Shallow Pond not shallow steve!

[steveb561]

Hi folks, I'm looking for some expert advice please. I'll tell you about my pond and thanks for looking.

About 10 years ago I inherited my Fathers pond, its about 12' x 12' x 18'', very shallow, it has some shelving for plants so taking that into account I think its about 1200 gals approx.

Anyway, when I first started to look after it, it had mainly all goldfish, maybe 40 x 6-8 inch, it was gravity fed and simply a pump with a black box with 3 sponges. I gradually added some small koi, as you do, which grew, as they do.
Sometimes in the summer I would struggle to keep it clean so bought another system with a pressurized set up, so 2 systems running and 6 sponges in total.

My Sister decided to up and emigrate to France and give me the contents of her pond, about 20 koi, some large, now they are pretty big!, so suddenly lots more poo!.

Being disabled it was getting to be hard work cleaning the pressured system so I got rid of that and bought a bigger black tank with 3 sponges.

Over the years I have been plagued with blanket weed etc etc etc, and I'm sure that most people have to endure certain problems but can someone tell me why I'm having to clean the sponges every week
!! they just get blocked up within a day!
I have loads of plastic and rock like media below the sponges if anyone wants to know!
I know that a shallow pond could be bad with sunlight creating algae etc and some of the filter blockage is like a blanket weed type algae which does clog and other times its like muddy poo!

Any ideas, if your still awake that is!!

 

[Waterbug]

I've said many times that sponge type filters are worthless. If they're working they do have to be cleaned every couple of days. You're one of the few people I've ever heard of who actually does clean them. The problem is simply that a sponge, or any small mechanical filter, can only hold a tiny bit of muck compared to the amount being produced. They work great, it's the cleaning effort that makes them so worthless.

If you give up on the filters you can at least just toss out the sponges and keep the other media (plastic rock like stuff). That's probably important to keeping your fish alive.

The pond depth is really not the problem, nor is the sunlight. Yes, these makes things worst, but just marginally. You would still have a big problem in shade and with more depth.

IMO there's a bottom line...ponds are designed for different purposes. Look nice, raise a lot of fish in a small space, easy maintenance, etc. Once the pond is built it is what it is. You have a very large fish load as you know. A pond can be designed and built to make having a large fish load a piece of cake. Your pond is designed and built to hold a few goldfish, a dozen or two depending on fish size.

There are lots of things to can do, but all involve lots of physical effort like vacuuming or scooping out debris daily to keep some stuff out of the filters. More hard work.

Another option would be to remove the current pond and build one designed for the fish load you want with the level of maintenance you want. Such as a bottom drain system connected to a sieve filter can remove virtually all waste in the pond almost instantly. And the filter is almost self cleaning, and when it does have to be cleaned it's very easy. A skimmer can remove a lot of debris before it sinks and rots. Trickle Tower and Shower filters are excellent at ammonia conversion and are almost self cleaning, media is replaced once every 3-5 years, if that.

Another option is to reduce the number of fish.

Another option is to let nature reduce the number of fish.

Lots of options, but no magic bullets.

 

[steveb561]

Thanks so much for a quick response, I'm very impressed and will consider reducing the population and offering some fish to a friend who has just finished creating a new pond, too shallow I might add!! once again thanks.

 

[addy1]

Keep the feeding light, that will help with the fish poo. Koi do make lots more poo then goldfish and are fussier about the water they live in.

 

[keikoasmom]

I wouldn't under-feed, I would sell or gift 1/3 of the fish, and then pull the rest out, re-dig the pond.
I have never had a pond more shallow than 24", partly so it doesn't freeze, but also because fish don't like to be that close to the surface, generally, and specifically because of sun (they can sunburn) and predators. My three levels are 24", 38" and the top level is 24". It was supposed to hold guppies, but they defected to the middle (deepest) level!
Is there a good flow?
I would add a skimmer system, and also get rid of the sponges or use them along with lava rock. I don't like plastic, it just isn't that
porous. You want beneficial bacteria and other creatures.

Shade is good. We have a lot of shade, 4 trees around the pond, which is a fall leaf PITA, but
it keeps the temps down and helps prevent the algae from having all the sun it craves. We also have MANY plants, moving water,
and a UV sterilizer to stop the algae. I also use barley, but that didn't work this year, as our puppy develped a craving for it!
So I used an anti-algae product (not chemical, natural, I will have to go see what it was) and the Blu-block.
Just some of my opinions, always glad to hear others!

:razz: :razz: :goldfish: :goldfish: :goldfish: :razz: :razz:

 

[steveb561]

Wow, I'm not used to all this attention....and from thousands of miles away.

I have a very large black plastic tank with a large mixture of plastic and lava rock media, topped with the sponges.

I have, in the past, used a very good treatment to get rid of blanket weed problems, caused by the shallow water, however, there are minute filaments of algae/blanket weed that clog the sponges terribly, almost impossible to get it off, just to add to the problems!!

I have trees for some shade and I have covered half of the pond with a green shade cloth used for greenhouses etc.

The fish seem to be quite happy (whatever that means!) but I may reduce their feed a bit.

I have some lillies in the pond that date back 30 years to previous ponds that manage to survive with no soil because my carp destroy everything in sight! Also some irises with the same problem, although they were set on a step we have had monsoon rains that has removed all of their soil too!

I keep a powerful pump running as a large geezer type fountain in the hot , humid weather, for extra oxygen, but recently I went away and my air pump stopped and I hadn't run the fountain and alas lost 2 fish.

We have had some cold winters and the pond is frozen over with ice at probably 4'' thick but the fish have coped.

I totally agree that ideally I should remove the fish and re-dig the pond encorporating proper drain filters but finances are not available, I've seen some of the huge filter set ups in koi centres.

Maybe in my next life, or maybe I'll have a dog next time!!!

Thanks for great advice to all you guys ps. you must have a hot pond in Arizona!!

 

[fishrich]

All of the the above comments are the best advice, great comments.
One product i have used to get rid of blanket weed is" kusuri eco pure"(if im allowed to name drop??) Ive had no hint of it for 2 years now

 

[Waterbug]

There are many opinions on pond depth. I like 3-4' myself. However, if you think the pond will be cleaner or have less string algae if you make the pond deeper I think you're going to be disappointed. Make it deeper for the valid reasons and you'll be happier with the result.

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forums :wave:

 

[steveb561]

:razz: