Cleaning the bottom

Joined
Apr 8, 2008
Messages
471
Reaction score
15
Location
Kokomo,Indiana
Any idea on how to clean the bottom without totally draining it? I'm not sure what it is, but it is really fine and the fish can "kick" it up if they take off quickly. I really don't want to drain the whole this. Gets expensive on city water :(
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
You could vacuum it, if not too deep a shop vac works. Also slowly sweep towards your drain.
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
try a muck vac, it will help clean that up and do small water changes at the same time. you really don't wan't to drain it and clean it completely. It isn't good for the fish or the pond system to do that.
 

koiguy1969

GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
10,587
Reaction score
6,408
Location
Michigan zone 5b
if you have an extra pump around....let it draw in the "silt" and return the water to the pond thru a fines filter...a hose runs from the pump up and dumps into a storage tote or 5 gallon bucet etc.. full of quilt batting and / or a layer of foam such as egg crate foam. you raise the media up a couple inches on a grate and a simple hole at the containers bottom with a short piece of hose or pipe as a pond return.
its always nice to have a fines filter to run for a couple days at a time occasionally to keep that water looking great.

I have a mucvac i'll let go for $40.00 plus shipping if your interested.
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Messages
147
Reaction score
2
Location
Genesee Depot, WI
Probably dead algae, dirt from plants and other decay. I use a shopvac on all my ponds I use the small crevice tool as less water will be sucked up and more gunk if held right. Do it slow so you don't stir it up to much. Brushing it towards the skimmer or bottom drain is great also if not to fine, otherwise it will just settle down again. I use a sump pump to empty my shopvac and then use that water from the hose on my garden plants or for trees.
Using a Muck vac for me would not work as I'm on a well and don't have the water pressure for one, but I've heard they work good with city pressure.
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
I use my shop vac wet and dry vac I just have it set to go into a laundry basket in the waterfall with quilt batting one hose pumps it up from the bottom the other hose I bought goes on the outlet part of it into the laundry basket ,just be extra careful of fish you do not want to suck them up I use the wider adapter part that came with the shop vac makes it faster .If your going to do a ten percent water change just do a bit at a time and put water back as you go .Be careful of your liner not to let it get to close .I usually have someone to help when I do this 2 minds 1 idea
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
Sissy, I think I just figured out how to get rich quick, Invest in batting stocks! As much as you use it I would be rich in no time, Even it does get reused. LOL
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
I only use one and take it out and hose it off and put it back in you don't have to replace it every time mine has been in there since I started the pond up in spring .Which here was back in march .I have one roll handy just in case .7 dollar investment worth it and the last time I went they had it on sale so it was 5 dollars .I actually bought 3 but 2 were for my neighbors
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
And it is king size quilt batting so guess you are not going to get that rich lol I use what works I saw my 1 neighbor spend 80 dollars on some kind of matala filters and they started to get messed up after 3 months
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Messages
147
Reaction score
2
Location
Genesee Depot, WI
I use to use a lot of quilt batting, I switched to something similar I get from Dr. Foster & Smith it is called a micron pad, holds up much much better then the quilt batting to repeated rinsings and washings. I use it in my skimmer box on top of the mats then I only have to rinse that, easier then the mats.
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
Not critisizing it all there Sissy, That is a product that has been used for many years in fish keeping. It has it's downfalls but used as you do it works very well. Biggest issue I know of using batting is some people allow it to get to clogged before cleaning and it clogs completely up. I started using Real Matala last year and I've been totally happy with it, Easy to clean with med, high water pressure, Keeps it's shape for more options to use, and it traps even better the more that gets caught in it, but it also has it's down falls as it's hard to get larger debris out of it once it gets caught up in the middle. I like how you use the batting under the water fall in a basket, I started using a piece of matala the same way and it reduced the amount of Debris that made it to the bottom of the plant pond by at least 50%. When I move the rocks around later in the season I'm planning on putting a planter container that has all the slots in it for drainage behind the rocks so I can put batting at the bottom of the matala to see if it will even clean it better.
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
never take offense to anything that works for me and may or may not work for others .I don't know what happened to my neighbors matala but he asked me to come over and look at his water and he had little green and blue things floating around and it looked like filter media so we took the filter apart and I took digital pics of it so he could send it to the sight where he bought them from and they did send him new ones .With no explanation of what went wrong with the first ones .The others seem to be alright for now . I think everything works one way or the other .Just like I use lava rock( bad girl )but it works for me .I find whatever filter stuff you use it needs taken care of and cleaned somehow .There should be an easier way to filter water .I use a an automatic filter for my well water that self flushes you know how many times I have stared at that darn thing ,thinking about if I could use the cheaper model they sell at lowes for 279 dollars:lol::lol::lol::lol::fish:
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
fishin4 cars maybe you can answer this aerator 5.1 psi or it says 2.2 cfm at 12 feet of depth would that provide enough air for my pond .want to make sure or can someone else answer this .goes from 2feet to 4 feet my pond depth
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
That's plenty of air, probably going to be more than you need. the good thing is if it's more than you need you simply put a valve in that allows some to go back to the atmosphere. I won't hurt the pump at all and having more than you need gives you options to do more later. I used the extra to run my 30 gallon plant tub with a simple sponge filter, just didn't want the water to go stagnant.
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
This one comes with an extra 6 gang connector and I have 2 filters I want to run it too and also run some others into the pond so wanted to make sure it will give me enough air for everything.I wanted enough to run an airline along the bottom of the pond also
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
30,782
Messages
508,590
Members
13,043
Latest member
cisifom

Latest Threads

Top