a little together and it's like rope. I've pulled every bit of out of a pond in one pull and it brought pretty much everything in the pond with it up to the size of a brick. I don't think it would be possible to remove the string algae without removing the hornwort too. Once removed you could try and get some hornwort out of the string algae and replant. But string algae can come back, although often it's another species or it doesn't grow the same way next time. Even if you had no hornwort, gravel or reeds, I don't know of a single vacuum that is effective with string algae. If the string algae is still alive it is basically one plant and in your size pond when removed it could be in the 100-200 pound range. No vacuum can't handle that. I've seen a vacuum with a cutter on the end that's suppose to be able to cut the string algae. I doubt it works, but you should read reviews if considered. Even dead string algae, which breaks up easily is a big problem for a vacuum because of the volume. Easier to remove by hand or a swimming pool leaf rake. For live string algae I used 2 pieces of 1"x1" wood nailed or bolted together in the middle so they would open and close like scissors. I'd make them about 5' long. Open them a bit, push into the algae, close, and then spin them so the algae wrapped around the wood. Once I had a good ball I'd pull it out. Generally every bit of algae came along with this ball, along with anything it was attached to. Different species of string algae and the different life cycle stages can require different methods. I learned 2 basic things. First, there is no single vacuum that is effective. Ponds are cleaned in steps, removing big stuff first and ending with the small stuff. Different tools for each. Second, don't build a pond that's hard to clean. Loose rock, gravel, plants, all good great...until it's time to clean. I mortared rock so it was easy to clean and moved all plants into their own beds and so their crowns were above the water. Crowns above the water = no string algae = happy pond keeper. That means no underwater plants like hornwort and no lilies. Lilies can get their own pond or their own deep water bed adjacent to the pond so the pads can grow out over the fish pond.

Ella5. I still love the Oase Pondovac4. I'm wondering if your pond may be too deep for it though. I think, think that about 3 ft is what they say the depth can go. But where I got it, it was for 339.oo. I'll post info at the end of this. Nate is super helpful, I emailed him back and forth and he took the time to give me very informative and detailed answers. I got in it the mail in no time too. I'd call him and ask, or email him, tell him what you have, and he'll definitely email you. The price posted was 349.oo (on ebay) but he gave me another 10.oo off because that what he charges on his website. Here's his website. He has lots of useful info there too. Nate at Practical Garden Ponds www.practicalgardenponds.com nate@practicalgardenponds.com His website has his phone number. Gotta tell you, I was really impressed with him, and his willingness to put the time in to be helpful to me. I will definitely be doing business with him in the future. And the price, was the very best on the web. I spent days researching....cause that's just what I do. Anyway, happy vacumning. You won't be sorry.