40 replies to this topic

[Mrshkoiluver]

After scanning through all the post's I have not seen any information about this. I don't have a bottom drain so I do weekly water changes by vacumming with a pond vac 3 to get the poop and debris off the bottom. I am very meticulus about doing this as I do have rocks on the bottom that are sparsley laid. We have an autofill valve installed so my water is replenished through my r/o system as well as retopping for evaporation. This is my first winter with fish in the pond so my question is: Is it okay to continue to do 10% water changes on a weekly basis? I want to keep the bottom of the pond as fresh as possible. I will also be using a submersible pump for draining so I don't scare the fish. We don't freeze over very long so the water stays open pretty much all winter but it does get below 40* F.

Edited by Mrshkoiluver, 09 November 2009 - 12:46 AM.

[DrDave]

If you are as meticulous as you claim in keeping the bottom clean, then the water exchanges are not as necessary as those who don't keep their bottoms clean.

Water exchanges are still needed, but not as much. Post some photos when you can.

[koikeepr]

i agree with the doc. In winter, since feeding is non-existent for most, cleaning is not necessary and you can hold off on water changes until spring.. Is is possible to get those rocks out of the water?? It wold certainly be better than having to vacuum each week. Most on this site do no have bottom drains...

I've got the same pondvac 3, but only use it when I open the pond in spring to clean out my after-winter debris. I don't ever get any muck during the regular season to clean...

[PondLinerGuy]

Since you have fish in your pond, it's a good idea to put some leaf netting over the pond for the season. It'll keep all the toxins out of the water that are caused by the decaying leaves. It's a good way to protect against predators, too.

[oldmarine]

So far I haven't had to cover my pond with a net for the winter. My pond is far enough away from the neighbors trees to avoid leaves falling into my pond. I might get a leaf here & there from high winds, but I reach in with one of those as seen on TV grippers and pick the leaves out of my pond.

[Mrshkoiluver]

I am very miticulous, and that is why I don't have muck. We have put netting over the pond but were a little late in doing so. The leaves were all taken out but my water still has a slight brown tinge. It used to be really dark but with some charcol and water changes it looks pretty good. Next year we will get the net on earlier. As I stated in a different thread we are working at taking the rocks out of the pond. Already have the itch for pond expansion and will be doing that in 2 years so some rock will stay until then. Thanks for the suggestions.

[oldmarine]

I guess you could say that I'm a bit miticulous about keeping the leaves and other matter out of my pond also. Unless I'm out of town, my pond gets checked several times a day. From reading all of the postings here, I am noticing that having a 365 gallon pond is much easier to keep clean than a much larger pond. I would much rather have a 1500 gallon pond or bigger, but my yard just does not allow me the pleasure of planning on an upgrade to my dream pond. Some day I'll have that big piece of property with the space to build the pond I've always wanted.

[Mrshkoiluver]

I don't mind doing the vacumming. I get the water change at the same time. If you keep up with it, it's not bad at all. I really screwed up and did not get my leaf netting up on time. That was the hardest. Getting all the leaves out. I also had plant debris and I am slowly getting all of my plants done with a soilless planting method.

[koiguy1969]

And what media will you be planting in when going soiless?

[Mrshkoiluver]

koiguy1969 said:

And what media will you be planting in when going soiless?

The media I use is the Pond Care Aquatic Planting Media. I use this and lots of round river rock in larger pieces. This can be done with Lillys as well. Some plants it does not work with.
I already have done a bunch of plants and it works great. I use the baskets and then I use put landscaping fabric in to hold the smaller planting media and keep it from going through the little holes. The nice thing about this method is that if the basket does get tipped only the rocks or the small gravel come out and your pond does'nt get clouded up from the dirt. All you need to do is vaccum up the small gravel. Some people just use pea gravel and larger rock. It also does not take much of the small gravel. You use more of the larger rocks. Hth. Also no need to fertilize as the plant takes the nutrients it needs from the water.

[koiguy1969]

pea gravel is all i use... and its cheap!! and can be used with all aquatic plants... my lillies, my mints, my iris' are all in pea gravel, and my lettuce and hiacynths are in floatind planter cages so my koi cant eat the roots.. my plants grow huge lush and deep rich green... i never ferilize as you'll notice if you read my posts...i am against artificial fertilizer.

[Mrshkoiluver]

koiguy1969 said:

pea gravel is all i use... and its cheap!! and can be used with all aquatic plants... my lillies, my mints, my iris' are all in pea gravel, and my lettuce and hiacynths are in floatind planter cages so my koi cant eat the roots.. my plants grow huge lush and deep rich green... i never ferilize as you'll notice if you read my posts...i am against artificial fertilizer.

Isn't it great. I don't like to use fertilizers either and I would buy fish fertilizer for my house plants. Now I just need pond water!

[oldmarine]

We water all of our potted plants, inside and out with pond water. Never had healthier house plants.

[koikeepr]

oldmarine said:

We water all of our potted plants, inside and out with pond water. Never had healthier house plants.

Ditto! I water the plants with pond water too, and it is terrific for plants. HOWEVER, if you are using salt in your pond water at any particular time, avoid using it as it can kill a plant. I only salt when necessary, so most of the time my pond water is salt free and good for plants.

[koiguy1969]

i water my plants with pond water and i maintain a salt level in my pond at all times if you salt for a pond without plants then i would avoid watering with the ponds water but if your pond has plants and your only salting to .15% or less then no problem. but doubling that for a plantless pond i agree!!
.15% or less has no ill affects on water plants, why would it kill ground plants?