Recently, a few fish died in my pond. I thought it was time to change the water. It was not greeinsh, but blakish. Even a mug of water poured into a white bucket would make poor viewing of the bottom of the bucket - so bad it was. Reason: too much debris falling far more frequently than a natural pond would invite! That was my guess.
So what I did? I made a simple hand pump out of PVC pipe with a handle, a washer and a ball valve. I thought that the culprit is the pond's bottom as well as (may be) a couple of catfish. So I thought of cleaning the bottom first. The pump worked well and I was surprised to see actually black material and water coming out when I drew it out, what with some stink. The debris are from the trees that canopy the pond. (May be it is a wrong location, only time will tell. Sometimes I lose my patience to remove all that falls down, although some amount will help fish life. That was too much, I reckon. The debris fall in great amounts esp. in summer/fall.) Too much, too quickly!
I did that for 3 days, each day removing about 50 gallons of black water. Visibility has improved now. Fish seem to be happy. I kept on adding water at the top as I drew silt from the bottom. I plan to do this excercise once more to remove most of what got accumulated very recently.
Am I doing the right thing? Does this help the pond to 'settle' quickly? Is partial change better than complete? I have some 100 small fish and a few water plants in it. It gets all the afternoon sun for about 4 hours. I have thought of removing catfish because I feel that this keeps stirring up the bottom continuously and make the smaller and fine debris to always move around. Also, I feel that my water lily is growing well with 14 leaves now and its roots may be spreading.I think, once the root system has a good network, it will hold on to all the smaller debris and also act as growing medium for them. Is my guess correct?
Does this help?.. changing water...
Does your pond have a liner or does it have a dirt bottom? Partial water changes are the best thing you can do for fish-like when we open a window for a breath of fresh air. Try to avoid total water changes because you throw out all your good bacteria and then the pond takes much longer to settle. Sounds like way too much debris falling in-can you put up a net over the pond to catch it before it gets in the water?
Dinu how big of an area is your pond? It might be feasible to put a net over it just when the leaves fall from the trees. That is what I do. I buy the inexpensive bird netting and stretch across and anchor with bricks or stones. That only stays over the pond for about 2 months in the fall until most of the leaves have fallen and been cleaned up. It is really a big help cause those rot in the bottom and also take up oxygen from the water while decomposing. I also only do partial changes on the water. Jenny
I'm sorry I presumed that you have seen my previous posts asking for suggestions for my pond wherein I have described in detail.
Anyway, my pond is just about 9x5 ft, oblong, deep to 18 inches with a "shelf" 10-12 inches from the bottom around the inside perimeter to keep some pots. I have lined with a material called "Silpaulin" in 200 gsm thickness of blue colour. My pond is almost 4 months old. Have about 10 varieties of small fish and a couple of Koi Carps and a couple of Catfish. The total including the small ones may be around 100. The capacity of the pond may be close to 200 gallons. Imagine a big bath tub and you have the picture of my pond. That is the shape, roughly.
I think the netting idea is a pretty good one and I will seriously think of it. Presently I have a net (about 2 inches squares, nylon) tied above the level of my head to prevent the hard fruits of Aegle marmelos tree that falls directly fromabove. Mosquito netting is easliy available and it can use it as you suggest during times when those debris fall. I wonder if this is a perennial problem for me. I did not notice it when I had plants there!
I will keep in mind about partial change of water once in a while. Before I made that pump, I was pouring water from a mug into a bucket. Now this pump may be a good thing as it removes silt directly from the bottom without disturbing the top portion. I have removed more today and I think it is time to leave it like that for a longer period now and watch how it goes. I will certainly buy a net on priority. That may help in the pond being able to settle with its own natural speed with organic material falling inside in smaller numbers.
Thanks sylvi and Jenny. Will keep a watch on this thread to let you know what all I do here.
Dinu, now I am curious. What kind of pump do you have to get the silt off the bottom? That is a problem for me. Usually once a year I get into mine and have to scoop up the muck and I hate doing it. I have a small pump to pump out water but the impeller keeps getting damaged and stopped by small pebbles so I don't use it anymore. Jenny
I have a Python water changer for my indoor fish tanks that works really well in my pond as well. It attaches to a standard hose fitting and works by water pressure. It is really good for removing fine debris, but clogs easily with things like maple leaves, of which I have MANY. The clog is easy to clear from the hose, just annoying. The Python is a lot like the waterbed kits you can get to fill waterbeds. It works great.
Here is the drawing I have made to show how I have made my pump out of PVC pipe - 1 and half inch diamater. The length of the pipe should be about 15 inches or so longer than the depth of the pond. The washer fitted to the handle should not snugly fit the inner diameter but allow about 2mm around it to bring water and also dirt upwards. The glass ball (usually played as a toy by kids - pebble, as you call) acts as a one way valve.
As soon as the pump is inserted in the water, the pressure of water pushes the pebble up and allows water in to the tube. Now, begin to move the washer using the handle up and down slowly and that draws more water inside while water is pushed up further as the handle goes down. Once full, water and dirt begins to flow out of the outlet pipe which is fitted using a "T". The top portion is fitted with a piece of PVC pipe so that it can be removed easily if the washer gets clogged with bigger objects. It is working well for me.
The greatest advantage is that it does not disturb the top portion of the pond but draws out unwanted things from the bottom. Once you start using you will learn how to handle the thing. I have used an old plastic bottle at the bottom and made holes in the sides and bottom so that it freely allows free entry of debris into the narrowish pipe near the valve. If it gets blocked, change the place of the pump. The disadvantage is that bigger objects will stay there. But this can be removed using a netting or anything suitable for that job, after the finer particles are gone.
Dinu thank you for that. What a good idea and so simple! Maybe I can get my better half to fix this for me. That would be so easy to use. Jenny