which vacuum is the best?

[Heidi]

Hi everyone, I first want to thank everyone for their response on "murky water". With that in mind, I was thinking about buying a pond vacuum to keep my pond crystal clear. I was looking at the OASE Pondvac 4 and the Laguna Powerclean Cordless. What are your thoughts/suggestions? Are they just overpriced or do they actually work? Thanks.

 

[sissy]

I have never used one I just use a long handled pool net and net the bottom ,faster and easier and a lot cheaper and think most on here also net there pond bottoms

 

[addy1]

I just net mine.

 

[CountryEscape]

I net mine, too. I have a sister in AZ who swears by her Oase vacuum, though. However, it sure seems to take her a while to do, and she runs a lot of water out in the mean time. BUT, she lives in AZ, so she runs the water on plants that need it, so it's a win/win situation. I thought I would want a vacuum in the beginning, but have never felt the need for one ... yet. Keep in mind I have only had my first pond up and running for less than a year. Most of us have clean bottoms, no rocks down there other than the occasional ones that fall from the sides, so that makes it even easier to net the bottom. I use a beneficial bacteria product that helps get all the stuff on the bottom to "matt" together. I simply have to grab the edge and I get a huge area to follow. It's really neat.

 

[addy1]

Country does that stuff still let the tadpoles, snails etc live? It sounds neat how it works, just read about it, and it obviously works for you.

 

[Waterbug]

I couldn't find the hose diameter for the OASE Pondvac 4, but it looked pretty small. They did say 3/8" max debris. That's tiny. Might be OK for removing silt after the larger stuff is removed. Or if used weekly to keep a pond clean. I'd assume it's worthless for cleaning a large pond (> 1000 gal) that hadn't been cleaned in a year or more.

Laguna Powerclean Cordless has the same problem. Plus a blade to chop up stuff sounds good, but sticks no way, and string algae no way. Amazon has a couple of reviews, both threw it out.

Here my comparison of vacuums. A bit out of date but I just searched around a bit and they all look like the same old story...con jobs. Back in the day I was way into vacuums.

 

[DrCase]

I pull out the shop vac once in a while , for some spot cleaning

 

[Waterbug]

I was searching around about pond vacs, a trip down memory lane. I ran into this one from the guy at Koi Village, Gene I think. This has the right idea. You need power. Although I still think in most cases a pond has to be cleaned in stages when done yearly. First get out the string algae, leaves and sticks. Gene's vac will stuck up leaves, most string algae (to a point), sticks maybe. But the leaf trap would have to been emptied a lot for most ponds. Easier to remove that stuff first with a net or a venturi type vac. After giving the water a day or so to settle Gene's vac is perfect for the next phase, removing silt.

 

[CountryEscape]

Addy, the Pond Perfect was highly recommended to me by my local pet store owner, who works with people's home aquariums, as well as ponds, upkeeping them and cleaning them. It says, "Multi-Purpose biological pond treatment - creates crystal clear water, eliminates foul odors, digests organic sludge, eliminates scum and matts (on top of the water). Safe and beneficial for all fish, wildlife, desirable aquatic plants and turf." It doesn't actually say frogs and tadpoles and snails, but I would assume the "fish and wildlife" would fall into that category. I'll specifically ask the guy I'm going to buy trapdoor snails from if he has ever used this product and if he knows if it would hurt the snails. I had frogs galore last year, so assume it did nothing to harm them.
It's expensive at a small pet shop, like I purchased it ($85 for a gallon), but my sister found it on-line free shipping for I think she said about half that price. What I found is that everything that goes to the bottom is "connected", like a huge matt or carpet. Once I snag one edge with my small net, it will pull up a much larger area, and I just keep moving the net to place the matt into the net, kind of reeling it in. When the pond clears in an hour or so, it's amazing how much stuff is no longer there.
Like Waterbug said above, there may be some silt still left, but that's ok, I don't mind that. I guess if I had a huge amount of fish and they were constantly stirring it up and making the water murky, then I may want to remove it but there is very little left, actually, as it pretty much attaches to the other stuff in the matt.
It's a beneficial bacteria product that does double duty, in my opinion. Good luck! I'll let you know what the trapdoor snail guy says.

 

[addy1]

I don't have anything floating on the surface to sink to the bottom, just the bottom stuff I net out a few times a season.

 

[CountryEscape]

Addy, does your stuff kind of stick together when you net it? I really have no proof that this Pond Perfect is making it matt, as the first time I netted my pond bottom, it was after I was using the stuff. Maybe everyone's bottom gunk matts together.

 

[CountryEscape]

Addy, I think I got it when I started seeing string algae. Does your stuff on the bottom matt up? I actually have no proof this stuff is doing that, other than it says it will, because the first time I netted my bottom was about a month or more after I started using the Pond Perfect. I have no comparison to go by. I did have some floating green stuff for a while, too, that looked like lime green spongy algae. It took care of that, too.

 

[addy1]

it sort of does, each net gets a good scoop of stuff, some floats back down, tiny stuff. No real string algae issues, just leaves and bottom muck. I leave some for the critters, scoop up some, sort the critters out, toss them back in. It is never a lot. Once the lilies start growing I don't clean there at all until I pull them out at the end of the season. Last summer there was maybe 1/4 inch or less of debris around the pots.

 

[j.w]

I use a net also. When scooping it out tho if I was to let it flop back into the water it would all float away in different directions. Mine is only clumped together while in the net. CE is your stuff actually stuck together like a gluey mat? Mine is not.

 

[addy1]

Some is mat like, some is pieces of floating stuff, it comes out of the pond without too much trouble.