New pond owner. Clueless about ponds and fish

[sissy]

if the cord is plugged into a gfci you would have been fine .As long as you unplug the pump before touching it you would be fine anyways.All pumps say that .As long as the plug in part is kept from getting wet yo are fine .They have plug protectors .All you have to ask is some one there where to find the protectors .You can have someone change the outlet out for a gfci outlet .They are just like the outlet you have .I have installed them and swapped them out where there is just a plain outlet .Lowes also sells a pug in that has it's own gfci built into it .Any electrician can swap out the outlet and even run an outlet outside for you .Most times it will be under 100 dollars .If I was close I would do it for you for nothing .Ask your hardware store or lowes and they can tell you or even ask a neighbor to give you a reference for someone

 

[PossumsDad]

There is a close outlet that I can run an extension cord from. Right before I joined the forum, I purchased an electric pump. I took it back because the instructions were saying that I needed to plug it into a gcfi outlet. The closest pump is a regular outlet.It was a submerged pump so, I wasnt sure if it was safe. Would it be okay to plug an outdoor extension cord into it?

They also make extension cords that have a GFI built into them. You could plug that into your normal plug & you would be ok.

Here is one example:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shock-Bust...oor-Extension-Cord-with-GFCI-Circuit/50394552

I'm sure there are many more out there.

Phil

 

[Elle_Ess]

Just want to say thank you to everyone who has given me advice. As you all can see, I'm the real definition of a newbie. Lol. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

 

[Elle_Ess]

Question...if i purchase a pump with a foam filter inside, will that be enough? Or do I need to still purchase an actual filter system. When I bought the pump, I was confused when I saw the filter. I thought you needed both.

 

[sissy]

You can always see what happens first .I know colleen and jw use those extra filters you can add to your pump .But the filter box should work pretty good on your pond for now

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
It would help if you net/suck out some of the debri at first the sponge will fill up fast.
I know they have a fountain on them and most people Put It out in the middle but I would leave that off and keep it more to the edge for easy acsess. Easier to shut off and clean.

Ruben

 

[sissy]

Well the edge may not be good either I had my pond fountain head going one winter and it was tied to a crate and we got a cold snap and pond iced over but did not realize pump had tipped sideways and it drain the pond to just over a foot of water .When I saw it I did not realize until I saw the ice had caved in .There I was running hose from the inside of the basement and from my bathroom sick in a snow storm that popped up .Not fun pj's and snow .But I was in panic mode at 1 am in the morning

 

[CometKeith]

Welcome. Even though the water looks icky its probably a lot better for your fish than you think. I would recommend to do some reading before you do a major cleaning. A lot of times what you clean is the good stuff that keeps the water safe for your fish. Remember they are eating and pooping in the same water they swim in so they need some pretty powerful waste cleaning stuff to keep the water good. It's always interesting that whenever people find neglected ponds there are always living fish in it

 

[Elle_Ess]

Welcome. Even though the water looks icky its probably a lot better for your fish than you think. I would recommend to do some reading before you do a major cleaning. A lot of times what you clean is the good stuff that keeps the water safe for your fish. Remember they are eating and pooping in the same water they swim in so they need some pretty powerful waste cleaning stuff to keep the water good. It's always interesting that whenever people find neglected ponds there are always living fish in it

Hi! I didn't even know that fish could live in such icky water. I have been worried that cleaning it will be more harm than good. Im kind of already attached to the pond. I don't want anything to die. I have already decided that Im not doing a "major" cleaning. Im going to clean all of the leaves, buy some water flower, and put in a pump/filter. After that, i will do a little at a time over the next few weeks.

 

[sissy]

I would try a crate with quilt batting in it and put your hose in the crate from your pump and put the crate just above the water level and let the water run back into the pond .You will be amazed at how fast it gets dirty,just hose it off and put it back in the crate .Yes I have taken ponds apart for realtors that have to list foreclosed properties and fish have been in them and it amazes me

 

[mgmine]

I would drain it and clean it and get rid of all but three fish. If you want to keep it clean you will need some type of filter. You can build a small skippy with a cheap pump for under $100.00 but you will need to get some electricity there. In answer to your question about the GFI yes you can plug an extension cord into a non GFI outlet. They tell you to use a GFI for liability reasons. You can easily replace the current outlet with a GFI Look on YouTube for ideas for both the GFI and the filter.