Neglected in Georgia

[tenneseetitanfan]

Hi Ponders,

My name is Tony and I am new to ponds. I just left an intro in the new members introduction area,

I live just northeast of Atlanta Ga. and just purchased a home with a neglected pond abandoned about 18 months and really need some advise.

There is no pump but there are about 40 gold fish and 5 twelve inch koi in the lower pond and there is
a lot of muck on the pond floor.

The pond is a 2 level deal with a 40 by 12 bow tie shape on the lower level. Its about 20 inches deep and 1 one of the pond estimators indicates its about 6000 gallons? There is a savio skimmer or pump
box but no pump.

The upper pond is 20 by 7 and about a foot deep and has a lot of what looks like anacharis plant ( spelling) for aquariums. there is a filter basin that is also a black box just above this upper pond. It is filled with mesh bags with a foam type material in the bags.This is about 10ft above the lower pond. This releases into the upper pond via a waterfall (if there was a pump) fills the upper pond causing it to overflow to an 8ft 18inch wide stream that splits into 2 18inch wide falls. Those in turn create streams
about 8 ft long that flow to the lower pond.

Lots of questions like what type and size pump.
Can I just start pumping water or do I need to clean the pond first?
What about the filter media? Clean or replace?
All other advice would be welcome as I am in over my head at this point.

Thanks

Tony

 

[JohnHuff]

What's going to happen to Jake Locker next year?

 

[tenneseetitanfan]

Jake was playing very well before the injuries. If he stays healthy he will stay the QB. If not they will need to move on.

 

[Team Triggerfinger]

Sounds like you inherited a bad situation during a poor time of the year. Not sure what the winters are like in Georgia. It's already a stressful time of year for the fish. I think at the minimum, I'd at least get a bubbler in there. What are the air and water temps this time of year?

 

[tenneseetitanfan]

Last week the pond froze over for 3 days. 6 degrees overnite . Then the rain came and it was 60 degrees. The rain clouded the water and its still not settled. It will be 26 tonight so we have flucuating temps to say the least.

 

[adavisus]

I shouldn't worry about fitting a pump until waters are warm enough to stress the fish and they need additional oxygen from the water movement.

Straightforward progress would be to spot the deepest places in the pond and very gently dredge loose debris, gunk out, a couple or three buckets at a time, to chip away at whatever backlog of organic stuff has built up.

Among the gunk will be some bad decomp material, remove it gently so it does not stir up too much methane, hydrogen sulphide etc

Regards, andy
http://swglist.wordpress.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

 

[tenneseetitanfan]

Thanks for the reply Andy.

 

[sissy]

I just buy cheap harbor freight pumps and still have several that are 11 years old and still running .Right now the 1 I have is the 2150 gph with 20 ft of head and uses 175 watts .I just got a new 1 after something chewed through the wire of the 4 year old one .For 79 dollars and 25 % off coupon they are not really a bad deal .If you want to save money ,I always buy the extended warranty .Lagunas are good and energy efficient but they have no head .Tried a 4250 gph one and it did not run both my filters right .

 

[sissy]

cloudy water use quilt batting in a basket
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[tenneseetitanfan]

Thanks Sissy,

 

[sissy]

I keep it in my pond all year round and clean it with peroxide and water .At first you are changing it a lot but after awhile it becomes less often .I also put furnace filter or a pond filter stuff on top some of the times to catch the big stuff so it does not clog as often .I hang one piece out to dry while I put the clean piece in .I buffer the water to stabilize ph with crushed oyster shells and use old fashioned lava rock in my filters
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[j.w]

I would get at least a 6000 GPH pump either submersible or external,your choice. Also depends on how high the lift to your waterfall. I have a submersible pondmaster 2400 magnetic drive pump that is still going strong for over 12 yrs for my pond of about 2500 gal and I would like a much bigger one. Looking into getting a Laguna tho as they are quite energy efficient.
Here is a link to a nice explanation of searching for the right pump for you: http://www.backyardgardener.com/pondlady/pump.html

 

[dieselplower]

If it were me, I would wait til Spring and then I would drain most of the water out of the lower pond. I would catch the fish that are in there, and move them to the upper pond. Then I would drain out the rest of the water and clean out all of the sludge out of the lower pond. Then I would pump most of the water from the upper pond into the lower pond and put the fish in the lower pond. Then I would pump out the rest of the water and clean the sludge out of the upper pond. Then I would refill the upper pond with clean water. Now you have two clean ponds and a 50% water change. Having the fish in the pond not being cleaned out will keep them from being affected by any toxins that may be released. It will also allow you to not worry about stepping on them or netting them or whatever. They will be much easier to catch in shallow water than deeper water. In a pond of that many gallons, turing the water over 1 time per hour should be enough. If it is 6000 gallons, I would probably go with 2 3000 gph pumps rather than 1 6000 gph pump. With two pumps, if one fails, you are still pumping 3000 gph. With one pump, if one fails, you are pumping 0 gph. Fish hate that. I suggest cleaning the pond first because if there really is a ton of garbage down there I would not want all of that to end up in the filter. As noted, I would probably just use an aerator for now.

 

[sissy]

Thing is pumps are not made very well these days and you really have to look closely at energy use and yep 2 pumps better than one .I have always ran 2 pumps in the summer but come winter I drop back to one .Thing is you are from Georgia so you really don't get much of a winter there.So you may need to do a cleaning sooner than later .Get a pool net after you get it cleaned good and that will help it stay clean .Don't clean the liner on the sides real good because that is the good stuff the fish like and it will help your pond get a renewed start .Remember city water may need treated get your self a good liquid test kit ,I use API .I think most use it .

 

[Tula]

I have a Savio skimmer and have my two Pondmaster pumps inside it. I don't run them over the winter, but leave them in it. I too think an aerator / air stone, is a good idea