First time pond clean

[addy1]

Slowly remove the sludge debris etc, it depends on how deep it is how much you want to remove. If real deep move it slowly, there might be trapped gases down there.

 

[michaelsf90]

I'd say it's quite deep. When I shove a stick in it goes so far then needs not loads but a bit of force. Last year I moved a stick round the bottom and it began to smell so you are correct. I hope when I start messing the frogs jump out. I have moved the algae today and it's hard to see in the pictures but this is what I'm dealing with. An immense amount of frog spawn and lots and lots of leaves. The large clusters of frog spawn are everywhere. I will move them to one side and clean out then back to the other side. I hate disturbing wildlife but if I dont do it soon then il never do it and at least their isnt any tadpoles to worry about just yet. How can I protect the tadpoles with a pump as well. I have a hozelock aquaforce pump which has a wildlife protection system. It makes the holes smaller but I'd say tadpoles still stand no chance. Or is it just one of those things?

 

[Lisak1]

That is indeed mucky! Slow going, no rush. Remember - it bothers you far more than it bothers any creatures who call it home! Do a bit every day and you'll tackle it. And put the stuff you scoop out in your garden or compost - that stuff is like black gold!

 

[michaelsf90]

It hasnt been cleaned since I've been here which is nearly three years. I will put it in my planters i also plan on getting some new pond plants so could put it in there. Any suggestions with the tadpoles?

 

[addy1]

I don't have that type of pump, what kind protection is that? I put a 5 gallon bucket around the draw for my external pump, drilled full of holes it makes the draw anyone place a lot lower.

I have a hozelock aquaforce pump which has a wildlife protection system.

 

[michaelsf90]

Il upload screenshots of the pump. It says it reduces inlet size from 6mm to 2mm. The surface area of the whole thing is large to reduce clogging. I know I will have to regularly clean it. I was planning on putting a planting basket around it but I'm guessing them slits should be small enough however tadpoles may get stuck to it with the force of the suction

 

[mgmine]

Okay here is the devil's advocate thinking. From what I can see you really don't have a pond . You have a container with some water in it covered by vegetation on the top and muck on the bottom. It looks a lot like it was taken over by nature. You can fight it or just drain it and clean it up right. It just depends on what you want the final outcome to look like. You can put a net in the bottom to catch the leaves but have you ever tried to lift a net of wet leaves out of the water. Multiply that a hundred times and you will get the feel of how much weight you will be trying to lift. If there isn't that much weight in the net then you didn't need it in the first place and you could have avoided looking at a net in your or above your pond all summer. To try and net the bottom of the pond in order to keep it clean doesn't make sense to me. Use your leaf net on a weekly basis and take out what you don't like. Never leave the pond unnetted over the fall and winter because you'll be back in the same situation next year. As far as saving the water unless it for the cost just dump it. You have a wildlife pond and once the frogs are grown the majority will leave. Don't worry about the chlorine in the city water it dissipates in few days. If you're concerned about any wildlife they put whatever you find in the pond water that you saved. Don't forget frogs live in ditches along the road that is full of chemicals and road dirt and oil and everything else that is supposed to kill things. The most important thing to be worried about with wild life is oxygen.

 

[mgmine]

Okay here is the devil's advocate thinking. From what I can see you really don't have a pond . You have a container with some water in it covered by vegetation on the top and muck on the bottom. It looks a lot like it was taken over by nature. You can fight it or just drain it and clean it up right. It just depends on what you want the final outcome to look like. You can put a net in the bottom to catch the leaves but have you ever tried to lift a net of wet leaves out of the water. Multiply that a hundred times and you will get the feel of how much weight you will be trying to lift. If there isn't that much weight in the net then you didn't need it in the first place and you could have avoided looking at a net in or above your pond all summer. To try and net the bottom of the pond in order to keep it clean doesn't make sense to me. Use your leaf net on a weekly basis and take out what you don't like. Never leave the pond unnetted over the fall and winter because you'll be back in the same situation next year. As far as saving the water unless it for the cost just dump it. You have a wildlife pond and once the frogs are grown the majority will leave. Don't worry about the chlorine in the city water it dissipates in few days. If you're concerned about any wildlife then put whatever you find in the pond water that you saved. Don't forget frogs live in ditches along the road that is full of chemicals and road dirt and oil and everything else that is supposed to kill things. The most important thing to be worried about with wildlife is oxygen. If you put your old dirty water back in you are putting in water that has been depleted of oxygen and will be so dirty you won't be able to see the bottom. Once you get things back to new start planning on what plants to reuse or buy. IMHO

 

[poconojoe]

Here's a picture of my Fall/Winter net setup:

A 3/4" pvc pipe frame that can be disassembled when not in use. I didn't glue all the joints. For disassembling purposes, I used self tapping screws at some joints. I number the joints so I know how it all goes back together.

The ends of the pipes slip over driveway marker sticks that are hammered into the ground to keep the bent bow shape.

The nylon pond net is draped over the frame.

 

[addy1]

From what they have on their pump ad it appears it will be fine for the tads and other small things.

 

[michaelsf90]

I know its only tiny for a pond. I always say its just a large puddle haha it is bigger than you think tho. It's about 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres and 0.6 metres deep however you have the shelves as well. It's big enough for a novice like me anyway. Once I've got it running il be maintaining it daily/weekly just as I do with my fish tanks. How many fish do you reckon? 3 goldfish? The net will only be on in autumn and winter and the waterfall will be running to oxygenate the pond

 

[addy1]

Anything that holds water, grows critters is a pond, no matter the size.

That is around 300 gallons. If it were mine I would put in fantails, they don't grow big, don't spawn a lot. I have fantails in my 300ish plus gallons hot tub pond. They do great, right now I have 9 adults 3 babies.

I have shubunkin colored fan tails.

 

[michaelsf90]

Looks amazing. I was thinking shubukins. I'm going to get measurements tonight and work out the volume. It's only deep in a certain small section. A lot of it is shelved. However one of the sides is deep and one is only shallow. If the liner is long enough I may try to dig deeper. I dont know. Unless I clean it and once removing the sludge see what the actual size is. I would prefer it to be deeper than only the small section but that's major extensive work. I may be able to drain below the shelf and dig and see if there is some play in the liner. Il get measurements and find out the volume. I'm guessing it's between 1000 and 1500 litres which I know isnt big. My pump is 2500 litres an hour and the filter can handle 3000 litres an hour so the filtration is no problem. I just hope I can add some more depth in places. How many fish would you reckon if its 1000 liters. Three comets or shubukins?

 

[Lisak1]

Small ponds can be just a nice as big ones, so don't fret too much about it being small. The biggest thing is to know what the volume is and to make sure you aren't overstocking it with fish. A small water volume can be more difficult to keep in balance, so you don't want to create problems for yourself by over doing the bio-load from the start.

 

[addy1]

That is a nice small number to start with, but remember they spawn and drop a lot of eggs. I tend to not feed my big pond fish so they eat up the eggs they lay everywhere.
I would still stick with fan tails.