Pond Help!

Hi!
I had bought a house and it came with a concrete pond in the back yard. How do i keep it clean? The comercial filters and UV things are a little bit outta my budget. I do have a submersible pond pump and also a sump pump which is also submersible. I have a few pictures of the pond and the dimensions. I wonder if anyone has constructed an efficient filter? Please give me some ideas. Also what would you do if you had a similar set up. I did cover the pond with a mesh because birds and racoons would eat my fish. There were alot of plants which i thinned out because the water really stunk (probably left stagnant for 10yrs + ) I do use the pond water for my garden kind of an aquaponic set up but its not really effcient( i just connect the sump to a hose and water my plants. I really need some advice please let me know what you think Thanks
Pictures by helpneeded - Photobucket

You could try a pump/filter unit for an above ground swimmning pool that has a similar volume. I've seen those for a few hundred dollars.

Basically you have a situation (smelly pool) where you have to properly keep it clean or you could pave it over. Whichever option you choose, I'd first drain the pool and scrub it clean.

I guess you need to decide on what your goal is. Is it for decorative fish, the sound of water gurgling, to have aquatic plants, all of the above. I'm not an expert on these things. Do they really need to be kept clean? I would think that if you have the proper balance of plants and oxygen (running water) and so forth then it should sort of take care of itself as it would do in nature.

My first thought was to treat it like a pool but obviously that would be bad for fish (i would guess).

also, in my opinion, the waterfall thingy looks out of place

I have a concrete pond myself and let me tell you they seem to be the worst to work with. Concrete is an excellent surface for mold and algae to grow on. Personally I ended up using pond liner over it to prevent the growth of algae and use an external pond pump. I would also add in anything that can break standing water, a pump is effective, but a fountain is more effective. This prevents issues with insects laying eggs and\or larva being able to feed.

I had one in my back yard that was about 80' across and 6' deep in the middle. Just dirt, nothing fancy. I used a 1hp 25 gpm submersible pump and a homeade shower head to aerate the pond. It worked great to keep the algae growth away. Yours is kind of small and doesn't have a beach so to speak, but if your up to it, Muskovy Ducks are great for keeping the plant growth to a minimum. They don't eat the fish, but do help keep one clean.

For you a much smaller pump and nozzle would work. The sump pump would do the job I'm sure. You don't need a lot of pressure to shoot water up in the air.

Very nice looking pond. It would definitely be beautiful at night if you have fishes and lights on it. As for keeping it clean, I have a little knowledge about it because I rarely encounter such situations before. My Auntie got a pond on her house as well but I think it is much smaller than you got. She got a pump on it that cycles the water by cleaning it. Not sure how it works.

That's a beautiful pond "helpneeded". Here's the thing... I know you want to save money, but pond filters are not that expensive. You are looking at less than $200 for efficient pond filtration. Looking at that pond, I would assume that it is close to 1000 gallons. I have included a link to a site that sells the type of filter that you need. They aren't expensive but you need two with that pond set up, and I'll explain why. You could get one that is made for more than 500 gallons, but I recommend one of these on each side of your pond, as water movement is a huge issue when it comes to minimizing algae growth. One of these on each side would ensure adequate water movement and proper filtration.

Pondmaster Starter Pond Kit - PMK1250

Also, some one mentioned earlier that concrete is an algae magnet. Very true. Consider the use of pond liner. However, if you provide a proper chemical balance and water movement in that pond, you are going to give algae a hard time when it tries to find a home.

You also mentioned fish. Depending on the fish, you are looking constant water maintenance task when it comes to keeping those fish alive. I don't have much knowledge with out door pond fish, but I do have an indoor aquarium and just maintaining that is a chore. I would imagine that an outdoor pond would be a much larger task. Keep us informed with what's going on. I'm interested to hear how it works out.

Matt B.

Certain kinds of fish can help keep it clean in different ways depending on the type of fish. Keeping them alive is yet another thing. So if you have fish, chemicals can't be used that would be harmful to them.

I would suggest getting some aquatic plants that help to effeciently filter the water naturally. Have you ever seen a "natural" swimming pool? they are for all intensive purposes a pond that has been sanitized and oxygenated through a simple pump and plant system that is safe for swimming. They are beautiful. If you are already looking into renovating the pond, you might want to consider making it into a swimming area. Just an idea!







_________________________________________________________________
Pool Cleaners

If the pond has a bottom drain periodic changes of water (typically 10% per week) have been used to evacuate the accumulated debris from the bottom of the pond. This simple approach minimises the amount of material that is removed at any one time as well as adds water to the pond on a periodic basis. Care must be taken when adding water to be sure that you have minimised the addition of chlorine and chloramines typically present in many municipal water supplies.