not sure about this pond vacuum thingy

[lenny jewell]

i went to a pet store and they suggest i vacuum the scum from the gravel/rocks below , it seems a pretty drawn out process , i have just bought a filter , is the vacuuming really needed , after all its a goldfish pond not an aquarium

 

[fishin4cars]

Do you gravel vac. your aquarium? If so, you see what all is sucked out? getting that out of the system will improve the pond, Bottom drains are what newer pond builders suggest, they are highly functional and very effective, pond vacs are more labor intense but do work and help.

 

[vertigo72]

There is a much easier solution: remove those rocks.

 

[fishin4cars]

There is a much easier solution: remove those rocks.

dang I over looked that! yea remove the rocks and gravel but then they might need the vac to get all that muck out....

 

[j.w]

I love rocks but they just don't always work in the bottom of a pond unless you have a compulsion for taking them out one by one and cleaning the bottom and then putting them back in one by tedious one...............not my idea of a good time

 

[lenny jewell]

ok first thing tomorrow i will remove the dang rocks , and oh i thought it was such a good idea ,...... the pond filter seems to be working great , i can almost see the bottom of the pond now ... i am hoping that removing the rocks and cleaning out muck will add to the clarity , its way too hot now ... 97 degrees for those in the uk about 40 or so

 

[lenny jewell]

by the way will i still need this vacuum or can it be done by hand

 

[addy1]

ok first thing tomorrow i will remove the dang rocks , and oh i thought it was such a good idea ,...... the pond filter seems to be working great , i can almost see the bottom of the pond now ... i am hoping that removing the rocks and cleaning out muck will add to the clarity , its way too hot now ... 97 degrees for those in the uk about 40 or so

I had rocks on the bottom of my first pond. One day decided to clean it out and omg the stink was unreal. Last pond ever with rocks on the bottom, well unless one falls in now and then.

I love rocks, but after a while you can't even see them, with dirt, algae and etc that does collect your bottom will look very natural.

 

[j.w]

For a 50 gal pond I would just use a net to scoop out any debris or muck now and then. You don't need a vacuum IMHO
Do slight water changes each week and add de-chlorinater as directed on bottle. Get lots of plants and only add a few small fish to start your cycle

 

[addy1]

Without the rocks your fish will have more water also. Rocks do take up some space.

 

[taherrmann4]

If you take out the rocks and still think you need to vac out the bottom, you could probably use a wet vac on that size pond.

 

[UT_Bruce]

The stink is from bacteria releasing gases that are getting caught up in the bottom muck. My suggestion: if you have a wet shop vac, or know someone who does, use that. Or just scoop it out. Is there a liner under those rocks by chance?

I'm not a proponent of regular weekly water changes. From a sustainability angle, it's wasteful. Plus every time you change the water, you are potentially introducing stressors to the fish and creating a biological imbalance that indigenous bacteria usually can't keep up with. If you must do a water exchange make sure it's less than 10% of the total volume, or make sure it's pretreated first.

We typically recommend a springtime water exchange of 20-30% but let the bacteria handle the nutrient load throughout spring/summer, unless of course things get too far out of balance. Of course, this depends entirely on how effective your biological filtration/indigenous bacteria are working. PM me for more info if you run into snags.

 

[koidaddy]

Skip the vac thingy. I thought about getting one myself and the more I researched the more it wasn't worth the $$. Get the pebbles out for sure and then try to run a bottom drain. This can be done with 2"pvc painted flat black with a 8" pvc drain plumbed into the pond. This way you dont have to cut your liner or drain the pond. All I do is brush the bottom if needed toward the drain. You would be amazed at what is under your rock. I also like to filter out the solids before the water goes into any bog as it will have the same affect(catch fish waste).

 

[UT_Bruce]

Rent one from a tool rental place. Probably very cheap, and if you keep up with maintenance, you may never have to do it again. :surfing:

 

[DrDave]

That is a great idea!

Rent one from a tool rental place. Probably very cheap, and if you keep up with maintenance, you may never have to do it again. :surfing: