First year pond questions

[Oncorhynchus]

Hello Everyone,

I built my pond last spring, stocked it with plants and goldfish and enjoyed it all summer.

Then fall came, I got really busy with the kids and work, the weather turned to constant rain and I didn't do any winter prep. Now it's full of leaves, decomposing plants and such other things.

I live near Vancouver, Canada, the weather is fairly mild and the tulips are coming up already.

My pond has no filter or skimmer. Just ordered a 2 stone airater and bacteria packets. It's about 10' x 10' x 3' deep. Started with 10 goldfish but they had about 20 babies last year. Plants are parrots feather x3, Pennywort x3, hardy water Lillie x2 and water iris x2.

If anyone could help clear up a couple things for me it would be much appreciated!

-do I need to fully cut back submerged parrots feather or will the old growth regenerate? What about Pennywort?

- when is the earliest time I could get in the pond to clean it out without bothering the fish? (Water is 7 celcius right now)

-anyone tried naturalclear bacteria? Half the internet says it's a scam and the other half swears by it :s

-any tips or tricks for a filter-less pond would be awesome!

Thanks!








-i have

 

[Oncorhynchus]

Oh and here's a photo as it is today..

 

[j.w]

@Oncorhynchus

You don't need to cut the Parrots Feather. Mine lays there all winter looking ragged but comes back nicely on it's own. Not sure about PennyWort.
When you say get in and clean the pond what exactly are you wanting to do. Take all the water out? If so don't. You can take a long handled net and scoop out the debris. Might take awhile but it needs to be gone especially since you have no filter. You have plenty of bacteria, you don't need to add any extra.
I just have a pot filter I made that sits on the edge of my pond. Works ok but a bog would have been better. Oh well that's all in the past. No bog so I do w/what I can. You should at least have an aerator going in there and you said you ordered one so that's a start. How come you don't want a filter? It sure would help as the fish can foul up the water pretty fast.

 

[Oncorhynchus]

Thanks for the info! I'm happy about the parrots feather, my baby fish love it.

No not emptying it, I just want to cut back the dead Lillie pads but maybe it's not worth it.

At first I was just cheap, then I started reading about just adding substrate (pea gravel) to make a natural filter and it made sense. Now I think that the plants were keeping the water clean so hopefully it improves once they regrow, if not a filter may be in my future.

 

[HARO]

As j.w said, get a long-handled net or pool skimmer and fish out any dead leaves and vegetation you can snag. Don't overdo it this early in the spring, as fish are in a weakened condition, and any disturbance could make them more vulnerable to disease. As the sun gets stronger and the days get longer, your plants will come back to life, water will clear and everything will go back to normal. I've kept a pond of similar size with no filter or pumps for several years with no ill effects. Keep in mind, however, that every pond is different, and "your mileage may vary"!
John

 

[j.w]

Oh yes you want to cut back the lily pads for sure or they will just rot and muck up the water. When I had lilies I would do it in the early Fall before things got real cold. I had gravel in a bath tub pond once and it really got full of crud and stunk to high Heaven. I took it out. Was full of black rotten things. You are right, the more plants that you have the more they suck up the excess nutrients and will help keep the water clean. Use the net and pull out any floating yuck on the bottom or floating around.

 

[TheFishGuy]

Good advice has been provided!

As far as the bacteria go, you probably don’t need it, but if you already have it it shouldn’t hurt to add, may help add some more biodiversity.

 

[GBBUDD]

-do I need to fully cut back submerged parrots feather or will the old growth regenerate? What about Pennywort?

- when is the earliest time I could get in the pond to clean it out without bothering the fish? (Water is 7 celcius right now)

-anyone tried naturalclear bacteria? Half the internet says it's a scam and the other half swears by it :s

-any tips or tricks for a filter-less pond would be awesome!

Parrots feather in the cold usualy stays in control THATS NOT THE CASE IN HOT CLIMATES.

Penny wart i would pull out and i mean every millimeter. If it likes your area it will spread everywhere.

A great plant for fast growing easy to control is water cress

I doubt you disturbing the pond will even phase the fish clarity is a human obsession.

Many here would be on the scam side. i say in early spring it can't hurt to give the pond a boost as everything dies off a nit in the winter.
i like NUALGI it's not bacterial same idea

Not my cup of tea i have bogs negative edge and intake bay

 

[Oncorhynchus]

Thanks everyone! I'll keep a close eye on the Pennywort for sure then. Hopefully adding more oxygen will get the bacteria kicking and get er back in balance! But I haven't lost any fish so I'm not too worried. I wish I had space for a bog but my wife has spoken for the rest of the garden lol. If I still have high turbidity in July I'll start shopping for a bio filter.. and maybe a waterfall!

 

[j.w]

I'm slipping I think I forgot to welcome you

@Oncorhynchus