How to clean sand and pebbles out?

[confuzion]

V

hello i got a hard plastic liner form a neighbor, had a giant hole in my ground that use to have a pond in it but had been filled with broken branches and brush for years befor ei owned the place. cleaned the pit out. plopped the plastic pond in )i think its 250 gallons not sure just guessing). and put big stone around it. in addition to that i put layers of sand and pea stone under the big rocks built up against the pond to stop water from going under the pond. after putting the big rocks around the pond i filled any gaps i could with even more sand and pea stone. and then i even extended this about 2 feet away from the rocks.

while in the process of doing this some sand and pebbles flung out of my hand into the pond. the water is pretty clear on the top but i can see the sand sediment settled on the top curves and on the very bottom

its driving my ocd crazy. whats the best way to vacum this out, is there a good cheap product for this. i been searching but i find alot of diy stuff that is to much work. i just wanna buy a vacum to suck this stuff up. i saw some but would like a recommended one.

ps i have no clue what i am doing. i completely winged this entire project. i have a fountain and the pump is in a filter box but i dont think that will actually remove this sand
also i have small stone being delivered for the outside portion so its still a work in progress. thanks!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! Get a very fine net and scoop it out. For sure that will work for the gravel, but if it doesn’t get the sand out, you could use your hand or a spoon.

 

[j.w]

and welcome @confuzion

 

[Lisak1]

I know this isn't your question, but I hope you have sand under that preform.. they are notorious for cracking if not well suported and level

As for the gravel in the bottom - add more. It's a great substrate!

 

[confuzion]

I know this isn't your question, but I hope you have sand under that preform.. they are notorious for cracking if not well suported and level

As for the gravel in the bottom - add more. It's a great substrate!

i didnt know that so thanks for the info. i dont have sand underneath it did cross my mind way after the fact. i had taken it out once and put some more dirt under the preform before filling it. i could feel a slight push when pressing on the bottom but nothing to drastic. hopefully it dont crack. maybe close to winter ill drain it (do people usually drain these in winter?) and then sand it. if it dont break by then.

as for gravel i think ill add some on the bottom and maybe the top, would white be the most popular color to be able to see?

 

[confuzion]

Hello and welcome! Get a very fine net and scoop it out. For sure that will work for the gravel, but if it doesn’t get the sand out, you could use your hand or a spoon.

its mostly just a thin layer so i couldnt get it with a net. i guess it annoys me because instead of seeing the black underwater i see this sand sediment sitting on it. i took a shop vac and ran it on the top portions yesterday and got the upper half clean but it sucked up about 4 inches of water as well lol. then i had to refill it.

 

[Mmathis]

its mostly just a thin layer so i couldnt get it with a net. i guess it annoys me because instead of seeing the black underwater i see this sand sediment sitting on it. i took a shop vac and ran it on the top portions yesterday and got the upper half clean but it sucked up about 4 inches of water as well lol. then i had to refill it.

It’s all eventually going to be covered by algae and biofilm, so in the end, you wouldn’t really see the black liner bottom. If it’s a little bit, I’d say leave it be.

 

[confuzion]

It’s all eventually going to be covered by algae and biofilm, so in the end, you wouldn’t really see the black liner bottom. If it’s a little bit, I’d say leave it be.

is algae and biofilm a good thing? and i was thinking of getting pond goldfish would it benefit those as well

 

[Lisak1]

Yes - biofilm and algae are part of the natural filtration in an ecosystem pond.

As for fish, yes - they will add to the ecosystem. Just remember you have a very small pond so stick to goldfish and only a couple.

 

[j.w]

Shubunkin goldfish are really pretty, look kinda like koi only smaller!