Getting Out The Gunk..

[FXM]

Well, today in Newtown, PA the temperature was around 63 degrees at 6 PM. So with the extra sunlight and temperature decent I decided to tackle the overgrowth of "hornwort" and overall muddy soupy gunk in my pond. As mentioned previously, my pond is a stone/cement
6x4x3. The previous owner never used a pump or a filter and went for the "natural" pond look. There were some wires hanging out of the pond close to an outlet. I figured maybe they were hooked up to a pump at the bottom of the pond. To my surprise, the wires were attached to (2) underwater lights. The wires run to a transformer as well. My Laguna Power Jet Pump and my Laguna Power Flo Filter arrived today!!! My questions are these... the hornwort as well as what looks like some unruly water lillies have completey taken over the pond. I removed quite a bit today. Is it ok to complety remove all of the growth and start fresh? I figure the water is fine since there are about 5 (4 inch) Comets in the pond already. Can I just remove all of the vegetation, turn on the pump and the filter and let nature take its course?

Thanks!

FXM:alieneyesa:

 

[oldmarine]

You could go ahead and pick as much crud out as you can, then run the filter. The only problem you may encounter having to clean and rinse the filter every day for a couple of weeks until the worst of the crud is removed and the water clears. Your water won't be clear for awhile with everything all stirred up. The other alternative is to remove the fish and plants, and then totally clean the pond. Refill the pond, re-pot the plants (lilies), and then start the filter. After things seem to settle down, aclimate the fish to the pond.

Happy ponding,

 

[FXM]

Thanks .....Since it is going to be another mild day here in Newtown, PA, I am going to attempt to get all of the remaining plant life out of the pond. Can you also reccomend some kind of treatment to add to the water that will help clarify it as well. Has anyone ever used this "Foster and Smith" Water Repair? Is there anything that is better?

FXM:alieneyesa:

 

[koiguy1969]

pull the plants and clean it up..you can put back the plants you want.. as far as the hornwort if you break one in half you've got 2, and once the water warms it grows real fast. i would reccommend seeding your filter with micrbelifts "pl gel filter innoculant" it will cut down the time it takes to establish a active bacterial colony. as far as the lillies youll find a thread in the plants section or you can google to find out how to cut or split the rhizones to make 2 plants or just down size them. i would use your pump and pump the water from the pond into something you can return the water to the pond from and refill the pond about 1/2 way with it, finish filling with the hose, dehlorinate and return plants and fish. you can use a couple trash cans with new liners (bags) in them to hold the water..and fish while you work...work fast.
what needs to be cleared from the water green alge or floating particulants? any flocculant will gather and clump together floating particulates so the filter can easily trap them. i have used Tetraponds and it performs great.

 

[nigil]

I use a product called clarity max. It clears the pond pretty quickly and has barley extract in it to combat algae. A good low temp bacteria added usually helps as well.

 

[PS3]

invest in a good power vaceum i got one from forster and smith on sale
for 150 dollars 2 years ago they work awesome and u dont have to break your back.