What should my next step be?

[ntscott]

Hi everybody! My name is Scott and I live in sunny (I wish) Portland, OR. I moved into my new home a few months ago which has an established pond. I knew none of its history. I had never since any life except for lots of green gunk. Last week I decided to clean it up and make it an attractive feature and not an eyesore. It was quite a task. The pump wasnt built to pump out gunk. I aqcuired a sump pump and some pvc and started pumping...and cleaning the gunk from the pump, and pumping more. You get the idea. Tons of algae and grasses and lillies gone crazy. Due to the shape of the bottom of the pond, I could never get it all out. I would refill halfway and pump out again...several times. I figured that it would never be perfect, but it was better than it had been in many years. Now that it was filled and the water is cleaner than in recent years, it really puts out a good amount of water to the waterfalls. I got some water conditioner at the local pet store to take out the chlorine and ran it for about 6 hours. I then found some folks on Craigslist that were going to fill in their pond and needed to get rid of their fish, (about a dozen goldfish and four Koi). I scooped them out of the filthiest pond...YUCK! It made my pond look like "operating room clean" in comparison. I brought them to my house in large containers half filled with their old pond water. Over the next 6 hours I started adding some of my pond water to their temporary containers. I then scooped them out of their buckets and set them free into their new home. They have seemed to do well...as far as I can tell. That evening I noticed the pond level had dropped by quite a bit. Drats! I Think that I have found most of where it had been leaking. Behind the waterfall their is a 55 gallon barrel with some type of coiled mesh I assume that is the filter. The water seemed to not be coming up through the filter but around the filter and spilling out the sides of the barrel. My deduction was that the filter was fairly clogged so I poured some buckets of the pond water on top and agitated it and loosened up some of the gunk. The water then seemed to be coming through instead of around the filter, but was still somewhat overflowing. There is a flow lever on the pipe just before it enters into the barrel that I ratcheted back slightly so that the overflow would stop. Also, there seems to be some leakage in the back of the waterfall. It looks like some of the mortar or whatever was used to adhere the rocks was cracked or missing. I have not yet addressed that issue. My first thought was to use that product I keep seeing commercails for, Flex Seal. Liquid rubber in a can. I will not until I hear from one of the pond experts on here. I am going to upload a few pictures of my pond as it is today. My questions so far are:

How badly have I screwed up so far?

How should I address the leak in the waterfall?

Should I worry that my pond isnt clearer?

Is the barrel a sufficient filter and do I need to add or upgrade?

How can I tell if my pond water is healthy?

How can I tell if the fish are healthy?

Here is a question that exemplifies my newbie-ism...One of the orange goldfish appears to be very pregnant. Do they give birth to live little swimmers or lay eggs? Go ahead, laugh. In any event will the other fish leave the little ones alone?

OK, thats probably more than anyone wants to read in a single post.

More later...and thanks for any advice.

Scott

 

[pondlover]

Scott you have a beautiful pond and I am kind of a newbie too. I'm sure some of the experienced ponders will give you some feedback very soon. I have gotten so much helpful information from this forum.

 

[Waterbug]

Nice pond.

How badly have I screwed up so far?

Water gardens are what they are. I don't really think you can really screw them up. It's more about choices.

How should I address the leak in the waterfall?

I'll bet I've posted maybe a 30 times over the years to not reach for a can of goop to fix a water fall. All went the goop route. So this time I'll save myself some typing and suggest you go ahead and goop away. For a small price you will learn more in a short time than can ever be learned from a forum. Then we can get into how to fix a waterfall. Spoiler...it's complex.

Should I worry that my pond isnt clearer?

99% of Goldfish and Koi in the world live in what you would call filthy water. The finest Koi in the world are raised in "filthy" water. Clear water is actually poor conditions for these fish from their perspective. Less food, less cover, more UV. Water quality is important, it's just that clarity is normally not a factor in assessing quality. We like clear water because it's appealing to us and we want to see the fish.

Just to get you started on researching water quality. You want to understand ammonia and nitrates. You can buy test kits, but research first. Also check out "pH buffering". Also in most test kits, KH and GH. That's really about 90% of it.

Is the barrel a sufficient filter and do I need to add or upgrade?

Depends on what the barrel is filtering and whether you're happy with the results. There are 2 general types of filters. Bio filters are home to bacteria to convert ammonia and nitrates. The other type is mechanical and trap junk like a drinking water filter. There are filters which combine both functions into one unit that is worthless. Bacteria can live very well in a mechanical filter.

You tell if a bio filter is sufficient if you measure 0 ammonia and nitrates. There is no other way. However, most people prefer to add some filter and never test water. It normally works fine because most water gardens don't need any filter. But people like filters and it's their pond, so what the heck.

How can I tell if my pond water is healthy?

The test kits.

How can I tell if the fish are healthy?

They're swimming and eating (when water is above say 50F to 60F). By the time fish appear to be in trouble it is almost always too late to do anything. If you're concerned about keeping fish healthy the best thing I can suggest is research and learning. And I mean outside of forums, lots of sources. Maybe 95% of the info you'll run into will be wrong...so double check, triple check. Don't assume the the thing you read the most often must be the most right. The opposite is true. Really look at who's doing the talking. Do they have serious experience? Just repeating what they heard? Are they trying to sell you something?

Here's a video series I think is excellent. I don't agree with every point, but that's not unusual.

One of the orange goldfish appears to be very pregnant. Do they give birth to live little swimmers or lay eggs?

Lay eggs.

Go ahead, laugh. In any event will the other fish leave the little ones alone?

Normally they have no problem with each other. The exception is spawning can be very rough.

It sounds like you might like the hobby? You sound hooked.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group! Scott.

Very nice pond you have there.

I have used goop to fix water fall leaks , it has worked fine for me. Waterbug likes to mortar waterfalls, I like goop, I just look for the wet areas, figure out where the water is coming from and goop it up. The other thing I do with water falls, (but most likely you do not want to tear yours down ) is to make sure liner is below all of that rock to direct the water back into the pond. Check the front of the waterfall, make sure you do not have a lot of splash, or water being directed out of the pond by the rocks.

so far I have used pl roofing compound.

This gold label sealant others have used and speak highly of.

Check the diy section for some nice filter builds, yours might be fine once you clean some of the muck out of it. Use pond water, like you did, chlorine in city water will kill the bacteria in the filter.
A lot of people have had good filtering results with the skippy style filters that they build themselves.


Like wb says get a good liquid test kit, learn how to test your water and check it off and on. That will be a good indication as to how well your filter is working

 

[kougs]

Welcome to the forum. Very nice pond you got there. The folks here have lots of knowledge and information. I've learned quite a lot since becoming a member.

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome.

 

[blessedfamily]

Welcome to the forum. Love your pond.

 

[j.w]

Scott
I can tell by your post that you already really like ponding even tho you have some problems. That's part of the fun, finding the different ways of doing things the way you like w/ help from friends who have been there and done that. You have a very nice looking pond to start with and lovely fish. Right now I don't really have a filter for my goldfish pond. I just run a pump up to my falls and am thinking about adding some fiberglass window screen into the tub of my falls as kind of a bio filter. We'll see how that works out tho.
Much luck on getting your pond working the way you want it and ask more questions if you need more info. Lots of peeps w/ lots of ideas here B)

 

[sissy]

welcome and now you can buy that rubberized sealer in the spray can at lowes and home depot

 

[Waterbug]

Waterbug likes to mortar waterfalls

I do normally mortar rock in place, but mortar is unrelated to stopping leaks any more than rocks can be used to stop leaks. The liner under the rock is what stops leaks. When the liner beneath is missing, has settled, or never installed correctly, there is really only one long term fix..

 

[addy1]

I do normally mortar rock in place, but mortar is unrelated to stopping leaks any more than rocks can be used to stop leaks. The liner under the rock is what stops leaks. When the liner beneath is missing, has settled, or never installed correctly, there is really only one long term fix..

tear it down and put liner under the rocks........................but can always try the goop

 

[Waterbug]

Absolutely....trying is learning and that what DIY is all about.

 

[fishin4cars]

Welcome aboard, Nice pond and I LOVE that japanese maple! DON'T try Flex seal! I just tried it and I will tell you first hand and to anyone that has thought about using it on a pond. 1- It doesn't dry fast. 24 hours after applying and it still wasn't dry, 2-Stopping the leak, NOPE, didn't help at all. 3- reacted with waterfall foam and made a huge mess! Got it on my hands arms and feet, three weeks later and IM STILL TRYING TO REMOVE IT OFF MY TOE NAILS! 4- It doesn't adhear to rough surfaces such as mortar and rock well at all. Seriously, It may be good for some things but pond applications is not one of them. Goop works in some applications, so does waterfall foam, roofing sealant, and new mortar. As others have said if it's leaking and the liner isn't catching the water there is only a limited amount of things that can be tried except tearing down. But only you or a professional can really tell what route will need to be taken on the leak. As far as the filter, IF it was running correctly the size of the filter should support the pond, But is it? again, Check out the DIY section and research here about filtration. I'll tell you this, I've seen newbies make far worse starting out goof ups and survived, I don't see anything that you did that was really wrong. maybe not the same direction and more drastic than a experienced pond keeper would take but your on the right track. patience and informing ones self is the key to pond keeping sucsess. fitration is the heart of the pond. the better running the filter is the smother and easier the pond is to keep.

 

[j.w]

It appears it works quite well as a finger nail polish for you fishin and has nice long lasting properties to it lol!

 

[pugle1]

I'm new to ponds and waterfalls too, but my garden center folks (who have a water garden department) suggested something to me to improve the flow over my waterfall... the fish friendly spray foam sealer. They say to lift the rocks, and apply it directly to the liner, then lay the rocks back down. Being a noob my self, I'm thinking that if the leak is under the stones, that this may help. "Goop".. I'm assuming that this is some kind of silicone sealant? This spray on foam that I've been told about, I think is similar to spray on insulation... but this one is specifically for waterfalls and is fish safe. Sorry I don't have a brand name for you though. If I'm misguided in my noobness, please forgive me....

 

[addy1]

I'm new to ponds and waterfalls too, but my garden center folks (who have a water garden department) suggested something to me to improve the flow over my waterfall... the fish friendly spray foam sealer. They say to lift the rocks, and apply it directly to the liner, then lay the rocks back down. Being a noob my self, I'm thinking that if the leak is under the stones, that this may help. "Goop".. I'm assuming that this is some kind of silicone sealant? This spray on foam that I've been told about, I think is similar to spray on insulation... but this one is specifically for waterfalls and is fish safe. Sorry I don't have a brand name for you though. If I'm misguided in my noobness, please forgive me....

The expanding foam insulation type stuff is what they are speaking of.

They make a black one for ponds, charge more for it, if you don't mind the color you can use the expanding foam you find at home depot etc.

Neither makes a water tight seal, but it does direct the water in the right direction. I used some, black, some normal, just as they are explaining to you, to make the water in my top pond go over the rocks not under.

Goop (check post #4) will actually make a water tight seal, if every little water leak area is sealed with it.