Bought a house with a pond in need of some TLC

[LankBoy]

Hey everyone, I'm brand new to these forums as you can see. I've been researching ponds/equipment for a few weeks now trying to wrap my head around the depth of this hobby and could use some help.

I recently purchased a house with a pond+waterfall in the backyard that the owners were obviously neglecting. He admitted the fish had not eaten in over a year and they were feeding on algae. There was no pump or water movement from the upper bog filter(?) and the water was just sitting for a long time. I've since introduced some new water by jerry-rigging the hose so I could get some water moving. I don't like leaving it run for too long as I'm sure the PH is important and tap water introduces new chemicals to the pond that aren't ideal. There is 1 larger goldfish(?) and 2 smaller ones. I've since bought koi food and have been feeding them a couple times per day.

The big question here is what is the most cost effective pump solution I can come up with? The head height will be around 17 feet with about 10 feet of horizontal travel as it goes up the hill. It fills up a gravel filter at the very top, which empties into the bog below, which then runs down a stream to the waterfall and finally into the fish pond. My concern is that for a pump that's strong enough to pump water up that high, would it risk emptying a fair amount of water from the smaller pond at the bottom? Also, there is a pvc connection left in the lower pond. I'm not quite sure which fittings would work for it (depending on the pump I purchase). I'm including some pictures so you can get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Also, for the bog...are there too many plants? I emptied out quite a few of the tall bamboo looking plants that had died and collected in a pile. I'd imagine it's good how rich in plant life it is, but I don't want them to get choked either.

The owners before the previous owner I purchased the house from were the ones that installed this pond. It's obvious they put a lot of love and attention into it with the amount of stones brought in and flowers planted. It's a shame they sold the house to someone who let it go. I'd love to restore it to it's original glory and have something to be proud of! Thank you to anyone who takes the time to provide some insight to this.

Cheers,
Micah

 

[tbendl]

Welcome @LankBoy
A few things, 1st adding hose water. You need to add a declorinator to the pond if you are going to add water if your water is treated with chlorine. It will kill your fish.
2nd. I have a laguna which I am really happy with but there are many other types, submersible and non. A few things to think about. How large is your pond and how many fish do you have? You will need to add that to your equation in determining pump size. Also is that pipe the feed to the upper bog? It looks awfully small and will restrict the amount of water able to be pushed up to it, which can put extra stress on a pond pump. I can't see the measurement but looks to be in the 1 1/4" range. It might be ok, given the drop you have into the pond, too much water cascading over that edge might result in water loss.
What are the dimension of the pond including depth? It looks like a preform pond at the bottom?
Also do you see any type of a filter?

 

[Mmathis]

Hello,and welcome! Long post, so I'll go back later and read the particulars......

 

[sissy]

hello and welcome and you will need to see if it leaks so taking the fish out and setting them up in a tank of some sort will help you clean and see if every thing in the pond is holding water .Get a water test kit and check out pumps and look at energy efficient ones .If it costs a lot to run a pump it may not be what you want or need .It could raise your electric bill above what you want it to be And like said city water needs treated .The cost of running a pump or it leaking could be why no pump was used .

 

[LankBoy]

@tbendl Thanks for the quick response! I've been adding declorinator each time I add new water to the pond, some was left in the shed by the previous owner. I should have mentioned that in my post. The pond is not very large, it's about 5ftx4ft and 13 inches deep. It should be noted that it's a clover(ish) shape, so it's not a 5x4 square.

I think the pvc is a female fitting that's 1 inch (inner) diameter. I've also been skeptical that it will allow enough water movement but it's my only option right now. I don't think tearing up the stone and installing a new pipe is doable anytime soon. I just want to make sure that I won't be putting too much stress on the pump but that it's powerful enough to move water up almost 20 feet. I don't really mind if it's not a big strong waterfall, I just want water movement for the health of the pond. Now you see why I've reached out to you wonderful people

 

[tbendl]

What is the 6th picture? The water with a pipe in it? Is that in your bog area?
I had my laguna hooked up to a garden hose for a long time. It didn't run up that high but it did run. You might need to consider an above ground pump, for some reason I'm thinking they will have extra "oomph" to get that water up that hill but hopefully some more seasoned resident experts will weigh in.
I would net out the bottom of the pond for sure and you should probably get a water kit and test your water if you have fish.
Where are you located?

 

[LankBoy]

@tbendl So that 6th picture is the very top of the hill where the pvc (in the 1st picture) feeds water from the bottom pond. The pipe runs up to the bottom of the gravel where it's pushed up until it flows over the gravel and into the pipe and down into the waterfall above the bog. (You can see the mossy rock wall above the bog where the water flows) I've looked into above ground pumps and they seem to have the extra power I'll need, just need some insight from the experts.

I've updated my location in my profile also.

When you say I should net out the bottom of the pond, could you be more specific? Thanks for the advice!

 

[j.w]

@LankBoy

 

[LankBoy]

@j.w thanks!

 

[tbendl]

You might have a bunch of detritus that has collected on the bottom of the pond, I would net it out.

 

[LankBoy]

Ahh ok, I thought that's what you meant. I'm pretty sure there's a good amount of muck, would it be a good idea to remove it? Also I'd imagine I should put the fish in a tank while I'm doing it.

@sissy is it possible I wouldn't need a pump? I guess we get enough rain here in SW PA but I'd be worried about the water going stagnant during the dry spells. I know this is a hard question and I've tried researching it myself and there are a lot of variables....what should I expect a pump to cost each month? I know there was a timer left by the pond so I could run it on a schedule to minimize the cost.

 

[tbendl]

You will need a pump and a filter. And if you have fish, it really needs to run 24/7. I run 2 pumps and the cost is negligible, a few extra dollars a month but most pumps will show kilowatts used so you can determine how much energy they will use.
If you choose to rehome the fish, you can then run your waterfall whenever you want and leave it off when you want. You can add some mosquito dunks so your water doesn't attract mosquitos while the water isn't moving.
You also won't need a filter, your small bog and plants should keep the water clear.
If you can muck out the pond in a short period of time (less than an hour), moving fish with some of the existing pond water should be fine but you really should have a pump to oxygenate the water while they are in a bucket. How many fish and what size do you estimate you have?

 

[AJ1500]

Wow it looks like a lot of time and expense was put into building that waterfall. that is beautiful design
I am a bit surprised to see a preform sitting at the bottom though. I sure hope your able to get it going
I think I would cap off the pipe at the bottom then fill it with water and let it sit a day or to verify it doesn't leak inside the wall. you can always run a new hose from a pump up the side of the waterfall opposite the stairs and hide it in the ground if needed
so no need to think about tearing into the waterfall
that looks like one of the pre forms I had, if so it's 160 gal.
good luck, I know there are great people here that will shoot you straight and get you going on the right path

 

[sissy]

In PA you have to consider freezing and keeping a hole open in the ice and exterior pump willl need to be taken in .I wonder if the pipe is OK or does it leak .To net it just get a swimming pool net and maybe a smaller net .Looking around at the foliage there may be a lot of stuff in the bottom of the pond and that is why the fish may need to be moved out of the pond while cleaning it or it could kill them .yep looks like a preformed .

 

[LankBoy]

@tbendl Ok that sounds reasonable, I'd like to keep the fish and I found a small aerator pump in the shed I could put in the bucket while I'm cleaning it out. According to AJ it's 160 gal, that seems correct with the dimensions of the pond. There are 3 fish, 1 large one about 10-11 in, and 2 smaller about 6-7 in.

@AJ1500 I know right? This thing really impressed me when I bought the house and I want to make it awesome again. I was worried the bog was leaking but it's held water for days without pumping up water with the hose. There doesn't seem to be any leaks. If running a new hose around the stone would be a solution, I imagine I'd need to dig out the gravel and check that situation out. It definitely holds water so there must be a liner that doesn't leak....I'd just need to run the new hose into the bottom underneath the stones.

@sissy the pipe delivers water up top, but I'm not sure how to test for leaks. The pipe discharges underneath those rocks so I could dig it out and cap the bottom once it's full and check if the water level drops beneath the outlet or something. I'd imagine the entire pond freezes....the previous owner said the fish just froze with the water until the winter was over....(this seems dangerous to me...but he said they were there for 6 years!)

Would someone recommend a pump? I've looked at these but I'm not sure if they'd be excessive/inadequate..

https://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Koi-..._rd_wg=xqpcu&refRID=PVTZQ28XHSFJK9VB138V&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Cyclo...8&qid=1497454969&sr=8-26&keywords=alpine+pump