Do Pond vacuums REALLY work?

[R.Rose]

Recommendations from this forum says pond maintenance should be every 2 weeks. Do 20% water change and remove as much debris as possible. Do I understand that a complete drain out will not be needed ever? I need to do maintenance on my pond on a regular basis now. I really dont want to be emptying the pond yearly. I dont want to use a skimmer because I dont' believe they are safe for any swimming creature. Our shop vac can suction up water dense and heavy with muck effectively after the pond is drained down to the muck layer. This year the muck layer was 2 inches deep. I dont want it ever to get this thick again. When I see debris laying on the pond floor I would like to suction it up. The pond vacs's buckets supposedly fill then they automatically drain (hose provided) . My shop vac will fill and then I have to move the the heavy heavy bucket of black muck elsewhere in the yard. I never tried using it with the pond filled. It will probably suck up far more water than debris.

Does anyone own one? How strong is the suction? Will I be able to suction up debris and a slight layer of muck with a pond vac and can yours handle heavy muck. Would you please give me your Model and Brand Name. Tell me why you like it or hate it. On line stores have them for sale currently and I'd like to buy one shortly if they meet expectations.
Thank you.

 

[pecan]

I would never drain a pond completely unless you are re-building it. There is a natural echo system in there that can be destroyed by draining.

I have not used a pond vac, attempted to use a shop vac with no success (sucked more water than debris and had to be emptied every 10 seconds or so.)

I do about a 10% water change once a week or 20% every two weeks if I waited longer than a week. Just let the pump, pump water into the flower beds and re-fill with a hose. Easy peasy.

I do not clean out the bottom of the pond each time. I only clean the bottom once in the fall and once in the spring. I use a long handled swimming pool net to scoop out the gunk. I move the net slow across the bottom so I don't stir up the gunk and also so fishies can safely swim away. I fill my wheel barrow and dump it in the garden to be tilled into the soil.

In about mid July I may get the net out and scoop out a little gunk if I feel like it and the bottom is getting thick with it, but not always.

I don't have a skimmer either. But when leaves and stuff fall I just skim the top with the net before they get a chance to settle.

Really the only thing I do from March through October is water changes and clean the pumps when need be. All other major cleaning only occurs just before I turn it off for the winter and just after I start it up in the spring.

 

[JohnHuff]

@R.Rose
- I have never completely drained my ~10 year old pond.
- I use our Sears wet/dry shop vac to vacuum up the muck at the bottom every year or so.
- I've stopped using our skimmer as well since fish always get in and after 1-2 died.

 

[Mmathis]

I don't have a pond vac, but would love to try the OASE Pond Vac #4. Regarding all brands & types of vacs, I've read such varied reports & reviews that it's hard to tell -- 50% say they suck [as in, well, you get it....] and 50% say they are the best thing in the world. I read a lot of comments where folks say their pond vacs sit unused 'cause they either didn't work or were too much trouble to use. But I still want one

Have tried using a shop-vac but that thing has too much power -- I'd suck up a fish before I even knew it. You can get an adapter to fit on the outflow part of your shop-vac [thinking they are universal] so you can attach PVC pipe and a valve to the tank. Then, when it's time to empty the tank, you open the valve to drain it, and you don't have to cart the whole contraption around to discharge it each time.

Many on the GPF get by with simply netting the surface and bottom of their ponds, but that hasn't worked for me. And you're going to hear this, too -- a "BD," or bottom drain will eliminate the need for a vacuum. You can get retro-fit BD's, but I'm not ready to go that route yet [the set-up, extra equipment, and space needed aren't something I can handle]. It is a good option, though.....

 

[JohnHuff]

Have tried using a shop-vac but that thing has too much power

Many ways to get around this:
- Attachment near the handle to lower the suction. My Sears has an elbow attachment that is meant to be used for wet suction.
- Wide mouthed attachment will decrease suction.

 

[pecan]

I don't have a pond vac, but would love to try the OASE Pond Vac #4. Regarding all brands & types of vacs, I've read such varied reports & reviews that it's hard to tell -- 50% say they suck [as in, well, you get it....] and 50% say they are the best thing in the world. I read a lot of comments where folks say their pond vacs sit unused 'cause they either didn't work or were too much trouble to use. But I still want one

Have tried using a shop-vac but that thing has too much power -- I'd suck up a fish before I even knew it. You can get an adapter to fit on the outflow part of your shop-vac [thinking they are universal] so you can attach PVC pipe and a valve to the tank. Then, when it's time to empty the tank, you open the valve to drain it, and you don't have to cart the whole contraption around to discharge it each time.

Many on the GPF get by with simply netting the surface and bottom of their ponds, but that hasn't worked for me. And you're going to hear this, too -- a "BD," or bottom drain will eliminate the need for a vacuum. You can get retro-fit BD's, but I'm not ready to go that route yet [the set-up, extra equipment, and space needed aren't something I can handle]. It is a good option, though.....

If you get one, please start a thread reviewing it for us. I too am curious!

 

[dieselplower]

How on earth did you get 2" of muck?
Pond should be cleaned regularly before Winter.
Where did you get the 20% water change every 2 weeks? That's way more than I do.

 

[Tula]

I net the bottom of my pond every few days ....I kind of enjoy it and it helps me keep up with it. I have a skimmer and have been lucky with no loss of lives in it, but that does worry me. Currently I'm cleaning my skimmer filter media daily, which would be hard to do if we left town...so rethinking that for next year I added extra filter material to the skimmer....it does it's job a little too well

 

[Mmathis]

Many ways to get around this:
- Attachment near the handle to lower the suction. My Sears has an elbow attachment that is meant to be used for wet suction.
- Wide mouthed attachment will decrease suction.

Do you have a picture of the handle attachment that lowers suction? Ours is a Craftsman (Sears), but it only has straight pieces, and all the attachments are just various brushes.

 

[JohnHuff]

Do you have a picture of the handle attachment that lowers suction? Ours is a Craftsman (Sears), but it only has straight pieces, and all the attachments are just various brushes.

It's that yellow piece in the middle:

It has a 1/4" diameter hole in it on the side on the floor (which is not shown). But I've seen them in other vacuums. You can make your own. Just buy a small connecting piece and drill a few holes in it. By opening up the holes, you decrease suction.

 

[Mmathis]

It's that yellow piece in the middle:

It has a 1/4" diameter hole in it on the side on the floor (which is not shown). But I've seen them in other vacuums. You can make your own. Just buy a small connecting piece and drill a few holes in it. By opening up the holes, you decrease suction.

Thanks. Ours doesn't have that.

 

[JohnHuff]

Thanks. Ours doesn't have that.

I think you can buy, order or make your own.

 

[DrCase]

I used my shop vac for a long time
A lot of dumping but it worked good
I bought a pond vac 4 late last winter
It's like vacuuming a rug

 

[haver79]

I also have a pond vac 4. Jurys still out. Actually this is my second unit. The first unit I received this spring, did not work properly. It did not discharge the water like it was suppose to. And eventually after using it for 15 min the moter would start smoking. I ordered it from Fosters and Smith. They have great customer service by the way. They replaced it deciding it was a faulty unit. No issues at all, told them what the problem was and they sent a shipping label for me and replaced it with no hassel at all. I have only used the second unit once and it worked well. Definitely not for sucking out leaves and such in the spring but seems to work well on the mulm and muck. I do have pea gravel scattered about on the bottom of the pond (from spawing I guess) and have to be careful not to try to suck that up as that could of contributed to the first units demise.

 

[Dave 54]

I recomend a 40 % water change on a regular basis you dont ever need to drain the pond completely but with 2" of muck sat in the bottom of your pond I can understand why you came down with Columnaris i the first place .
I dont use a pond Vac a we have a bottom drain but I would do my homework first before I buy one making sure you get the right one..

Dave