Tips on getting to grips with inherited pond

[tomkay]

Hi All, first post here.

I am in the UK and have inherited a garden pond with a house I have just purchased.

I have worked out I have around 10,000 litres and the pond goes down to 5ft in the middle with 2/3 shelfs.

I seem to have a main pump, that looks to feed a de-chlorinator first, then into an Oase filter (can't see model) that has an Oase Filterclean UV-C 9/11W built in (took this a part and noticed no bulb in so have ordered). Water then feeds into a PondXpert UVC Pressure Filter PXEF12000 (must be an older version as when Googling this does not look the same as mine) and then feeds back into the pond. There is also a second pump that feeds a waterfall and seems the water fills from the bottom and passes up through plastic balls and sponges (I cleaned this initially with pond water as the build up of sludge in the bottom was really bad).

All of this looks to have been off for around a year prior to me moving in and I have had the pumps and filters on for around 6 weeks now. Turns out there are 2 Comets, 2 Sarasa(?) and 1 Shubunkin in the pond. I also saw a Newt dive in the pond when I was trying to open the Oase filter but haven't seen him since.

The water is slowly clearing up and I can just about make out the 5ft part with Polaroid glasses on. However, there seems to be quite a bit of sludge and build up on the bottom which to me looks like I need to clean but I am not sure at what point sludge needs to be cleaned out? The fish seem happy but won't eat any pond flake as they seem to be feeding in this sludge on naturals. There are lots of little invertebrates in that sludge when I net some out so worried if the wrong thing to do is net all this out?

I put a small weighted bunch of Hornwort in which seems to have pretty much died, willow moss which seems to have survived but not grown and water cress in the waterfall. I am trying to pretty up around the pond and so far have dotted some ferns around the filters to cover that as previously it was left like a building site!

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for me or any guidance with this pond please, as I am very much in the dark here and have trawled various posts online and videos but it's quite difficult knowing what does or doesn't apply to me.

I have added some pictures for reference and if anyone is still reading at this point, I really appreciate it!

Thanks in advanced,
Tom

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for an informative post with detailed information. Some sludge/detritus on the bottom is normal and as you saw it can have some use. Any idea how deep it is?

Sounds like you are on the right track, taking care of equipment maintenance and making sure everything is running good.

 

[tomkay]

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for an informative post with detailed information. Some sludge/detritus on the bottom is normal and as you saw it can have some use. Any idea how deep it is?

Sounds like you are on the right track, taking care of equipment maintenance and making sure everything is running good.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, it is much appreciated.

On the shallow margins I'd say the sludge on average is about an inch or two deep but it seems at the bottom in the 5ft section it is much deeper, hard to tell but maybe a few more inches going on feel.

I want to add some pebble and maybe some larger rocks in places, to increase surface area for good bacteria. Would it be advisable to clean all the sludge prior? Also, for ease I think maybe that should be on the shallow margins for management?

Kind of worried about adding more plants considering the Hornwort died. I was expecting that to grow like stink. The fish have cover with overhanging slate and they seem to hide in and around pipework in the depths but I do need more than that for them pretty soon, right?

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

My hornwort took time to grow, then it became a forest. I thought it had died ages ago, then poof it was there.

 

[j.w]

and welcome @tomkay
You could take the fish out while you remove most of that thick gunk. Put them in a kiddy pool w/ water form the big pond so they won't get shocked. Get in there w/a net and scoop it out, good for you garden plants. Keep all the old water in the pond and when done getting the gunk out get your filter running good to clear it up some and then put the fish back into their old water.

 

[GBBUDD]

The first question is the sludge a benefit or is it detrimental. And it seems you answered that question. If the koi refuse food and go down and munch on the sludge and inverts then I say don't fix what's not broke. Clay ponds in Japan are similar. Sounds like the eco system is in full swing. Don't think i'd do much about the build up, any idea how thick it is?

I want to add some pebble and maybe some larger rocks in places, to increase surface area for good bacteria. Would it be advisable to clean all the sludge prior? Also, for ease I think maybe that should be on the shallow margins for management?

With the critters in the water that you mentioned it sounds like your very established. I have never used them but they do have bacteria balls it's a concentrated colony per say that is suppose to break up sludge. Now I'm usually not into chemical fixes but if you drop a ball in an area and it works then you could try some more. Bacteria will grow in the shallows and in the deeper areas in the shade and in the sun. provide warmth food and sun or filtered sun and you'll have bacteria.

Your water looks relatively clear but it looks like you have some pea soup starting. plants / a bog is a way to resolve that. sorry i know nothing of your type of filter.

myself i use a pond vac to hopefully keep ahead of any significant build up.

 

[tomkay]

Welcome to the forum!

My hornwort took time to grow, then it became a forest. I thought it had died ages ago, then poof it was there.

Thanks! I'll leave it there for now and see how it gets on in the coming weeks. I did move it to a shallower margin in the sun to see if that makes any difference, and it seems slightly better.

 

[tomkay]

Thanks for responses all.

In the shallow margins the sludge is maximum around an inch deep I'd say; it is definitely deeper in the 5ft depths. I think based on what you've all said, it is probably worth leaving the shallow margins alone and tackle the deeper bits with a net and take the edge off a bit.

I have an Oase filter (unable to see model) with a UV 9/11W built in that is empty (I have ordered a bulb) and also a PondXpert pressurised filter PXEF12000 with built in UV. There is also a waterfall that fills from the bottom through plastic balls and foam. I attached photos of the setup in my original post.

Regarding pea soup, I think that is maybe where I have kicked up the bottom taking a photo of the sludge, it settles again and doesn't look like that.

I have watched a lot of videos on bog filters and think if I was digging a pond myself I would fully utilise one. However, I am not sure how to best incorporate one within the current setup. Which is a shame and I'd love one.

 

[tomkay]

Tested Ammonia levels this morning and they are essentially 0 ppm. Am I right in thinking if the sludge was causing an issue to the water quality I'd see Ammonia present in these tests?

 

[GBBUDD]

ammonia " waste, or decomposing debris" is step one that then gets converted to nitrite " as bacteria starts to break it down to a less toxic compound" and then nitrate which can then be fooud for algae

 

[addy1]

I have watched a lot of videos on bog filters and think if I was digging a pond myself I would fully utilise one. However, I am not sure how to best incorporate one within the current setup. Which is a shame and I'd love one.

You could add a small container across the corner that is the flat edge, fill it with pea gravel and plants, have a small pump send water into the bottom and waterfall back into the pond. I did that with a hot tub pond I had. Not a huge bog filter, but it worked.

 

[Hound Heaven]

Thanks for responses all.

In the shallow margins the sludge is maximum around an inch deep I'd say; it is definitely deeper in the 5ft depths. I think based on what you've all said, it is probably worth leaving the shallow margins alone and tackle the deeper bits with a net and take the edge off a bit.

I have an Oase filter (unable to see model) with a UV 9/11W built in that is empty (I have ordered a bulb) and also a PondXpert pressurised filter PXEF12000 with built in UV. There is also a waterfall that fills from the bottom through plastic balls and foam. I attached photos of the setup in my original post.

Regarding pea soup, I think that is maybe where I have kicked up the bottom taking a photo of the sludge, it settles again and doesn't look like that.

I have watched a lot of videos on bog filters and think if I was digging a pond myself I would fully utilise one. However, I am not sure how to best incorporate one within the current setup. Which is a shame and I'd love one.

The really nice thing about a bog is that they can be any size or shape from a nice sized pot, an old bathtub or an excavated pit. It's simply a way for the water to slowly travel through plant roots so they can extract nutrients. There are some excellent examples on this forum if you browse around.

Just take your time and enjoy the journey. You'll find great info here and a real willingness to assist.

 

[tomkay]

Thanks all, much appreciated. You've all given me plenty of food for thought and is exactly what I've needed.

I have been looking through various bog filter builds on here and reading lots of helpful info, so is something I will slowly plan together and implement once I am on top of everything else. Seems it makes sense to understand and fully utilise what I already have first before adding past that.

In other news, my replacement UV bulbs turned up today so I went to replace one on the Oase filter while breaking for lunch and worked out why it didn't have one in. Seems the ballast unit is full of water and upon further inspection where the UV casing connects to the unit it is cracked.

Is it worth replacing this unit? I can do so for around £60. The PondXpert pressurised filter has built in UV also (assume the bulb needs replacing), but that requires more work to replace as it seems I have to take the whole thing a part to get to the bulb. A weekend job!

 

[tomkay]

You could add a small container across the corner that is the flat edge, fill it with pea gravel and plants, have a small pump send water into the bottom and waterfall back into the pond. I did that with a hot tub pond I had. Not a huge bog filter, but it worked.

I came across this on my travels around the forum, looks really nice and is probably where I should start when it comes to doing a bog filter. Do you have a link to where you put a lot of info regarding this build please? Thank you.

 

[JRS]

The UV helps eliminate green water algae. If you are planning a bog down the road or even lots of plants with a low fish load, you may have no need for it at all and the associated maintenance/costs.