Hello from a frustrated pond owner.

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We have a lovely pond, but it has been an expensive and stressful journey up to this point. The latest problem is that the man who built and takes care of our pond has been unreachable for months. I know there has been illness in the family, and it is completely understandable that he puts family first, but having no one else who is knowledgeable and trustworthy is frustrating.

I thought I had found someone decent to winterize the pond, but that was a failure. He told me he had experience. I think that was a fish tale. I've had to go into the pond in cold weather to clear leaves and debris from the pump. Unfortunately, I bought a net with holes that are too big and allow too many leaves into the pond, and that's what clogs the pumps.

So I am here to learn about pond care so that I can do it myself since I can't find anyone competent and trustworthy and believe me, I have looked. I have very little knowledge about chemical care. I just know what our pond guy has used in the past, but come spring, I'll need to add chemicals like he did for the summer pond season.

Anyway, it's nice to be here. Cheers!
 
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Welcome fishfinder!
I wonder if they used the microbe lift autumn/winter prep. I used that the first year I started my pond but haven't used it since and my fish are doing great. What are the diamentions of your pond?
 

addy1

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to our group! Where in Maryland are you? What kind of filter do you have, what kind of fish and like mtpond asks size of pond and what kind of fish and how many?

Get a swimming pool leaf net and a pole, use that to scoop out leaves, it does a great job.

$T2eC16ZHJFsFFSIpEKpYBSHeLlH0,Q%7E%7E60_12.JPG
 

addy1

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Pictures help too, post some when you have time
 
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We have a lovely pond, but it has been an expensive and stressful journey up to this point. The latest problem is that the man who built and takes care of our pond has been unreachable for months. I know there has been illness in the family, and it is completely understandable that he puts family first, but having no one else who is knowledgeable and trustworthy is frustrating.

I thought I had found someone decent to winterize the pond, but that was a failure. He told me he had experience. I think that was a fish tale. I've had to go into the pond in cold weather to clear leaves and debris from the pump. Unfortunately, I bought a net with holes that are too big and allow too many leaves into the pond, and that's what clogs the pumps.

So I am here to learn about pond care so that I can do it myself since I can't find anyone competent and trustworthy and believe me, I have looked. I have very little knowledge about chemical care. I just know what our pond guy has used in the past, but come spring, I'll need to add chemicals like he did for the summer pond season.

Anyway, it's nice to be here. Cheers!

Happy Thanksgiving FishFinder and Welcome to the Garden Pond Forum!

I can say unequivocally that you will enjoy the people and the information you find here. This is really a great place to come to find answers to your questions as well as to meet new friends and have a good chat about many things pond and non-pond orientated.

Currently, there a several topics posted revolving around the winterization of ponds, since this is the season obviously. You probably have already done so, but start browsing around for topic titles related to this issue and just dive in and start reading.

You may find that there is often some level of debate over which methods are better than others, but it is all relative and friendly. A great deal of the differences can be attributal to the type, size and shape of the pond. The water filtration and biological conversion techniques applied. The type and size of fish kept and then, most of all, the personality of the local weather climate. The personality of the individual pond owner comes into play as well, of course.

All of these may be applied equally to other seasons and general pond care guidelines, not just winterization. Wade through the muck and strain it out and you may end up with a satisfyingly clear solution for your pond that works well for your vision of maintenance and safety.

Catfishnut
 
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Welcome, you'll find this site super friendly and helpful. I agree, it's hard to find good workers for ponds.....it's best to learn to do things yourself....which is what most of us have done. I look forward to pics when you have time.
 
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Thank you for the warm welcome.

Addy1, I'm in Elkton. What zone is that? I am afraid I don't know the brand names of the pumps or any equipment. I left that stuff up to the pond guy to tend to, but I'll have to take care of it now and I can't pull up either pump to inspect for size or models without messing up the hoses.

The pond is about 12 feet long and 7 feet wide. About 4 feet deep. Six big koi and one very large catfish, Jaws. I am glad koi are hardy. They have been through a lot. Survived two almost total drains. The first happened not even a week after we bought the house, so I suspect sellers almost certainly knew about that. He was not forthcoming about other issues inspection did not catch. The owner fancied himself an ace pond builder. Not.

The first guy we hired to repair the pond was not much better. He did terrible work and denied splicing together the liner, which he clearly did. Thanks to him, the pond almost completely drained. Our current pond guy showed me where the liner was spliced together. It makes me angry thinking about it.

I know the good pond guy used Microlift in the spring and Melafix when we have had to add water. Also some Stress Coat when we have had to add water. I need to learn more about what chemicals to add and when.

It's not easy to find nets both to cover the pond and keep debris out of the pond. Garden centers don't have much. Thankfully I found someone online who is honest and sold me a good net to cover the pond. I ordered it way too big in size, and the spacing of the net squares is too big, as I mentioned in my first post, but garter snakes are around the pond and would get tangled in a net whose holes are too small and if the net was made from a harsh material. I can't have that. I don't mind snakes and want them to be safe. The genius who built the pond -the previous owner- had a wire net in the pond!

So that's more information on the money pit of a pond. I will get photos soon.
 
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addy1

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You are 6b per climate zone, same as me.
I don't worry about debris, just herons. So I use a wide weave net high above the
pond surface. Just net out anything that
falls in. Keeps the other critters safe. I don't add any chemicals to our pond.
On my phone a little hard to type back.
 

addy1

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One important chemical to add is dechlor if you are on city water.
 

Guy

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hi fishfinder,

just want to mention that it must seem very overwhelming at the moment but when you take a breath and break it down maintaining a pond is relatively simple if you chose it to be. Ponds, like engines, attract some people who love tinkering and enjoy pumps/filters types etc but many others are very happy with just a working pond/engine. The amount of fish you have in that amount of water should not cause you a problem. You are being asked about your water volumne, pump and filter sizes because if they are of a suitable size for your pond then to a certain degree you can step back.

Just one point that maybe someone in the States could confirm for me, but I believe your pond temperature might have reached the point where you should probably not be feeding the fish any more as uneaten food can cause you a problem.

The pond will get sorted (y)
 
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Fishfinder welcome to gpf.You will get a lot of help here for sure and have a whole winter to learn about ponds. I winterize my pond by cutting down perrenial plants, making sure anything like tropicals and lilies are set deep enough so the roots don't freeze, clean up leaves best I can around and in the pond, and remove decorations and pots that may break in severe cold. I also remove my bio-filter so it doesn't crack in the cold and remove any extra pumps I don't need running. One thing I do is try to keep some water movement so the water doesn't get stale from too many anaerobic bacteria building up over the winter. To do this I keep a small pump in the pond halfway down and let the water trickle over my waterfall to keep water moving and a hole in the ice so the pond can breathe. I also keep a small airstone running on an air pump to keep a hole in the ice. That's it for the whole winter for me.
 

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