For people with gravel/rock bottom ponds

[Dave 54]

I use Microbe-lift products because I have found them to be particularly good at what they do and I consider them the best for what we as pond keepers need.
They have spent many a year working in the sewerage industry and as such, they know what they are talking about and to me anyway it was a logical step for them to take into the fish world.
Yesterday I bought in some Microbe-lift PL ready for our spring time filter cleaning over the nest few weeks.
Imagine my supprise when I found Dean the Fish shop owner took me to the shelf he keeps the PL on to find there was another product on display Microbe-lift SA which removes sludge from the bottom of the pond pipes filters etc .
Reading further I realized that this is the perfect product for gravel and rock bottomed ponds for cleaning.
I though I'd check it out and review it, so I bought a bottle...
YOu have to double dose the pond for the first week then halve it for the next four but if t returns
Talk about tuning your water jet black lol I cant see the koi at the moment but it should only take 24-48 hours to do its stuff completely going of our use of the PL I've a feeling we will got some spectacular results
Watch this space................................

rgrds

Dave

 

[Mmathis]

Will stay tuned.....

Pictures of progress, too, Dave!

 

[Dave 54]

Well yesterday the pond after treating with Microbe;lift SA was jet black in colour you could only see the fish very close to the surface bellow that nothing .
Added extra air to the pond via the spindrifter bottom drain cover as per instructions as it can can the oxygen optake rate of your pond due to increased biologicl activity .
As such it is important that the pond can support the increase of oxygen demand alongside that of our koi's need for oxygen
After about six hours the water was a muddy brown colour and the fish could be seen about a foot down , the water reminds me of the Peaty Penine waters I saw as a child when at Cricket matches with my Dad .
This morning though still brown we can see about three feet down .
None of the koi appear stressed by this , using the Tancho Sanke as the marker for this (tancho's ad Kuhakus sho stress long before any other koi) and there is no red streaking of the scales yu would normally see.
Note:-Tanchos and kuhakus are good pointers to use when reading your koi and pond normally , as such we use them as a permenant early warning system to anything going wong alongside that of our test kits learn to spot this streaking .
I 'll hazzard a guess that the clarity over the next 24 hours will continue to come to the for .
Sorry Mmathis had I known you needed photos of all this I would have taken them ( to late now.
This Microbe lift product works faster in warmer waters sadly we took a dip to 13.1c yesterday due to high winds and rain, today however the temperature is on the rise again.
Will keep you posted .

rgrds

Dave

Further thankfully unlike Microbe lift PL the Microbe lift SA doesnt smell ( try sniffing the PL it'll clean your sinuses thats for sure lol) it stinks........

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Sooooo.... How'd it go?

 

[Dave 54]

It went very well indeed after a few days (cold snap) it suddenly cleared and we could see to the bottom of the pond , I must admit I was worried for a while about it not clearing .
But as soon as things warmed up some again you saw it disapearing from the top down
Yes this caused me to worry somewhat thinking we'd put the wrong dose in etc but it came right in the end


rgrds


Dave.

 

[HTH]

Do you do a large water change after using Microbe;lift SA ? One would think so as the the microbes that digest the sludge/gunk must output something ?

Also I am wondering if since microbes tend to multiply if a single bottle will treat any amount of sludge. I just spent a few days cleaning the bottom of a large flat bottom pond and it would really have been much easier to just toss of bottle of sludge remover in.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:3009]

It rained 1/2 an inch after it was cleaned

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I hauled off a lot of sludge.

If this would work I would feel a lot better about flat bottom ponds.

 

[Dave 54]

I only do water changes that are routine or are speciffically mentioned in the treatment of fish .
God knows how much it would cost you to do a pond this size the SA retails at £19 a bottle you have to follow up onm this treatment for a further 4 weeks at half the dose you put in before.
I've a feeling that the very cost is going to prohibit the use on a pond your size I'm affraid .
Our own setup is only a mosest 1,000 gallons imperial so its not as expensive.
This product also works better with the Microbe-lift PL even more expence.
However you can only but try .....
rgrds

Dave

 

[HTH]

No such thing as a free lunch

Looks like I will have to go with my original plan to compartmentalize the pond so I can clean it a section at a time. That has worked well in the past.

Thanks

 

[Shdwdrgn]

@Howard - since you have it drained now anyway, have you consindered pulling the liner up and digging a depression to create a low spot where you could drop in a pump or a bottom skimmer of some sort? Perhaps if you arranged your pickup and returns to feed from opposite corners of the pond, you could create a subtle flow that would wash the muck into the depression, and greatly reduce the amount that settled in the rest of the pond?

 

[HTH]

@Shdwdrgn This pond was constructed as a landing place for our pond plants and fish when we moved here. Like a lot of temporary things in life it has been around far longer then anticipated.

I am asking for suggestion regarding a better version of it How-Would-You-Filter-a-18x40-Lily-Pond.

 

[Dave 54]

You could try it and see how you get on with it as an experiment

rgrds

Dave

 

[HTH]

You could try it and see how you get on with it as an experiment

rgrds

Dave

Sounds like a great idea. Unless they have bioengineered the bacteria not to multiply on bottle should in theory work on any amount of sludge.

 

[Dave 54]

Cant see anything that says its been bio engineered they only worj with natural according to what they say.
So I would say it should be ok to use it my pond is in reality only a small one it would need someone with a larger pond to check it out

rgrds

Dave

 

[HTH]

It would be interesting to have someone with a clogged bog give it a try too.