30% Water Changes Weekly?

[Jason]

I do around 30% water changes weekly in my small pond, I get in the pond and hold a Hose with nozzle on "Jet" and stir the sides behind rocks and around pumps (since that's where most debris goes) and then put my filter to "Backflush" and empty the 30% water and then add the same after I water my plants and get the bad stuff out of the hose line, then add the amount of Conditioner to the water that's recommended. Im wondering if this is ok since I have a small pond and treat it more like an Aquarium then a self established pond? are there any downsides to this, it seems to work so far? Thanks for all your help :biggrin:

 

[Dave 54]

Jason do that to your filter and you are in effect killing what good bacteria it has off.
We ourselves do a 30% waterchange on our own 1,000 gallon imperial pond on a weekly basis but the only bit of our four chambered filtration to get a wash through is the vortex which is where all the detritus ends up then by flushing the bottom drain through it twice clear both it and the vortex creating the 30% waterchange at the sametime.
Did you know that you can buy dechlorination units to fit on your hose negating the use of the dechlorination liquid thus saving you money ?

rgrds

Dave

 

[Jason]

The problem is, Is my back flush does not clean the Pads and only runs light brown for a few seconds before the backflush water is clear again? Am I not supposed to rinse the pads? Can I pick up one of those units at HD or Lowes? Thanks Dave!

 

[Mmathis]

Newbie, here, too, but could you use some pond water [or have a bucket set aside with aged water...] to clean the filters? I flush my SKIPPY, but for the smaller, removable filters (like in my floating skimmer, and filter boxes), I dunk and swish them in a bucket of pond water -- then use that to water plants. And as Dave mentioned, I recently bought an in-line dechlorinator cartridge (AMAZON for around $30-some odd dollars). It attaches directly to the water hose and is good for about 20,000 gals. With your small pond, it would last you forever! Just be sure to check if your water has chloramines or just chlorine so you'd know which one to get.

I would not be disturbing the pond every time -- that can't be good! Do you really have that much crud that it needs cleaning every week? And as you know, most here don't advocate using rocks. They trap crud (as you are finding out) and they take up space. Are you checking your water parameters before you do all this?

Is your filter big enough for your fish-load? I seem to recall that you recently did a filter upgrade, but then you added some more fish. And smaller quantities of water do require more attention.

 

[koiguy1969]

are your water parameter readings warranting a 30% water change? Dave 54 has a dedicated koi pond (no plants to use nutrients) so larger water changes are far more of a requirement to his pond and fish. and is your pump undersized for your filter for a good backflush. pressure filters can operate fine with a slower flow in filter mode, but a good backflush requires a higher flow rate. when you backflush your running the water thru in reverse flow. the lower flow in filter mode allows the pads to catch debris rather than getting sucked or pushed thru. that same flow rate isnt all that effective in the removal of the debris. where as a high flow rate can accomplish it much more effectively. i would consider using a prefilter, this could help end the ineffective backflushing as well. a prefilter goes before your pump, or on its intake. catching debris before they even hit the pump. fish poop that gets into the pump is pureed and sent to the filter to build up and clog. and it doesnt matter if its in the pond, or the filter. its gonna break down and and put ammonias etc into the water volume. just looked at your pics...not much for plants in there...more would help any water quality issues as well.

 

[Mmathis]

KOIGUY, looks like you and I were posting at about the same time.

 

[koiguy1969]

i'm a poor man... i cant afford the 30% weekly water changes.our water bills are already outrageous. not that i ever saw a need for one. my pond is only 1200gals i keep 6 fish in the 20" range. go thru about a 1/2 cup of food a day. until july, when i'll add in maybe 200 of the years fry at between1/2" to 1&1/2". i maintain excellent clarity and water quality. and my water changes consist of a 70 gal filter flush every 2 weeks, and 3 minutes of hose time every morning as i drink a cup of coffe at ponds edge. i use a trigger sprayer on the "shower" seting. this setting is like a nice rain shower. i hold it so it showers over the entire pond. this breaks the surface tension of the pond water surface thru out the pond.. and doesnt give the fish an incoming current to be drawn to. again i use prefilters, so my filter doesnt get the build up of gunk and debris. my media stays cleaner and thusly the filter remains more efficient. i have timed the filling of a 5 gal bucket with the trigger sprayer ...45 seconds so my pond gets about 15 - 20gals a day...or about a 10% waterchange weekly. my 800 gal basement pond gets a 15% weekly rate on a continuous drip setup. and an extra 55 gal change every 10 days...with the same fish load, but lighter feedings
been doing this for years now... i have yet to have to treat either pond or even a single fish for any health issues. i dont profess to know it all, and i know that what works for one pond wont neccessarily do a thing for another. i can only convey what has served me well. if i should ever experience a problem with my techniques i'll consider altering or adjusting them.

 

[koiguy1969]

Jason... your pond is what, 500 gals . if it were me, i'd get a 55 gal poly barrel. pump it full from the pond and mark the liner at the waters surface. then when i backflush the filter to do a waterchange, i'd do it down to that mark. keep the barrel full of water, put a garden hose adapter and ball valve at the bottm of the barrel. the water will sit in the barrel for days between waterchanges, and be safe to refill the pond with. make a screen lid for the barrel to keep misquitoes down and still ALLOW FOR THE CHLORINE AND AMMONIA GASES TO ESCAPE.
(chloramines are simply a mix of chlorine and ammonia gases)
you could add a $5.00 air pump and stone to the barrel to accellerate the gas exchange and add water to the pond with a higher O2 level a well.

 

[JohnHuff]

I have a 800g pond, and 55g and 29g tanks indoors. Both my tanks and my pond have plenty of plants, media and beneficial bacteria in them and I suppose all are slightly overstocked. I used to do fairly often water changes, but now I only do them about once a month.

The pond I'm not too worried about since I've had that for years and it's heavily planted. I really only do water changes when the mechanical filters get clogged up. I can tell that when the waterfall volume decreases and when that happens, I pull up all 4 pre-filters and give them a good hosing with tap water and then I drain and add regular tap water back into the pond.

The 2 indoor tanks I've had for about a year. I used to do weekly water changes but I've found that the fish don't really like it and I don't like disturbing the tanks much either. My 55g tank was my first and I added 2 homemade filters with enough media for a 200g tank but now I realize that plants are the key. People say that they're only good for nitrate conversion but beneficial bacteria live on the roots of all these plants which convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrates, which is what happens in nature.

 

[Jason]

Ok, I have some brainstorming to do from these replies! This weekend I will take some pictures and see what I can come up with!