Cleaning debris with laguana hoover

[Bat]

I have just vacumed the bottom of my pond with the laguana hoover to suck up some leaves and debris, obviously the water has clouded because of all the disturbance.....how long will it take for the pond to bcome clear again as it was before i started......my filtration system is a good one so will this make it quicker.

simon

 

[lfreem]

couple of hours and it will be fine once it all settles. When you stir up the bottom that way, it also can send your filter into overdrive and it can quickly get filled/clogged. Make sure to take a peek in there and clean up too.

 

[DrCase]

I have better luck with a shop vac..
less disturbance

 

[BBK]

You just suck the bottom with a wet/dry shop vac?

 

[DrCase]

I suck it up untill the vac fills up , then i dump it and go again,,, water stays clear if you go easy

 

[lfreem]

If you use a made-for-pond vac, you don't have to stop and dump. It will do that automatically. BUT they are way more expensive than a shop vac. I have two very large ponds, so it is worth it for me to have an Oase Pondvac. I couldn't imagine opening and dumping over and over. But many folks do magical things with the shop vac, and some brilliant DIY ponders have even rigged up shopvacs in fascinating ways to act more like your hoover.

I really only use mine twice per year--in the early spring when I re-open the pond and in late summer.

Anyway, you already own your hoover, and I'm sure want to keep on using it. You just move gently around with it in the water, then let any floating debris settle, which can take several hours. When the water begins to clear up a bit, just clear out your pump (I'm assuming you're using a submersible) and rinse your filter media/sponges (of course, you would do this using clean pond water and not just water straight from the tap--otherwise you kill the good bacteria that has built up).

Happy cleaning!

 

[FredrikAnderson]

So if I have filled my pond from my tap a while ago but haven't got around to adding something for the chlorine but I did add my Microbe-Lift Jel to my filter, I just killed all my good bacteria?:banghead3:
Is there still time or do I have to get more Microbe-Lift Jel?

 

[lfreem]

You don't specify how long the water has been there, and if you've had your filter running the whole time?

Generally it can take a good 8-10 weeks to get a good bacteria load going. You've added the gel, so you should have things going for you.

What I was trying to say, is that whenever you wash out your filter media/sponges, you need to use clean pond water--don't just spray it with a hose. All the good bacteria is sitting on that media. you will kill it and have to cycle all over again. What I do is that I grab a 5 gallon bucket and scoop up water from pond. I then yank out my filter media and stick it in there and rub and scrub away. You're just trying to get out the thick, gooky stuff. It's never gonna look as good as new again. Then you put it back in your filter when you're done.

Now, when it comes time to replace your filter media because it's just falling apart on you, don't change it all at once. For example, my filter has three huge filter sponges. I will change them one at a time over the course of two months. In other words, you throw out one and keep the other two old ones in there. Several weeks later, you replace another one, and so on. If you throw out all your filter media at once and replace it new, then you've just thrown away all the good bacteria and have to cycle for 8-10 weeks all over again. And of course, you risk upsetting your pond chemistry, etc.

Separately, when you add new water--you will need to dechlorinate it yes.

 

[FredrikAnderson]

Well I am just getting started. I have had the water in there for only about 4 days before I put the bacteria onto my media. I have been running the filter now for like 3-4 days. Kind of forgot the chlorine in the water to start with and now I am wondering if I should start over with the bacteria.

 

[BBK]

chloramine kills bacteria.

 

[lfreem]

Well I am just getting started. I have had the water in there for only about 4 days before I put the bacteria onto my media. I have been running the filter now for like 3-4 days. Kind of forgot the chlorine in the water to start with and now I am wondering if I should start over with the bacteria.

Well, you kind of did go backwards. You treat your water first, then put the bacteria gel in. The previous poster was correct in saying that chlorine will harm bacteria.

I would get more bacteria and also simply go to your local aquarium shop or Petsmart and go to the aisle with the fresh water conditioners. You will find lots of 'em like this one, for example. They all work about the same way, and buy whatever your wallet can tolerate. But, make sure you condition the water FIRST, then add the bacteria second. I would give the conditioner a day to cycle through your filter and take effect and add the bacteria the next day.

Calculate what the gallonage is your pond and then pour in the appropriate amount to use right into your pond. In the future, every time you add water, you need to figure out how much you've roughly added and put more water conditioner into it. If you have a small pond, you might be able to get a 5 gallon bucket and use that to pour your water in and will give you a measuring device.

If I were you, I would let the water cycle at least another 2-3 weeks after adding the gel. You should buy some water test strips while at the pet store to get a good read on your water. If it looks good, then I'd buy two cheap feeder goldfish at the petstore. They are usually around 27 cents, and these test fish are called "canaries" in the fish world, because you are using them to see if your pond is safe enough to sustain fish yet (same way coal miners tossed canary birds in a mine before they went in...to make sure there was oxygen. If the canaries died, the miners did not go in).

If your water looks good and those two fish survive, you can begin to slowly introduce fish to the pond. I would not buy them all at once. Maybe try one every week of two. I usually quarantine my fish for 3 weeks in a separate tank, but I'm not sure if you have the capacity to do this. If you are unable to do this, I would go slow with the introduction of each of your fish and make sure you take a good look at them up close before you buy to ensure they don't have white spots, body/fin damages, etc. Have patience. I know that you probably want the instant effect of a stocked pond--but taking things slowly will guarantee you success and some live fish.

You don't mention how big your pond is, or what type of fish you are aiming to get. If you give us that info, we might be able to make some suggestions.

Tell us your gallons, length, width and depth.

 

[BBK]

You don't need to start all over. You simply go to your local aquarium shop or Petsmart and go to aisle with the fresh water conditioners. You will find lots of 'em like this one, for example. They all work about the same way, and buy whatever your wallet can tolerate.

Now, you simply need to calculate what the gallonage is your pond and then add the appropriate amount to use. Every time you add water, you need to figure out how much you've roughly added and put more water conditioner into it. If you have a small pond, you might be able to get a 5 gallon bucket and use that to pour your water in and will give you a measuring device.

If I were you, I would let the water cycle at least another 2-3 weeks since you've added the gel. You should buy some water test strips while at the pet store to get a good read on your water. If it looks good, then I'd buy two cheap feeder goldfish at the petstore. They are usually around 27 cents, and these test fish are called "canaries" in the fish world, because you are using them to see if your pond is safe enough to sustain fish yet (same way coal miners tossed canary birds in a mine before they went in...to make sure there was oxygen. If the canaries died, the miners did not go in).

If your water looks good and those two fish survive, you can begin to slowly introduce fish to the pond. I would not buy them all at once. Maybe try one every week of two. I usually quarantine my fish for 3 weeks in a separate tank, but I'm not sure if you have the capacity to do this. If you are unable to do this, I would go slow with the introduction of each of your fish and make sure you take a good look at them up close before you buy to ensure they don't have white spots, body/fin damages, etc. Have patience. I know that you probably want the instant effect of a stocked pond--but taking things slowly will guarantee you success and some live fish.

You don't mention how big your pond is, or what type of fish you are aiming to get. If you give us that info, we might be able to make some suggestions.

Tell us your gallons, length, width and depth.

There is so much wrong with this I don't even know where to start.

1: The chlorimine in the water has killed any bacteria you have so you will have to start over.
2: Don't use top fin water declor, its a waste of money. I suggest seachem prime.
3: Water will not "cycle" unless there is a stable source of ammonia to be converted into ammonium and then to nitrite. Without fish or ammonia drops, the water will never "cycle" and your bacteria will never grow. Letting it sit for 2-3 weeks will do nothing but make the water stagnant.
4:water test strips are completely useless, they are inaccurate and simply fail 80% of the time. Get an API master test kit (LIQUID).
5: no fish are a canary of the pet world. I have never heard of that in my 10 + years of fish keeping and 4 years of working at a fish store. All fish are living animals and should not be put through the torture of ammonia posioning.
6: 2 feeder goldfish could never produce enough ammonia to cycle a pond for anything bigger than them.


I highly suggest you read up on "fishless cycling" You will get all the information you need. If you have any questions you can PM me.

 

[lfreem]

There is so much wrong with this I don't even know where to start.

1: The chlorimine in the water has killed any bacteria you have so you will have to start over.
2: Don't use top fin water declor, its a waste of money. I suggest seachem prime.
3: Water will not "cycle" unless there is a stable source of ammonia to be converted into ammonium and then to nitrite. Without fish or ammonia drops, the water will never "cycle" and your bacteria will never grow. Letting it sit for 2-3 weeks will do nothing but make the water stagnant.
4:water test strips are completely useless, they are inaccurate and simply fail 80% of the time. Get an API master test kit (LIQUID).
5: no fish are a canary of the pet world. I have never heard of that in my 10 + years of fish keeping and 4 years of working at a fish store. All fish are living animals and should not be put through the torture of ammonia posioning.
6: 2 feeder goldfish could never produce enough ammonia to cycle a pond for anything bigger than them.


I highly suggest you read up on "fishless cycling" You will get all the information you need. If you have any questions you can PM me.

1) Clearly you did not read what I wrote. I told him that he has killed his bacteria and needs to start over with new bacteria and de-chlor his water.

2) I did not tell him to buy that product, I showed it as an example and that he should buy something like that.

3) I never said to just let the water "sit there." His filtration and all else should be functioning. Personally, I am not a fan of using the bacteria gels and I prefer to let the bacteria naturally grow, but some folks want to do it the quickie way by using these products.

4) I respectfully disagree with you about the strips. I have been using them for 30 years. But yes, liquid testers or strips would be good. I'm just alerting him to please test.

5) Since you bring up your experience, mine is 30 years of fishkeeping, with 10 years in aquarium shops. I did not tell him to introduce to fish to the pond UNTIL the water was completely stable. Chlor free, cycled, with good numbers on his testing, etc. Do you expect him to just buy an expensive fish and throw it in there and possibly lose it? No one wants to lose any fish, not even the canary. I still have mine. And I'm sorry you haven't heard of using a fish as a canary. For example, with saltwater tanks, folks tend to use a cheap clown fish as the canary. (Like my husband like to say, just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist).

6) I do not know the size/gallonage of his pond, which is why I am asking him the question.

 

[BBK]

I expect him to do a fishless cycle. If your a true aquariest you would know that a fishless cycle is the safest and most productive way to cycle. This involves liquid pure ammonia, not bacteria gels.

 

[BBK]

I suck it up untill the vac fills up , then i dump it and go again,,, water stays clear if you go easy

And that doesn't hurt the vac at all?

How much water does it suck up at a time? In other words, would I be sucking up half my pond to clean the bottom with it?