Pond Help

[Berleaf62]

Hello again,
I started a new job as a maintenance manager for a home of adults with disabilities and on the property is a koi/gold fish pond in need of help.
The pond is around 18' long x 6' wide and 2' deep. I put in a 4200 GPH pump that is used for a wall fall.
I don't know if this matters but I try to located the pump in the middle of the pond, so that it circulates the water.
I can't give you an exact count on fish, but I'd say between 20-30, with the largest being around 7" to 8" long.
There is two cattail plants and we did have some water hyacinth's floating.
My problem is, I cannot get the water clean.
We cannot afford filters so is there something that I can do that is relatively cheap to help get the water "cleaner"?
When I say cleaner, the water is normally cloudy but you can still see the fish swimming around, mainly when it's time to feed them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. The residents love to come down and visit the pond and they even take turns feeding them.
Thank you

 

[Pablo]

Hi, hope we all can help you get this cleaned up. My first thoughts are that you probably have too many fish for that size pond, depends greatly if you meant 20-30 koi or goldfish, if it is 20-30 koi then you have a big problem because you would need a lot of filtration for that. Is the pond lined and rocked in?
You will see most of us on this forum use a bog to filter the water, but it sounds like you might not be able to do that. Then you are left with biofalls and you would have to maintain filters, I have no experience with that so someone else can help you with that. Plants help greatly to clean up water but they cannot do it alone. You will also need to test the water to see what might be causing the cloudy water and whether you need further treatments.
Pictures help for people to see what you are dealing with.

 

[j.w]

Hello again,
I started a new job as a maintenance manager for a home of adults with disabilities and on the property is a koi/gold fish pond in need of help.
The pond is around 18' long x 6' wide and 2' deep. I put in a 4200 GPH pump that is used for a wall fall.
I don't know if this matters but I try to located the pump in the middle of the pond, so that it circulates the water.
I can't give you an exact count on fish, but I'd say between 20-30, with the largest being around 7" to 8" long.
There is two cattail plants and we did have some water hyacinth's floating.
My problem is, I cannot get the water clean.
We cannot afford filters so is there something that I can do that is relatively cheap to help get the water "cleaner"?
When I say cleaner, the water is normally cloudy but you can still see the fish swimming around, mainly when it's time to feed them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. The residents love to come down and visit the pond and they even take turns feeding them.
Thank you

If you really cannot afford a filter you can make your own out of a big plastic plant pot, the bigger the better. Has to have at least holes in the bottom for pond water to run back into the pond. You set it on the side of the top of your pond. fill it w/media like Matala is what I use. put your hose from your pump so it runs at the top of the pot and dirty water runs down and gets filtered and back into pond. When water starts to clog and run over the top of pot it is time to clean out the media. Lay it on the grass or cement and hose it off and put it clean back into the pot and do this forever,lol! You will need to buy another pump, a smaller one I as you don't want a powerful surge of water, just a medium flow so it just flows easy through the media.

Looks something like this that I have:

Filter media, I like the green as it does not have as small of holes as the black and does not clog too fast:

I lay the circles of media on top of each other and then put curved pieces all around the side. The more media the more it catches the muck.

 

[GBBUDD]

Agreed start with finding half the fish new homes if you have little to no filter KOi are out! and goldfish no more than 10 as they will continue to multiply. as to a filter go to market place i have seen filter after filter go up for sale. and for next to no money. water changes are something we don't strive for but again no filter water changes are your friend

 

[Lisak1]

All good suggestions for DIY filters! Even quilt batting in a big plastic trash can with a small pump to pump water into the top and a way for the water to flow back into the pond from the bottom will work wonders to clear the water. It won't look pretty, but there are lots of ways to disguise things that are useful but don't look great in a garden.

I would also suggest adding plants, if the pond doesn't already have them. Plants have a way of pulling all the dirt and debris to form their own root balls... it's really rather amazing. You can even add watercress if you have some shallower areas - the roots of this plant are an incredible filter. Go to the grocery store and find yourself a bundle of watercress and stick it in the pond - watch the magic happen. Be prepared to yank it out by the armful as it grows - and all the dirt that is trapped in the roots will come along with it.

We just moved my mom into an assisted living facility and I can just imagine how much joy the residents would get out of a pond - you're doing a great thing if you can make that pond prettier and more enjoyable for the folks you serve!

 

[Berleaf62]

Thank you for all the advice. We are going to attempt to make the filter that J.W gave instructions for.
Question about the Matala, which density would be good for this application, low, medium or high density?
We do have some extra pumps to use. Can I add a ball valve to the outlet of the pump to help get the flow that we want, or do these pumps have an issue with shutting down the flow?
Also, as for the type of fish, it's a mixture, but I'd have to say more gold fish than koi.

(Sorry, I did see that J.W stated the green media.....thank you)

 

[j.w]

Thank you for all the advice. We are going to attempt to make the filter that J.W gave instructions for.
Question about the Matala, which density would be good for this application, low, medium or high density?
We do have some extra pumps to use. Can I add a ball valve to the outlet of the pump to help get the flow that we want, or do these pumps have an issue with shutting down the flow?
Also, as for the type of fish, it's a mixture, but I'd have to say more gold fish than koi.

(Sorry, I did see that J.W stated the green media.....thank you)

If you use the smaller holed media it will just clog up faster and the green works great for me. I don't know about the ball valve. I just use a small pump 700 gph like this one. https://www.amazon.com/Pondmaster-Magnetic-Drive-Pump-Black/dp/B000BJK3QQ?th=1:

 

[j.w]

You can use quilt batting but it is a lot more work having to clean it all the time, I mean like everyday sometimes!

 

[Berleaf62]

We have a Danner pump, model 7, which is 700 GPH. I was going to use this pump for the filter and it appears it's what you are using as well. I just need to come up with a filter for the inlet, which shouldn't be a problem.
Thanks again

 

[GBBUDD]

You can use quilt batting but it is a lot more work having to clean it all the time, I mean like everyday sometimes!

YEAH BUT IF HE HS GREEN WATER OR EVEN VERY MILKY WATER MATALA M,ATS ARE PROBABLY TO COURSE TO HELP. The filter floss for a while is the best bet along with water changes but i also suggest posting some pictures

 

[Berleaf62]

I'll post some pictures on Monday thank you

 

[j.w]

YEAH BUT IF HE HS GREEN WATER OR EVEN VERY MILKY WATER MATALA M,ATS ARE PROBABLY TO COURSE TO HELP. The filter floss for a while is the best bet along with water changes but i also suggest posting some pictures

The upholstery fabric can be used any time you want fine stuff removed and the other filter using the Matala can be used 24/7 to keep the larger gunk corralled. I don't clean the Matala one in my pond maybe twice a year. The fabric one can be a daily cleaning but it really does help w/the fine stuff, just a lot of cleaning.

 

[Berleaf62]

Here's a picture of the pond. If you look in the one corner is the filter that I made. I had to use some tubing to send the water back into the pond because I couldn't find a flat area to sit the filter on. I purchased some green Martala and have two pieces on top of a thin fabric/charcoal type filter material.
Right now the water is cloudy and I can't see the fish which worries me.
The pump for the filter is 700 GPH and the waterfall pump is 4500 GPH. I talked to an employee at our local pet store, That Pet Place/ That Fish Place and he said I should have more than enough water flow for that size pond. I told him that I have between 20-30 koi/ goldfish and he didn't seem to be concerned as much as I was.

 

[Pablo]

Unfortunately Employees at Pet Stores are in the business of selling more fish, no offense to them as they are doing their job. But that many fish in a small pond with little filtration is just begging for trouble as we mentioned before. I know cost is a factor, I dont see how you solve this without reducing the number of fish you have in there. Have you tested the water?

 

[Berleaf62]

I haven't tested the water and right now I can't see the fish to even try to remove some....