• Amused
  • Angry
  • Annoyed
  • Awesome
  • Bemused
  • Cocky
  • Cool
  • Crazy
  • Crying
  • Depressed
  • Down
  • Drunk
  • Embarrased
  • Enraged
  • Friendly
  • Geeky
  • Godly
  • Happy
  • Hateful
  • Hungry
  • Innocent
  • Meh
  • Piratey
  • Poorly
  • Sad
  • Secret
  • Shy
  • Sneaky
  • Tired
  • Page 8 of 8 FirstFirst ... 5678
    Results 141 to 155 of 155

    Thread: Filtration Help Needed with the Koi Pond I Inherited with a Home Purchase.

    1. #141
      koiman1950's Avatar
      koiman1950 is offline Supporting Member
      is semi retired
       
      Feeling:
      Tired
       
      Join Date
      Feb 2008
      Location
      San Jose, Ca
      Posts
      19,244
      You certainly do have a dilemna here! I can tell you this - pond guy #1, if he does really good work (get references first), that would be money well spent as his price, if it includes draining/cleaning the pond AND rebuilding the waterfall with all new rock, is REALLY CHEAP. I wouldn't do all that work for that amount of money EVER!lol

      Your logic may sound reasonable to you, at this stage, however, unless you do basically start from scratch, you'll never be able to go out and just sit and enjoy it ever. Sure, we almost all deal with leaves in the Fall, but we've learned to overcome that problem by placing some netting over the pond to keep the leaves from entering the pond to begin with.

      Your submersible pump, if it is doing what you mention, about mincing up all the string algae, which I doubt, it's merely sending it up into the waterfall filter and it's being trapped there, under the pads and bags of lava rock. BTW, the way that filter is set up is not conducive to helping keep the water clean. Even from here I can see the issues. Your s/g filter isn't a bad option, but, again, IMHO, it is only one component within a "system" to keep a pond, especially with koi in it, clean and easier to maintain.
      Mike

      check out our website at: http://www.pond-life.net




      "Our goal is to assist with emergency and Koi health issues, as well as educate on best practices. Please help us gain a clear picture by giving the original poster time to answer our questions before offering opinions and suggested treatments."

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    2. #142
      houdini is offline Junior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Mar 2014
      Location
      ny
      Posts
      6
      I 100% agree with koiman. Thats why I come here these people have lots knowledge. But im still confused/baffled about the submersible and waterfall. It doesn't plug up and the water coming out of the center of the overgrown lava rock bag looks crystal clear. Am I missing something here? The only pump that could chop up the debris would be a trash pump but then the water would not be so clean coming out the rock.

      Would it be better to take the lava rock out and put some other mechanical filter media in there for now to help get the water clearer? Like some pads or quilt batting. The batting is cheep enough you can just throw it out and replace it when dirty.

      A vacuum would be better than nothing. You dont need to see the bottom to use it. You just wont suck up everything in one shot going by feel and it is something you will use later anyway.

    3. #143
      Jaymeseywaymsey's Avatar
      Jaymeseywaymsey is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Jul 2013
      Location
      Southern Oregon
      Posts
      1,452
      I am curious why the idea of draining the pond to do a though cleaning is not the default idea? Less than. 20$ worth of new pipe and fittings, attached to the main pump and 30 min and the pond is empty.

      Scrub the liner and refill the pond. Add chlorine remover and restart pumps.

      The water is overdue for a change anyway. (Remember, most koi ponds benefit from a 20% water change every week).

      When I initially cleaned my pond, which was in worse shape than this one, I found 3" of sludge on the bottom.

      It's an afternoon of marginal work to fix this issue.

    4. #144
      Codeman00 is offline Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Apr 2014
      Location
      Nashville, TN
      Posts
      74
      Quote Originally Posted by Jaymeseywaymsey View Post
      I am curious why the idea of draining the pond to do a though cleaning is not the default idea? Less than. 20$ worth of new pipe and fittings, attached to the main pump and 30 min and the pond is empty.

      Scrub the liner and refill the pond. Add chlorine remover and restart pumps.

      The water is overdue for a change anyway. (Remember, most koi ponds benefit from a 20% water change every week).

      When I initially cleaned my pond, which was in worse shape than this one, I found 3" of sludge on the bottom.

      It's an afternoon of marginal work to fix this issue.
      At the beginning of this thread, it was noted that draining a pond every year is the worst thing that I could do. Proper filtration is the way to go....and I think everyone assumed that my pond was decently clean that bottom etc. I think most people here have a pretty good handle on their pond and usually they designed and plumbed it themselves. Mine seems to be a special case though since its sat around for I don't know how long without being drained and cleaned...and never filtered. The retro bottom drain seemed like a great idea until I started pulling a continuous amount of muck out of the bottom and into the primer pot basket. I think that's why the consensus now is that I need to drain / clean the pond and start from scratch and then start up the SG filter instead of filtering the bottom muck with the primer pot basket.

      Last night, after work, I took the pump out, cleaned the impeller and primer pot, and then started everything up. The pipes coughed a bit, the water started, and I heard a big plop in the primer pot. I shut it down and opened the primer pot and the basket was completely full of muck and leaves...again. That run totalled not 12 or 24 hours, but about 15 seconds. The pump is unplugged electrically now and I'm beyond frustrated. I think I was better off with green water...at least I had zero pond maintenance and an extra $950. I appreciate everyone's help but I can't help but to be really frustrated too.

    5. #145
      Jaymeseywaymsey's Avatar
      Jaymeseywaymsey is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Jul 2013
      Location
      Southern Oregon
      Posts
      1,452
      Quote Originally Posted by Codeman00 View Post
      At the beginning of this thread, it was noted that draining a pond every year is the worst thing that I could do. Proper filtration is the way to go....and I think everyone assumed that my pond was decently clean that bottom etc. I think most people here have a pretty good handle on their pond and usually they designed and plumbed it themselves. Mine seems to be a special case though since its sat around for I don't know how long without being drained and cleaned...and never filtered. The retro bottom drain seemed like a great idea until I started pulling a continuous amount of muck out of the bottom and into the primer pot basket. I think that's why the consensus now is that I need to drain / clean the pond and start from scratch and then start up the SG filter instead of filtering the bottom muck with the primer pot basket.

      Last night, after work, I took the pump out, cleaned the impeller and primer pot, and then started everything up. The pipes coughed a bit, the water started, and I heard a big plop in the primer pot. I shut it down and opened the primer pot and the basket was completely full of muck and leaves...again. That run totalled not 12 or 24 hours, but about 15 seconds. The pump is unplugged electrically now and I'm beyond frustrated. I think I was better off with green water...at least I had zero pond maintenance and an extra $950. I appreciate everyone's help but I can't help but to be really frustrated too.
      Let me put this in perhaps an easier metaphor. Think of your pond as a dirty diaper on a baby. Filled with years worth of waste. No matter how many times you take off the diaper and wipe the babies bottom, if you keep putting the same used diaper back on them they will never be clean. Pond water is that diaper.

      Ponds are like Aquariums. They require upkeep and maintenance. Rotting fish fecal matter will not just vanish once a pond filtration system is installed. It has to be actively removed from the pond.

      I'm not trying to mince words here. If you do not want to take the steps to get the pond and fish healthy, perhaps owning a pond is not for you. Find someone to rescue the koi, and just fill it in. They deserve better than living in polluted water.

    6. #146
      houdini is offline Junior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Mar 2014
      Location
      ny
      Posts
      6
      Quote Originally Posted by Codeman00 View Post
      At the beginning of this thread, it was noted that draining a pond every year is the worst thing that I could do. Proper filtration is the way to go....and I think everyone assumed that my pond was decently clean that bottom etc. I think most people here have a pretty good handle on their pond and usually they designed and plumbed it themselves. Mine seems to be a special case though since its sat around for I don't know how long without being drained and cleaned...and never filtered. The retro bottom drain seemed like a great idea until I started pulling a continuous amount of muck out of the bottom and into the primer pot basket. I think that's why the consensus now is that I need to drain / clean the pond and start from scratch and then start up the SG filter instead of filtering the bottom muck with the primer pot basket.


      Last night, after work, I took the pump out, cleaned the impeller and primer pot, and then started everything up. The pipes coughed a bit, the water started, and I heard a big plop in the primer pot. I shut it down and opened the primer pot and the basket was completely full of muck and leaves...again. That run totalled not 12 or 24 hours, but about 15 seconds. The pump is unplugged electrically now and I'm beyond frustrated. I think I was better off with green water...at least I had zero pond maintenance and an extra $950. I appreciate everyone's help but I can't help but to be really frustrated too.

      But now that you have a bottom drain the pond will never get like this again. You wont be draining it every year. One days work will be much better than living next to that primer pot. I think you made a good decision with the added filtration. But one more day of manual labor will make the world of a difference and let $950 filter start working. If I lived closer I would give you a hand. I want to see this pond work!

    7. #147
      Cheryl's Avatar
      Cheryl is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Jun 2012
      Location
      Kent, WA
      Posts
      2,846
      Quote Originally Posted by Cheryl View Post
      If your heart isn't in it, then you shouldn't pursue it, it will just end up ignored and forgotten and the fish will suffer. It really takes passion for this hobby to work, or a maintenance crew!

      Cheryl
      I'm replying to my own post, LOL. I posted this in the beginning of your thread and I still stand by what I said. I would love it if you had a change of heart and wanted this like so many of us here on Koiphen do, but you don't, it will just remain a burden to you and I'm sorry that you spent so much money and time on this. I'm not trying to be harsh or discouraging, just realistic. It is hard for us with so much passion for the hobby to believe there are people out there that don't feel the same, but it is no different than people who loves sports just can't understand people that don't. I also don't believe what you have done so far was a mistake, it just needs some tweaking, and if you do decide to not give up then I would add a prefilter of some kind prior to the pump, like I also said before, SC, sieve or something other than depending on your priming pot to filter out the gunk, shutting down the pump and turning valves off constantly gets old fast! Most non-pressurized prefilters can be serviced without shutting anything down. Just my 2 cents.

      Cheryl

    8. #148
      Paultergeist is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Apr 2009
      Location
      San Diego, California
      Posts
      2,530
      Cheryl is telling it like it is, in my opinion.

      Let me also add this. Having a pond does not have to be an "all-in or nothing" sort of game. Perhaps there is more of a mid-point balance for your situation. Now, what I am going to suggest may sound like heresy to the purists, but.....I think you should consider getting rid of all the Koi in your pond. Koi are big, messy, fish which eat a lot (and seem to find a way to *beg* for food from us humans, so we often get suckered into feeding them a lot). Unless you really know what you are doing, the tendency is for Koi to be fed a lot, which means they will get big, and in turn will eat even more, all the while creating a lot of poop, which leads to yet even more maintanence. There are some nice pond goldfish out there (Comets, Shbunkins, etc) that do not get nearly as large as Koi, are much easier on water quality, and will get along well with plants (large Koi will up-root most plants).

      Just thinking.......

    9. #149
      Sweetwater is offline Supporting Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Aug 2011
      Location
      .
      Posts
      3,323
      Quote Originally Posted by Paultergeist View Post
      Cheryl is telling it like it is, in my opinion.

      Let me also add this. Having a pond does not have to be an "all-in or nothing" sort of game. Perhaps there is more of a mid-point balance for your situation. Now, what I am going to suggest may sound like heresy to the purists, but.....I think you should consider getting rid of all the Koi in your pond. Koi are big, messy, fish which eat a lot (and seem to find a way to *beg* for food from us humans, so we often get suckered into feeding them a lot). Unless you really know what you are doing, the tendency is for Koi to be fed a lot, which means they will get big, and in turn will eat even more, all the while creating a lot of poop, which leads to yet even more maintanence. There are some nice pond goldfish out there (Comets, Shbunkins, etc) that do not get nearly as large as Koi, are much easier on water quality, and will get along well with plants (large Koi will up-root most plants).

      Just thinking.......
      HERETIC...

      Seriously though, not a bad idea. I really enjoy my goldies...

    10. #150
      Pond James_Pond's Avatar
      Pond James_Pond is offline Senior Member
      is Let 'em eat Manda Foo!
       
      Feeling:
      Friendly
       
      Join Date
      Dec 2006
      Location
      Seattle'ish
      Posts
      4,347
      Quote Originally Posted by Paultergeist View Post
      Cheryl is telling it like it is, in my opinion.

      Let me also add this. Having a pond does not have to be an "all-in or nothing" sort of game. Perhaps there is more of a mid-point balance for your situation. Now, what I am going to suggest may sound like heresy to the purists, but.....I think you should consider getting rid of all the Koi in your pond. Koi are big, messy, fish which eat a lot (and seem to find a way to *beg* for food from us humans, so we often get suckered into feeding them a lot). Unless you really know what you are doing, the tendency is for Koi to be fed a lot, which means they will get big, and in turn will eat even more, all the while creating a lot of poop, which leads to yet even more maintanence. There are some nice pond goldfish out there (Comets, Shbunkins, etc) that do not get nearly as large as Koi, are much easier on water quality, and will get along well with plants (large Koi will up-root most plants).

      Just thinking.......
      But even so, in the short term, it ain't about what kind of fish are in there. It's about the 3" thick muck blanket layering the bottom of the pond. Until that's gone, there is no "filter system" that is going to work. Either vacuum it out, or drain and clean. That's it.

      After that is done, then you can think about "maintenance" issues, and what kind of fish are kept. Right now, the pond is still in need of a major cleaning even if it had no fish in it at all.

      steve

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    11. #151
      Codeman00 is offline Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Apr 2014
      Location
      Nashville, TN
      Posts
      74
      I'm very happy to announce that we are officially selling the fish and removing the pond! It's a dream come true. I have a lot of things to sell.

    12. #152
      T9D is offline Junior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Feb 2013
      Location
      N/A
      Posts
      22
      no problem
      Last edited by T9D; 11-12-2015 at 12:05 PM.

    13. #153
      Paultergeist is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Apr 2009
      Location
      San Diego, California
      Posts
      2,530
      Quote Originally Posted by Codeman00 View Post
      I'm very happy to announce that we are officially selling the fish and removing the pond! It's a dream come true. I have a lot of things to sell.
      I think it is important to know what you want.....and -- equally important -- what you do not want.

      A pond can be a lovely asset to a landscape, but owning a pond also comes with some requirements in terms of maintenance, expenses, liabilities, etc.

      I am happy that you have arrived at a decision which is right for you. I wish you the best of luck with your efforts.

    14. #154
      trumpetdoug's Avatar
      trumpetdoug is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Sep 2009
      Location
      Chicago
      Posts
      866
      Seems like this thread could be coming to a conclusion? It has been interesting to follow.

      Doug - out
      See Our Pond https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...ond&highlight=

      Blank Check Project - Helping those who stand on that wall. www.blankcheckproject.com

    15. #155
      Codeman00 is offline Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Apr 2014
      Location
      Nashville, TN
      Posts
      74
      Quote Originally Posted by T9D View Post
      That's strange I swear I've seen that exact pond on here or some place before. I think the former owner has posted photos of it before, some place. I wish I could remember when and where.

      Anyway I think you should have kept it, and just thrown in a bunch of awesome looking pond plants, and maybe a bunch of mosquito fish, maybe a couple goldfish. Would clear up and look beautiful with almost no fish load and plants and be like no maintenance. I mean shoot it's already there.
      The original owner of the house might be a member and could have posted pictures somewhere, I'm not sure. The pond itself was poorly constructed both functionally and from an aesthetic perspective. Yeah, I could have changed to smaller fish, etc...but that does keep weeds and tree sprouts from taking over the falls, rocks from falling in the water, or the winter freeze from displacing the soil and displacing the water fall rocks. I told my wife that I was doing zero pond work this year and after 6 months it looks like an absolute mess. I am selling equipment in the other thread but found a nice local guy that owns a tree trimming / excavation service that is starting a huge pond....we're trading our 25 fish + the rocks for him to doze the pond and cut huge tree limb out that hangs over the house. I'm ecstatic that that deal!! It's nice that the fish are worth a lot to be able make the perfect trade and have them go to a good home. We are talking about replacing it with a pondless waterfall/water feature and a fire pit.

      I'll post a bulldozed picture to close the thread I guess.

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    Page 8 of 8 FirstFirst ... 5678

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •