First time pond clean

[addy1]

I have a 300 ish gallon hot tub pond, right now 9 adults and 3 kids live nicely in it. I put in the 9 adults, they are maybe 4 inches in size.

 

[michaelsf90]

US or UK gallon? Mine is around 200 gallon I'd say. So I should be ok with 4. Il start off with 2 and see how I get on. Dont want to add too much. This may seem a silly question but does the cable for the pump need protecting inside the pond? I planned on putting it in some pvc conduit on the outside of the pond

 

[addy1]

does the cable for the pump need protecting inside the pond?

No the pump lines are made to be under water.

300 plus a bit us gallons, prob less after you remove water for the lily pots, the plant pots etc.

 

[michaelsf90]

Im still getting the power sorted. Need a few bits. It will be finished tomorrow. Refilled and powered up il upload some pictures once it's all done

 

[poconojoe]

Good job!
That was a lot of muck!
You should be good for many years now.

 

[mgmine]

US or UK gallon? Mine is around 200 gallon I'd say. So I should be ok with 4. Il start off with 2 and see how I get on. Dont want to add too much. This may seem a silly question but does the cable for the pump need protecting inside the pond? I planned on putting it in some pvc conduit on the outside of the pond

It's not a silly question. It looks like a submersible pump so you will be okay. I have known people that put a regular pump in the water and expect it to pump. As far as refilling it as I said earlier use clean water. The water you have is filled with dirt. So you will be starting out with a dirty pond and your filter will have to clean up the mess.

 

[michaelsf90]

Is the liner clean enough. I didnt want to go mad scrubbing it. I'm just about to fill it up a bit more and turn the pump on and see what happens

 

[michaelsf90]

I had a video of the waterfall in action. This is an old picture but how do you suggest I hide the liner where the waterfall is? I'm thinking of taking the pebbles off and placing them around the edge of the pond to hold the liner down above water level. I've removed the slate as it will get washed into the pond. So it will literally just be the black of the liner? Should I place another flag further down across then you only see the bottom falls? Ideally want to be able to see both tiers

 

[addy1]

Rocks and plants are your friends, they can cover that liner nicely.

 

[michaelsf90]

Use the pebbles to cover the liner? I'm going to experiment tomorrow. I may place the odd pebble and some pea gravel and see what the flow is like. I'm going to narrow it a bit at the bottom to get more flow and to get some rocks on the side hopefully. Trial and error tomorrow but should be finished

 

[Lisak1]

Pebbles and pea gravel won't stay on a waterfall when the water is flowing. You're set up would look better with some large, flat pieces covering the liner. Like your flagstone, but thin.

 

[michaelsf90]

This is the final outcome. Still need to do a few things round the pond edge and need to get a couple more plants. This also may seem a daft question but if neighbours complain about the waterfall is there anything I could to make it quieter? I'm guessing a rock underneath would break the fall and make it quieter but then its oxygenating the water less?

 

[Lisak1]

COMPLAIN about a waterfall? My neighbors hang over the fence to get a closer view!

I really do doubt they will ever hear it, but no... if you need to break it up with a rock under the fall, it won't change much. Your waterfall isn't falling from a great height so it will barely change a thing.

 

[michaelsf90]

Youd be surprised. I went to the back door before and I can hear it. In the dead of night it will be loud enough to hear. I'm in the uk so houses are tightly crammed in. I hope they dont complain then haha will I have to drain the pond like I did again or will I just be able to net the sludge out once a year?

 

[Lisak1]

That kind of build up is from years of neglect. Keep up with the maintenance and you should never need to break a pond down like that again.

 

[michaelsf90]

The pump and filter will obviously help. Should I give it around six weeks before adding fish?

 

[addy1]

I'm guessing a rock underneath would break the fall and make it quieter but then its oxygenating the water less?

A Rock could help, also the movement of the water surface from the falling water helps in the oxygenating. Even with a rock it would still oxygenate.

 

[brokensword]

The pump and filter will obviously help. Should I give it around six weeks before adding fish?

You can add a couple of fish right away as they'll help the pond cycle. Don't add more as this is when you'd get into trouble. If you have plants, they'll help buffer any spikes you might get but the main idea is don't overfeed. Goldfish do just fine eating what falls in as well as plant roots, algae growing on the side. It won't take long if you didn't scrub the liner much (just hosing it off would be enough).

Good luck and great job!

Oh, and I wouldn't worry too much re the waterfall; it become like background noise as it's constant. Now, if you get any frogs, well, THEY may make the neighbors take notice!

 

[michaelsf90]

I didnt scrub the liner or hose it. I just picked as much dirt out as I possibly could. Once the water clears up I will add two fish. Does the marsh marigold need height taking off it? I'm guessing the pot was slanted or wonky in the pond which is why its growing all to one side and looks bare and dead on the side I can see. I wanted to hide the pond pipe. I'm not good with plants. I never know how much to take off and if I reduce the height I will end up cutting off the yellow flowers. Once it starts dying back I will take some height off it

 

[brokensword]

I didnt scrub the liner or hose it. I just picked as much dirt out as I possibly could. Once the water clears up I will add two fish. Does the marsh marigold need height taking off it? I'm guessing the pot was slanted or wonky in the pond which is why its growing all to one side and looks bare and dead on the side I can see. I wanted to hide the pond pipe. I'm not good with plants. I never know how much to take off and if I reduce the height I will end up cutting off the yellow flowers. Once it starts dying back I will take some height off it

you don't need to worry about the marsh marigold; it is typically a cool weather bloomer. When it gets hot, it'll naturally pull back. And yes, if you prune now you'll lose your flowers. Marsh marigold is a marginal and should have it's crown planted just above the water level. It is very hardy and comes back beautifully for me in zone 5b.