Hi everyone! I'm new to this hobby/passion in the Fox Lake IL area

[ToneDude]

Hello everyone - I'm grateful that there is a resource like this - Thank You!
We bought a house recently and it came with about 30 goldfish in a 20 ft by 10 ft by 28" deep pond with no-frills.

After keeping them alive this winter with a bubbler to keep a hole clear in the ice, I'd like to address the murky nature of the pond as we find it this spring.
I'm shopping for a pump and filter, but it is a dizzying array of products out there - many of them out of my league as I am recently retired and just bought a house.
I calculate 465 cu ft of volume and 3476 gallons.

I sort of know I want an external pump, but other then that I am still researching.
Oh, the pond has a crusty old waterfall pump and filter combo, which I suppose I can plug in to help them out while I try to locate a pump/filter combo I can afford.
Yes, I'm also shopping for a thermometer and water testing kit.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much!

 

[snoozer]

Welcome! I am not of much use when it comes to filters. I have a skimmer with two 4000GPH pumps that feed a header pond for the waterfall and stream. Lots of large rocks on the shelve with marginal plants but no actual filter. I am thinking of adding a bog filter this year but not sure I have the ambition needed to dig that much.

 

[GBBUDD]

Save your money on the test kits and just bring a water sample to the local pet store. the kits go bad in time and my stores do not charge .
As to the filter question there is only one filter Where you spend UP front and it then runs it's self and that is the bog. very easy to build requires a little more work then to unbox a canister filter. But once it is done, so are you. Other then remove dead plant stems in the fall. and pull out plants as they over grow the bog once a year. they are maintenance free

 

[GBBUDD]

I have the ambition needed to dig that much.

your better off building up use the bog out flow as a waterfall and use landscape timbers

 

[ToneDude]

That's really amazing. I don't want to know the budget, but I'd love to see the photos - bet it's beautiful!

 

[ToneDude]

Save your money on the test kits and just bring a water sample to the local pet store. the kits go bad in time and my stores do not charge .
As to the filter question there is only one filter Where you spend UP front and it then runs it's self and that is the bog. very easy to build requires a little more work then to unbox a canister filter. But once it is done, so are you. Other then remove dead plant stems in the fall. and pull out plants as they over grow the bog once a year. they are maintenance free

The bog sounds like a plan for next year - I like the idea. I already have enough projects with the new house to last me all this year.
Thank you for your kind response however.

 

[GBBUDD]

Search this site theres blogs of bogs . Videos and how too's there are two types of bogs

 

[JRS]

Welcome!

 

[j.w]

@ToneDude

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

Build a bog and don't look back. That is all I have taking care of my pond, I can turn it on in the spring and ignore it all summer if I want to. It runs itself. Do need to pull overgrowing plants out of the bog now and then.

 

[poconojoe]

I agree. Add on a bog and you won't regret it.

Don't do what many of us did....waste money on inadequate store bought filters that you have to open up and clean once a week.

No more rinsing of filter pads. Just sit back and enjoy your pond. Your pond shouldn't be a burden. With a bog, it pretty much maintains itself.

Here's my add-on bog build:

My add-on bog build

I finally did it! I joined the bog club! The bog is approximately 14 feet by 5 feet and about 12 inches deep. I know my 1600+ gallon pond has been overpopulated due to my fish reproductive rates! Last year the water never cleared up to my liking. I figured my two pressure filters and my...

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[Lisak1]

@ToneDude - I'm not far from you! Have you been to Wyld Creek yet? It's on 12. The folks there are very, very helpful and will point you in the right direction. And I agree - tell them you're interested in learning how to add a bog filter to your pond and they will walk you through it!

 

[brokensword]

a bog isn't really hard to make; if you don't want to dig, you can build a wooden box, line it, send your plumbing to a pvc/drain tile pipe manifold at the box's bottom, fill with 12" (or more, or layers of graduated size rock) pea gravel, and direct the over flow back into your pond. Plant what you like on top and voia! bog filtration. Of course there's details, but that's the gist of it.

 

[CometKeith]

Hey ToneDude! Glad you joined the forum! Do you have any pictures of how it looks now? Did you decide on the filtration or pump yet?

 

[ToneDude]

I have not decided on a pump or filter yet. There are a bewildering array of products available.
I'm on a budget as just bought the house (how I inherited the fish pond) and am out of work.
Webbs Online just quoted a combo that's too rich for my blood.
I'm limping along on the existing Tetra pump & waterfall combo that came with the pond, but it is obviously inadequate for 3600 gallons pond. I'm afraid to start feeding the fish because of the buildup of toxins.
I'd like to get a pump for under $500 and build the filter because YouTube videos make it look easy and I'm very handy DIY.
Currently eyeing 82100 Quiet Drive External Pump MPN QD 4150 for $480 all in with needed accessories.
It will take me a few years before the bog happens because that means tearing up a beautiful landscape around the pond and I'll have to get project approval from management.