Need help making a cleaner pond

[DEL 707]

1st a little background on my pond.

Dimensions are, at it's max. 455cm (14ft 11) x 255cm (8ft 4) and at it's deepest, the pond is about 3 1/2 foot, there is a ledge running about about 60% of the pond.
I dug the pond myself, about 4 years ago, could be 5+, my memories terrible.

There's various fish in there, a mixture of carp and smaller varieties.

I did used to run it all of 1 pressuriesd filter, but that died on me sometime over winter. Because the family wanted a fountain in the middle of the pond, we opted for 2 smaller filters instead, a Hozelock Easyclear 6000 for the fountain and a Easyclear 9000 connected up to the waterfall. I did no research into this myself, family saw what they wanted, and I went with the flow.

After about 2 months, I am rapidly getting tired of these new filters, my pond is greener then ever, with actual green balls of gunk floating about, which I'm removing, but the filters need to be cleaned every other day, it's not so bad with detritus in the vents, but the filter media is completely gunked up with green crap.

What I need to know, is what steps I need to take, to -
A - Give me a cleaner pond
B - Ease up maintance

Don't want to sound lazy, but cleaning out 2 filters every other night after work is not much fun and I am NOT looking forward to doing it once the weather gets colder.

 

[dieselplower]

I don't plan to ever clean my filters. Get large tubs, fill them with gravel, and have the water upflow from them back into the pond. I can see the bottom of my pond, 5 feet down.

 

[HTH]

I don't plan to ever clean my filters. Get large tubs, fill them with gravel, and have the water upflow from them back into the pond. I can see the bottom of my pond, 5 feet down.

That works up to the point where it is clogged. Then you have an unholy mess of dirty rocks to deal with. This idea is old and dated.

People used to bury pipes under gravel in the bottom of their ponds. It kept people employed cleaning them. Also the the rocks start filling in you may see a rise in fish health problems. It is a sewer.

 

[dieselplower]

That works up to the point where it is clogged. Then you have an unholy mess of dirty rocks to deal with. This idea is old and dated.

People used to bury pipes under gravel in the bottom of their ponds. It kept people employed cleaning them. Also the the rocks start filling in you may see a rise in fish health problems. It is a sewer.

Time will tell. Do you have any better suggestions? If the time comes where I need to clean the rocks I will simply dump the container into my wheelbarrow, rinse them, and be done with it. I dont see that happening this year. I forgot to mention that is is important to put plants into the gravel as well. Truth be told I know my idea isn't perfect but I dont have room in my landscaping for the sort of top of the line filtration some people run. And really, that stuff ends up being really ugly.

 

[Sunshine]

I have an upflow bio filter on the small side of the pond and an upflow bog on the larger side. The only maintenance I do is clean the bio out every Spring. The bog is new this year, the old bog was there for about 3 years, didn't do anything to it except open the drain a couple of times.

 

[HTH]

Time will tell. Do you have any better suggestions? If the time comes where I need to clean the rocks I will simply dump the container into my wheelbarrow, rinse them, and be done with it. I dont see that happening this year. I forgot to mention that is is important to put plants into the gravel as well. Truth be told I know my idea isn't perfect but I dont have room in my landscaping for the sort of top of the line filtration some people run. And really, that stuff ends up being really ugly.

No need to wait as this same story has been repeated countless times. There is history here. The collected solids will harbor bacteria and maybe go anaerobic in time. If you want to do this commit to tearing it down and cleaning the gravel periodically rather then wait for bad things to happen because then it is often too late. Not fun and the reason so few people use rocks.

The only sort of filter where we let the crud build up is a bog or veggie filters where we have plants to deal with the solids. With your small containers the solids will overpower plants.


I am now using laval rock on a small scale in a 500g snapset pool. The rocks are in trays that are easily lifted and rinsed.

If you want filters that need less cleaning and are easier to clean start with something to separate the solids like a radial flow or a upflow barrel full of cut PVC pipe. All you do is open a value for a few seconds every week or two.

This is not about me needing to be right. Just trying to save you some work down the road.

 

[dieselplower]

Have no fear, if I have a huge mess on my hands I will post about it.

 

[HTH]

Have no fear, if I have a huge mess on my hands I will post about it.

Just remember that if you let it go too far it could mean sick or dead fish.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Try more plants. It looks like you've got a nice amount in there, though some do recommend covering up to half the surface of the pond. Others cover even more than half. I hear water hyacinth works to cover the surface AND as a filter.
I don't know what you have underneath the surface but I hear hornwort is great at filtering and taking extra nutrients away from algae.

Keep in mind I'm saying "I've heard" because I'm still fairly new to this. The few things I just told you, I have read about countless times across the web. I personally have less than 1/4 of my pond surface covered, and only a couple of hornworts, and my pond is green, so I definitely need to add more and see if it works. I still need to add a decent filter, all I currently have is a small one that comes with the pump so the pump wont take in debris. I'm hoping once I take care of that, it'll reduce the green. I don't mind a little green tint to the water, since it looks more natural than a crystal clear ponds, but I sure would like to be able to see further than a foot down.

 

[HTH]

DEL there are easier to clean filters. But you have not really show or told us enough to help. I am thinking you would be happier with a filter where you could just turn a valve to drain off the solids. Thus keeping much of it out of the rest of the filter system.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

I wouldnt think you would want 1/2 the pond covered up with plants. Your gas exchange would be limited during the hot summer months. You try adding another pump and or more flow? I really dont see any ripples on the surface of the water?

 

[Litzi1964]

I'm of the "do what works" school of thought. If your old filter worked well, get another one. If your family wants a fountain then get a decorative fountain pump with a prefilter or box filter.

 

[JohnHuff]

You have green water and algae because there is an abundance of nutrients. If you don't want to fool around with new filters and such, the two easiest things to do are 1) cut down on the food you are feeding, that's usually the #1 reason for excess nutrients and 2) add a few water hyacinths, duckweed in a hoop or other floating plants. These can suck up nutrients very efficiently and deprive the algae of them. My personal story is that years ago, a cleaning man came and took away all my water hyacinths. Within a couple of days my pond was completely overcome with green algae.

If you want to spend more time, you might want to add/build a mechanical filter with a large filtering capacity. But food and other plants are the key. Some might also suggest UV, but that simply kills the algae, there will still be an excess of nutrients in the pond with nowhere to go.

I've looked at your Easyclear filters and sadly, these store bought systems are not that great for maintenance or useful. They don't provide a lot of biofiltration and are a nightmare to clean.

 

[dieselplower]

You have green water and algae because there is an abundance of nutrients. If you don't want to fool around with new filters and such, the two easiest things to do are 1) cut down on the food you are feeding, that's usually the #1 reason for excess nutrients and 2) add a few water hyacinths, duckweed in a hoop or other floating plants. These can suck up nutrients very efficiently and deprive the algae of them. My personal story is that years ago, a cleaning man came and took away all my water hyacinths. Within a couple of days my pond was completely overcome with green algae.

If you want to spend more time, you might want to add/build a mechanical filter with a large filtering capacity. But food and other plants are the key. Some might also suggest UV, but that simply kills the algae, there will still be an excess of nutrients in the pond with nowhere to go.

I've looked at your Easyclear filters and sadly, these store bought systems are not that great for maintenance or useful. They don't provide a lot of biofiltration and are a nightmare to clean.

Is biofiltration needed? it seems this pond, with its abundance of nutrients, would really benefit....

 

[HTH]

I wouldnt think you would want 1/2 the pond covered up with plants. Your gas exchange would be limited during the hot summer months. You try adding another pump and or more flow? I really dont see any ripples on the surface of the water?

A pond that is allowed to get hot enough to cause a gas exchange problem is train wreck. People talk about the gas exchange but remember the ability of the water to hold oxygen has fallen off sharply. It is far better to keep the water temp down and use additional aeration.

I know this because I have been there and done that.

Callie Cavett of NDSU writes this.

Not only are water lilies beautiful, they are also beneficial to a water garden. The water lily pad resting on the water's surface insulates the pool. During the day it reflects heat and holds heat at night, therefore, stablizing water temperature and assisting in algae control. They also take out nutrients of the water which helps to starve algae. To environmental balance a pool 40-60 percent of the water should be covered by floating foilage. A water lily is just the plant to use.


Also the DEL the OP is in the UK and may not have problems with heat.

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