Pond restart - Moved into house with two ponds

[ZebbyD]

Hi all,

Like many, I've recently move into a new home in the UK and thrilled to have two ponds in the back garden. There's a ton of equipment thats come with the house, including large filter, pumps and UVs, but sadly pond knowledge is incredibly limited. I've provided a full list of equipment below.

The property has sat empty for 18 months, with the pond pumps etc turned off for the past 3 months, meaning when I switched the system back on it is a real state. A lot of algae and where the water returns to the pond via a waterfall, there is a lot of bubbling and foam. It looks exactly like protein skim from a marine skimmer (i imagine it is similar stuff). The ponds are also pretty empty in terms of water, but while one is full of lilys, the other is foaming quite badly. There's no fish in either pond.

So with that bit of context, I'm really looking for advice of how i get these ponds back up and running. Given the filters won't have been changed in years, I'm guessing I'll need to replace the UV bulbs, clean the pumps, renew the pond filter media and then cycle the pond. Are there any links to good blogs or guides that can help me restart the pond and bring it back to life (with the aim of introducing fish).

Equipment list:

2 x Laguna Max-Flo
1 x Blagdon Force=Hybrid Solids Handling Pump
1 x Aquashift (I think this is another pump)
1 x FilterTech filter (this is a very large filter box and is operating the pump fed system)
2 x Pro Clear UV 30 Advantage

Thank you in advance for any help or guidance.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum.

Others will chime in about filters I don't use anything but my plant filled bog.
All the foam is from too much organic matter in the water. I would start by cleaning the bottom with a net and or a very soft shovel, like a plastic kids sand shovel.

Change out the water, clean any filter pads you can find. Put the lilies into a container with water they will do fine until you get the pond cleaned up. Don't pressure wash you want to keep the fine layer of good bacteria on the liners and rocks if you have rocks.

Post some pictures it helps us see what you are dealing with.

 

[GBBUDD]

Pictures help beyond words

 

[j.w]

@ZebbyD
I use the Laguna Max flo pumps. They are great power savers too. I don't use UV. My filter is just a simple pot filter that sits on the edge of my pond. I wish I would have created a bog filter as they are the best!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! Would love to see pictures!

 

[Norfolkpond]

We have drained our pond and competely cleaned the bottom of the pond when we moved in three years ago. If your pond is too big, you might need to hire a pond guy to help you.

 

[ZebbyD]

Hi all,

sorry for such a delayed reply. The new house is keeping us very busy. Happy to attach some photos. In the past few days I’ve seen a lot of pond wildlife, including a common frog. Really wanted to keep koi in the large of the ponds, should I worry about the insects?

You can probably see from the last couple of photos to smaller pond (that also has a top section) is really overgrown. I’m really starting to wonder what’s in the top section of the second pond.

 

[addy1]

I can't really tell, but your pond does not look that big. Koi need at least 1000 gallons for the first one and 500 gallons for a second. They get big fast and need a lot of water and great filtration. If I were you I would stick with shubunkins or some other gold fish .

 

[SarahT]

Great house and a fabulous pond. I agree with the "only goldfish", and you've got the right mindset on how to approach this. Since there aren't fish in there, empty the pond, give it a scrub (no soap, just a scrub brush and a bucket of water) to remove the organic matter, rinse or replace any filter pads, refill the pond, let it run and see if it has any leaks. Let's assume not. In which case, get some plants for the pond, let the pond cycle for a couple of weeks which will build "good bacteria" and balance the chemistry (buy a water test kit for ammonia, nitrates, pH - you'll use it), and add a couple of small goldfish and see how they do (you can add a few more later). See if you can find manuals for the equipment online; they might be helpful. Have fun.

 

[ZebbyD]

Thank you!

I measured up the pond and it’s 16ft x 6 x 3. Picture angle probably not doing the size justice.

I’ll get it all drained off and replace the media. Will also replace the UV tubes too.

I’m actually thinking of redoing the back of the house and may try to extend the ponds, maybe even connect them. There’s so much space and if I want koi, better to have the room for them and ensure they’re happy.

 

[SarahT]

That is much bigger than it appeared to me in the photo's. Happy koi = happy people, so have fun.

 

[ZebbyD]

That is much bigger than it appeared to me in the photo's. Happy koi = happy people, so have fun.

Once its empty I'll go and lie in it. haha.

It is a big thing, but I'll take it very slow. Goldfish first and lets see how they get on. Then move on up.

 

[addy1]

I love my shubunkins, easy to care for beautiful, decent size. Non fussy fish

 

[addy1]

I’m actually thinking of redoing the back of the house and may try to extend the ponds,

Add a bog for filtration, you will never regret it. Then you can dump your uv lights the filters etc.

I filter only with a bog.

 

[ZebbyD]

How large does that need to be in order to work with what I think, is roughly 1,250 gallons? And is there any recommendation on plants to bed in there?

Honestly though, my biggest concern is disturbing the wildlife in the two ponds. The large common frog is my main concern. Don't want to harm anything, but will have to in order to get it setup again (and very clean). ((I don't mean I'll purposefully harm anything btw, especially not the frog!))