Thank you all for the input - sounds like FILTRATION is indeed where I need to go with this. Actually I only have 4 large sarassas & 2 medium sized shubunkins in the pond right now Big Red (large red comet) and 3 small comets are still in the basement tank after the disaster I had earlier in the spring. I wasnt testing the water (didn�t need to before, I had many easy, trouble free years with 4-5 fish in a 150 gal pond) and when I finally did I did there were nitrates, nitrites AND some ammonia, which necessitated the first of several big emergency water changes . I had a lot of debris powdery brown stuff from the pine tree falling into the pond throughout April & 1/2 of May which I was told was pollen. The water turned into dark brown muck not clear tea colored water, but dark particles that couldnt be seen through Honestly, I would not want more fish than the 10. They are large enough that the pond doesnt look empty or sparse at all. I meant I would give away fish if I was to decide to reduce the size of the pond. Mike -thanks I think I may be taking a little road trip!! Well I guess Im learning - the whole mess earlier this spring was a wake up call - either take care of the fish properly. Or not, and pay the price. When I started, I thought oh well just replace the fish each spring. But when you have them as pets for 10 or 12 years it kinda changes your outlook. Besides, a few healthy active fish are much more pleasant to look at than a lot of them that are not doing well or lethargic because they are too crowded. Hmmm trickle tower - that could work. My original concept was more like a trickling, gurgling bubbling spring coming out of rocks �-rather than a sheet of water coming over a ledge like a waterfall. Or maybe something like a stack of plastic stacker trays with rocks in them inside a tall bin?

Sounds like something my son would be interested in...what is the brand, etc.? Son has a big pump that runs the filter & two rather big waterfalls but it uses a lot of elect. & waterfalls run too fast & so (in our SW desert climate!)much evaporation so he has to add water frequently. He says it would be hard on his $$ pump to slow it down so think a solar pump to use most of the time would be great! Would keep a hole melted in the ice for gas removel in winter too? We are big solar enthusiasts anyway! Thanks for any info.!

Old links are fine. You would be surprised that most people who want to ask what is essentially a new question like yours, instead post that question on a thread begun on a marginally similar subject from 2005; so thanks. I believe that there are some people who have large ponds who at least read this forum and might be happy to have something to share with a fellow semi-natural large clay pond fan. But I doubt a trash can bedding filter would help you much; it would just get overwhelmed. With minimal knowledge, I would still guess that time might be your friend. I do have a suggestion based on my experience with a small pond that might actually scale up well. I have a pond with a long/small recirculating stream. The stream does almost all of my filtering, and it is almost all I have. If you still have your equipment, I would suggest you create a stream to which you add lots of plants. I have plant clumps of 'sweet flag' that could be the size of a 20 gal pot or more. With a wider stream, you could generate huge root filtering masses that trap huge amounts of silt. I usually remove plants with their crud on occasion, but you could make it deeper than mine and just let the crud build up.

I've done this for years, works fine and is great fun. Plants of this type we generally call marginals, grow up out of the water. The other kinds are floaters and submerged. Marginal comes from these normally seen around the edges of ponds, growing on the banks and into the edges...at the margins. Another term and good place to search for marginal plants types is "vernal pools". I've tried many kinds of plants. I use terms like "crown submerged" which means standing water over the soil, and "wet feet" meaning no drainage holes in pots but no standing water at least most of the time. In all cases I've found so far the less water the better. You see that with all marginals in mud ponds...as the water gets deeper the plants get smaller and smaller as they do less well until the water is so deep they can't grow. The biggest plants are on the banks, out of the water but with roots going down into the water. It's a common misconception that these plants "need" to be in water. I think mainly because plant containers and web site will say plant X - 6" of water. But that's the max recommended depth, not a requirement. This blew my mind when I moved to Phoenix 10 years ago...pond plants are very common in landscapes here...in the desert. Canna, Umbrella and papyrus plants of different kinds, Gaint Reed, Cat's Claw, Ruelia are all very common. Planted as normal garden type plants. The deal is these plants are adapted to being able to survive in water or wet soil. Doesn't mean they like it. But growing these in pots with wet feet has advantages. They get all the water they want all the time and watering is easier. Here in Phoenix the pots themselves need to be shaded else the soil get's in the 120F range and that's problem (they still survive for a long time which is amazing). If you look at vernal pools you see these plants are adapted to living in dry soil for extended periods...like in our desert climate where even watering once a day isn't enough for many plants but marginals can get by. All so far like likes of fertilizer. Potting soil imo is bad...really bad. When wet it can produce too much ammonia. Some ammonia production is good, plants love it, but too much and they die pretty fast. Most growers say the soil is "too hot". I like to use clay soil...more clay the better. Then I can control the amount of ammonia with the type and amount of fertilizer. And clay soil is generally the kind of soil these plants have adapted to anyways. The only plants I've had less luck with are succulents and cactus. They rot pretty fast if their crowns get wet. But many succulents do fine with some degree of wet feet. Haven't tried a lot of cactus because I've seen no advantage...these do fine in normal soil conditions. To take this to the extreme I've grown Mesquite trees and Caesalpinia mexicana from seed in pots with no drainage, not standing water at least for very long, but wet feet for sure. And the roots down at the bottom of the container were thick and healthy looking. Any expert will tell you these will die without great drainage...but that's not true. What's true is that in this environment a lot of kinds of bacteria can grow that these plants are adapted to and at some point can successfully attack and kill the plant. But I grew these trees and shrubs for several years and they grew fast and tall. When transplanted into the garden they continue to grow like any other transplant. Do well with wet feet: Tomato, Iris, Calla Lily, all the taro and elephant ear plants, impatiens. But there isn't a plant I wouldn't try. It seems to just be a matter of what level of water they can take. Many plants don't survive wet soil from seed, or in their dormant state. They need active mature growth to fighter the microbes growing in wet soil. Seeds for example will germinate in water, but if the water isn't changed the microbes will likely overwhelm the young plant. Canna rhizomes can rot in wet soil when the plant isn't growing.