- Joined
- Jun 22, 2019
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 3
- Country
Hello, I've just discovered this site, so have been researching a few threads, but thought I'd post my situation, to get hopefully some expert advice.
As background; we’ve moved into a house about 4 years ago and inherited a pond at the time. The water has always been green, but due to other priorities, haven’t been able to devote much time or attention to it. (For shame!!).
I’m hoping to rectify this now however, and would like some advice from you.
The pond is approx. in a keyhole shape, with the circle approx. 2m diameter. There are 3 levels to the pond, with one ring approx. 30cm deep, the next ring probably double that, and the deepest part of the pond approx. 1m deep. (It’s hard to tell though as the water is so green).
We did initially try and clear the water by using chemicals, but it didn’t work, and ended up killing a fish that we were unaware was living in there. (Felt awful). So we are very reluctant to use any chemicals in the pond.
We replaced that fish with 4 new goldfish a couple of years ago, and over the time there is now approx. 12-15 fish in there of varying sizes. (On a really sunny day, they come closer to the surface, (which I'm now learning is due to a lack of oxygen??), but we figure that if they’re breeding, then the pond must be quite healthy, despite it’s appearance?
The pump and filter were here when we moved in and ‘works’ in that there’s a slow trickle that comes down the water feature. It doesn’t do anything for the water colour however, so not sure how effective this is. I’ve taken the filter apart and cleaned the sponges, but not done anything with the UV bulb. (I assume this should be replaced but not entirely sure how to do so). It is a Hozelock Bioforce pump and filter, (2 separate units).
I have now bought a OASE Filtral 3000, so hoping that will have a big effect. It has been in place for about a week. But from reading on here, it seems it should be running all the time? (not just when we're in the garden).
I am aware that more plants need to be added. I’ve put in some oxygenators that I purchased from a local fish shop, (I can’t remember the name, but it was 4 x something that stays in it’s plastic netting, and a type of grass that goes in quite deep. (It was quite disheartening spending quite a bit there, but not being able to see them under the green!!). I will be creating a floating planter, to help provide more surface cover, and for the roots to take some of the nutrients.
I've been growing water lillies from seed, but have only just been experimenting with them going from a glass into a bucket. I'm yet to see any actual leaves, but it is still early days. (Were they to grow, should they go in the pond in aquatic soil - I saw somewhere that adding soil to the pond would provide fertiliser for the algae, and not just the plant? All very confusing.
So that is the extent of my knowledge, so I’m hoping you can fill in the specifics.
Main aim:
Clear pond water for our benefit, but still a healthy pond for the fish’ benefit.
My main questions therefore
*Which plants would you recommend. (I tried a few from Amazon, (water lettuce and duckweed), but either the fish ate them or they died shortly after putting them in).
* Alternatively, as a more cost-effective measure, is there any issue in ‘sourcing’ plants from rivers/lochs/reservoirs/canals nearby and putting them into the pond? Would that work with oxygenators by removing them from one source and adding them to the pond? (I'm just worried I'd be adding more dead plant life to the bottom of the pond, and not helping at all).
*Could plants be added just in gravel at the waterfall sections? If so, which ones would help with the filtering? (My knowledge of plants says they should be in soil, but some youtube videos say otherwise, so some tips here would be great).
*Cleaning the pond – I plan on clearing the sludge at the bottom of the pond – I suspect there’s quite a bit. (I wasn’t diligent with clearing the leaves that fall on the pond before, and we don’t have a skimmer). Will that disturb the fish too much? We also have frogs as well. I don’t want to harm anything, so don’t want to take away their homes or anything? So what is best to do here. Just rake away and get rid of the debris? The main plant is flowering at the moment, so it's tricky taking the metal mesh up, as it will impact on the flowers, so may need to wait til after summer to tackle the clean. (Realising that without doing so may make to the clean water attempt fail at the first hurdle).
*The pics show the shape of the pond and the waterfall The old pump and filter take the water to the waterfall, whereas the new pump and filter are under the water near the bridge.
Anyways, apologies for the long message. I don't know the water quality - I don't have a test kit, and we're based in Edinburgh, Scotland. I never knew that I was so passionate about my pond and fishkeeping!
Thanks for making it this far.
As background; we’ve moved into a house about 4 years ago and inherited a pond at the time. The water has always been green, but due to other priorities, haven’t been able to devote much time or attention to it. (For shame!!).
I’m hoping to rectify this now however, and would like some advice from you.
The pond is approx. in a keyhole shape, with the circle approx. 2m diameter. There are 3 levels to the pond, with one ring approx. 30cm deep, the next ring probably double that, and the deepest part of the pond approx. 1m deep. (It’s hard to tell though as the water is so green).
We did initially try and clear the water by using chemicals, but it didn’t work, and ended up killing a fish that we were unaware was living in there. (Felt awful). So we are very reluctant to use any chemicals in the pond.
We replaced that fish with 4 new goldfish a couple of years ago, and over the time there is now approx. 12-15 fish in there of varying sizes. (On a really sunny day, they come closer to the surface, (which I'm now learning is due to a lack of oxygen??), but we figure that if they’re breeding, then the pond must be quite healthy, despite it’s appearance?
The pump and filter were here when we moved in and ‘works’ in that there’s a slow trickle that comes down the water feature. It doesn’t do anything for the water colour however, so not sure how effective this is. I’ve taken the filter apart and cleaned the sponges, but not done anything with the UV bulb. (I assume this should be replaced but not entirely sure how to do so). It is a Hozelock Bioforce pump and filter, (2 separate units).
I have now bought a OASE Filtral 3000, so hoping that will have a big effect. It has been in place for about a week. But from reading on here, it seems it should be running all the time? (not just when we're in the garden).
I am aware that more plants need to be added. I’ve put in some oxygenators that I purchased from a local fish shop, (I can’t remember the name, but it was 4 x something that stays in it’s plastic netting, and a type of grass that goes in quite deep. (It was quite disheartening spending quite a bit there, but not being able to see them under the green!!). I will be creating a floating planter, to help provide more surface cover, and for the roots to take some of the nutrients.
I've been growing water lillies from seed, but have only just been experimenting with them going from a glass into a bucket. I'm yet to see any actual leaves, but it is still early days. (Were they to grow, should they go in the pond in aquatic soil - I saw somewhere that adding soil to the pond would provide fertiliser for the algae, and not just the plant? All very confusing.
So that is the extent of my knowledge, so I’m hoping you can fill in the specifics.
Main aim:
Clear pond water for our benefit, but still a healthy pond for the fish’ benefit.
My main questions therefore
*Which plants would you recommend. (I tried a few from Amazon, (water lettuce and duckweed), but either the fish ate them or they died shortly after putting them in).
* Alternatively, as a more cost-effective measure, is there any issue in ‘sourcing’ plants from rivers/lochs/reservoirs/canals nearby and putting them into the pond? Would that work with oxygenators by removing them from one source and adding them to the pond? (I'm just worried I'd be adding more dead plant life to the bottom of the pond, and not helping at all).
*Could plants be added just in gravel at the waterfall sections? If so, which ones would help with the filtering? (My knowledge of plants says they should be in soil, but some youtube videos say otherwise, so some tips here would be great).
*Cleaning the pond – I plan on clearing the sludge at the bottom of the pond – I suspect there’s quite a bit. (I wasn’t diligent with clearing the leaves that fall on the pond before, and we don’t have a skimmer). Will that disturb the fish too much? We also have frogs as well. I don’t want to harm anything, so don’t want to take away their homes or anything? So what is best to do here. Just rake away and get rid of the debris? The main plant is flowering at the moment, so it's tricky taking the metal mesh up, as it will impact on the flowers, so may need to wait til after summer to tackle the clean. (Realising that without doing so may make to the clean water attempt fail at the first hurdle).
*The pics show the shape of the pond and the waterfall The old pump and filter take the water to the waterfall, whereas the new pump and filter are under the water near the bridge.
Anyways, apologies for the long message. I don't know the water quality - I don't have a test kit, and we're based in Edinburgh, Scotland. I never knew that I was so passionate about my pond and fishkeeping!
Thanks for making it this far.
