Old hand at aquariums, totally new at ponds

[kpaddler]

Hi

I bought a house late last summer that came with a pond. To be honest, I don't think I ever would have put a pond in myself, but since the house already has one, I figure I should give it a try. I have already made some mistakes, the biggest one is that I bought way to many fish.., I knew at the time I was getting to many, but I figured that I was sure to loose a lot through predation. (hasn't happend yet). I did not purchase Koi, I stuck to the red Comets that the pet store sells as feeder fish. (I also figured that living in a pond, over crowded though it may be, would be better than being eaten).

The pond came with what I am guessing is a pressure filter canester, and a submersible pump that seems a bit over powered. I replaced most of the contents of the canester with some xeolite, carbon, and a layer of those ceramic rings the pyscho girl at the pet shop said would work great. Because I worry what it is doing to my elec bill, I have this system on a timer that lets it run 12 hrs/day. I also got a much smaller filter/pump combo for mechanical filtration, one of those units where everything is submersible, this i run 24 hrs/day. Both filters discharge into a waterfall, for aeration as much as asthetics.

I have a good (or bad) algie bloom right now, and am not sure what to do about it or even it I should do anything about it. I does not seem to bother the fish, and it actually lets them hide when they go down deep enough, and the frogs that adopted the pond don't care either. ( I asked them). There are three post of lilly pads, or Lotus plants that came with the pond, and I figure that when the plants really get going, it should block alot of the sun light and kill off much of the algie. The only difficulty is that both filters slow down greatly after a week or two in this soup, so I have been rinsing them out with the hose to free up the flow.

I have been considering getting one of those filterbox/ UV combos to put in the same line before the pressure can for mechanical filtration so maybe I won't have to open the pressure can as often.

Any coments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[sissy]

Those types of filters never work well and you would be better building your own and cheaper too .The filter boxes you are talking about work good but make sure you get a big enough one to hold all the waste .My neighbor got the 10 inch one for her small pond and it is to small and has to be cleaned often .She is going back to get the 14 inch one with the bigger tank for the filter and funny the lady told her to go bigger ,but oh well she went for cheaper smaller one .

 

[Waterbug]

I bought way to many fish..

How many?

The pond came with what I am guessing is a pressure filter canester, and a submersible pump that seems a bit over powered. I replaced most of the contents of the canester with some xeolite, carbon, and a layer of those ceramic rings the pyscho girl at the pet shop said would work great.

Unfortunately all the filters you can buy for these types of ponds are very poor. These are very much like aquariums filters. If you kind of scale in your head the size and fish load to the pond, plus add the pond being outside with sun light, wind carrying dust, leaves, etc into the pond you'll see these filters are way, way under sized.

There are better options for ponds which leverage nature. If you can't beat her, join her. Unfortunately these filters can't really be purchased for under say $2000. But they're not too hard to build. Streams are very good filters.Bogs are good, which you can search for on this site. "Trickle towers" are very good, 10 to 30 times better than most submerged media filters like you have now. Basically just a pile of rocks you pump water over. For example, something called a "strawberry pot", ceramic or clay, can be filled with stones/rocks and water pumped over it, would be way better than any filter you can buy for under $500. Strawberry pot, or strawberry planters can be found in most local garden stores and sell for $30-150 depending how big or fancy you want. Set the pot on a shelf or shallow area inside the pond but above the water line. You can add bricks or concrete blocks if needed to build a platform. Most people think they look pretty good. Actually any ceramic or clay pot that has a hole in the bottom can be used. Easy to put together.

Because I worry what it is doing to my elec bill, I have this system on a timer that lets it run 12 hrs/day.

Probably better to just not run it at all.

I also got a much smaller filter/pump combo for mechanical filtration, one of those units where everything is submersible, this i run 24 hrs/day.

Submerged filters are pretty poor. All combo filters are worthless. The mechanical part means bacteria can't grow at all, or are limited. A working mechanical filter has to be cleaned every few days and even then would be overwhelmed by most ponds.

Both filters discharge into a waterfall, for aeration as much as asthetics.

Just something to keep in mind...it's the mixing of water in the pond that increases O2, not the action of falls. If you're concerned about electric costs an air pump is much more efficient at moving water than a water pump for the purpose of adding O2. Just like in aquariums, just larger pumps. However, the falls acts just like a trickle tower filter so is a pretty good filter.

I have a good (or bad) algie bloom right now, and am not sure what to do about it or even it I should do anything about it. I does not seem to bother the fish, and it actually lets them hide when they go down deep enough, and the frogs that adopted the pond don't care either. ( I asked them).

Algae is the best asset a pond can have from the perspective of everything living in the pond. Creates a great food chain and provides cover. Most pond owners like clear only to be better able to see the fish. The down side to algae is O2. Plants use O2 at night so levels can fall. Also as algae dies and decomposes it uses O2. Low O2 can be a problem if there's a lot of fish, water is warm, or there are large (5-10+ lb Koi). Larger fish need more O2. If you were concerned you can create more water movement which water or air pumps.

There are three post of lilly pads, or Lotus plants that came with the pond, and I figure that when the plants really get going, it should block alot of the sun light and kill off much of the algie. The only difficulty is that both filters slow down greatly after a week or two in this soup, so I have been rinsing them out with the hose to free up the flow

Unfortunately limiting sunlight only slows algae growth. We're only talking about shades of green, green vs dark green. There's a bacteria in the pond that kills green water algae, however the algae produces a chemical that kills the bacteria. The trick is trying to give the bacteria the upper hand.
.

I have been considering getting one of those filterbox/ UV combos to put in the same line before the pressure can for mechanical filtration so maybe I won't have to open the pressure can as often.

Combo filters are very poor filters imo. You can buy way better standalone UV filters from companies like Aqua Ultraviolet. UV is 100% effective in clearing green water in 3-5 days if properly installed. The amount of water pushed thru is key. Normally UV filters only have to run for a couple of weeks. Once the algae is killed the killer bacteria can reproduce (eating the dead algae). Once that bacteria gets the upper hand they can kill all new algae and keep a pond clear basically forever. You just turn of the UV after a couple of weeks and see if water starts to go green again. Repeat until water stays clear.

 

[j.w]

kpaddler

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forums! :wave:

 

[kpaddler]

Thanks all for the replys, they are helping me alot

I am settling on a new plan for the pond, namely I am in the process of making a Skippy type filter, and am in the process of trying to get a rubbermaid stock tank used off Craig's list. If I can't locate one, I will have to make the 30 mile drive to Graingers to pick on up. The 75gal jobby goes for over a hundred bucks, but it's still cheaper than the other alternitives. I think I will buy the filter media off the skyppy website, if I can't find simallar material locally.
This filter will involve alot of work, because the only logical place to site it is half buried in the garden above the pond, so it means moving alot of plants and digging a huge hole, and raising the level of the waterfall.
The other part of my plan is to keep the filters I already have in place untill the skippy has a month or two to start working.

Thoughts?

 

[sissy]

I found those tanks at my parks department and you can buy them and then right it off as a donation in some states .My parks department had lots of them and at 10 dollars .