Great site, thanks to all who have posted useful items in the past. I discovered the site a couple days ago.
Here's my pond story...
About 8-9 years ago I had to clear two large trees in the front yard that crowded the house. The trees were in a depression in the yard that once cleared seemed like a great place to locate a pond. About a year later a DIY oval shaped pond was a reality, measuring about 6'W x 12'L x 3' deep, about 1600 gal. I placed some cheapo feeder goldfish in the pond after hooking up the equipment. The goldfish have thrived, except for one sudden and complete kill about four years ago.
Here's the equipment I used:
-Laguna Power Jet 7000 pump rated 2142 gph 100w
-Two sets Laguna 4500 Power Clear UV sterilizers 8w each, rated 1000 gal each
-Laguna Power Flo Filter
-Plastic waterfall
-Laguna Fountain
-Laguna pre filter for pump
- De-icer disc used in the winter, all other equipment deactivated
The pond is near a front yard with loads of hardwood trees, so leaves are a challenge particularly in Autumn. The pond receives sunshine late am through the afternoon. I found it futile to keep the pond clear with the equipment shown plus some plants. A couple years ago I pulled all the equipment and the fish did fine although the water was green.
Two evenings ago the fish were gasping air at the surface. I did an emergency water change and pond cleanup that kept me up to 1:30am and I only lost one fish of 63.
With the new clear water and the extremely active and visible fish, I'm ready to take another stab at keeping the water clear.
Here are some of my questions:
1. Main Question...What size, type and brand pump, filter and UV do you recommend to keep this clean and offer ease of maintenance, economy of operation and dependability assuming I buy the filter and don't go homemade? Would a pressurized filter be the best bet? A recommended brand and model that is easy to operate and clean/ maintain would be appreciated.
2. I never installed a skimmer, as they looked a bit tricky to install correctly and were pricey to boot. Do you believe I need one for this size pond? I would prefer to put the $$$ into the pump, filter and UV sterilizer and use the pole net once in awhile if practical.
3. The doc homemade filter interests me, but there is not a great amount of room in which to bury or hide one, and the Boss doesn't want one in the front yard. I have lots of room on the side of the house, which is 20' from the waterfall and down grade several feet. I could elevate a barrel but it seems like a long way to pump water up a grade. Your thoughts?
I'm leaning toward a store bought filter, new pump and sterilizer this season, and possibly adding a homemade filter as a secondary next season and possibly a skimmer. I have extreme time constraints now.
My main concern is spending bucks on a pump, filter and UV and not getting clear water and/or having high maintenance demands, which is what happened the last time.
Any advice appreciated, and thank you in advance!
Here's my pond story...
About 8-9 years ago I had to clear two large trees in the front yard that crowded the house. The trees were in a depression in the yard that once cleared seemed like a great place to locate a pond. About a year later a DIY oval shaped pond was a reality, measuring about 6'W x 12'L x 3' deep, about 1600 gal. I placed some cheapo feeder goldfish in the pond after hooking up the equipment. The goldfish have thrived, except for one sudden and complete kill about four years ago.
Here's the equipment I used:
-Laguna Power Jet 7000 pump rated 2142 gph 100w
-Two sets Laguna 4500 Power Clear UV sterilizers 8w each, rated 1000 gal each
-Laguna Power Flo Filter
-Plastic waterfall
-Laguna Fountain
-Laguna pre filter for pump
- De-icer disc used in the winter, all other equipment deactivated
The pond is near a front yard with loads of hardwood trees, so leaves are a challenge particularly in Autumn. The pond receives sunshine late am through the afternoon. I found it futile to keep the pond clear with the equipment shown plus some plants. A couple years ago I pulled all the equipment and the fish did fine although the water was green.
Two evenings ago the fish were gasping air at the surface. I did an emergency water change and pond cleanup that kept me up to 1:30am and I only lost one fish of 63.
With the new clear water and the extremely active and visible fish, I'm ready to take another stab at keeping the water clear.
Here are some of my questions:
1. Main Question...What size, type and brand pump, filter and UV do you recommend to keep this clean and offer ease of maintenance, economy of operation and dependability assuming I buy the filter and don't go homemade? Would a pressurized filter be the best bet? A recommended brand and model that is easy to operate and clean/ maintain would be appreciated.
2. I never installed a skimmer, as they looked a bit tricky to install correctly and were pricey to boot. Do you believe I need one for this size pond? I would prefer to put the $$$ into the pump, filter and UV sterilizer and use the pole net once in awhile if practical.
3. The doc homemade filter interests me, but there is not a great amount of room in which to bury or hide one, and the Boss doesn't want one in the front yard. I have lots of room on the side of the house, which is 20' from the waterfall and down grade several feet. I could elevate a barrel but it seems like a long way to pump water up a grade. Your thoughts?
I'm leaning toward a store bought filter, new pump and sterilizer this season, and possibly adding a homemade filter as a secondary next season and possibly a skimmer. I have extreme time constraints now.
My main concern is spending bucks on a pump, filter and UV and not getting clear water and/or having high maintenance demands, which is what happened the last time.
Any advice appreciated, and thank you in advance!
