My goldfish pond

[Lisak1]

My hubby has man eyes

OH MY GOSH! That right there describes it PERFECTLY. And whenever I do find anything for him he will say "why would you put it BACK THERE?" His theory is that everything should be in the front - of the fridge, the cupboard, the garage, whatever. I've tried to point out to him that EVERYTHING in the front is just not a principle that works in life! If my husband lived alone, he would never put anything away. Everything he needs or uses would just stay out forever. He would deny it, but if I showed you his desk it would prove my point. He also won't ever throw a box away. In his mind it's still 1975 and you can't return anything without the box and the original receipt. Heck I've returned things with no box, no receipt to the WRONG STORE and never had a problem. haha!

Good thing I run this place.

 

[addy1]

I will be in the living room, I tell him what shelf, what cabinet, right hand or left hand, the color of the item and he STILL CAN NOT FIND IT!
Just makes me laugh!

Good thing I run this place.

Me too!

 

[mrsclem]

Sent my hubby to the basement to get the red Solo cups. Sorry, he says, we're out. I go down, brand new pack of 200 on shelf where we store all plastics!

 

[CometKeith]

Okay. I'm exactly the same. My wife says I wouldn't notice a naked woman if she was standing in in our living room! I'm not used to certain packaging etc and have a hard time finding things which she knows immediate what they are!

 

[addy1]

MAN EYES!

 

[CometKeith]

So I have been thinking about my pump and filter a lot the last few weeks... Last year I bought an aquadyne pressurized bead filter that was supposed to be good for 4000 gallons of water. I’m guessing I have around 3000 gallons of water. I had read that you should buy a filter that is rated for about double your pond size. At the time I thought I was going to put the equipment outside and didn’t want it too unsightly so I went with the smaller filter which was rated for 4000 gallons instead of 8000 gallons. Instead I was able to hide it all in my garage which is about 3 ft from the pond. So my issue is I need to clean the filter quite often. I wish I would have bought the larger system. . I guess I could go buy a larger filter and pump but then I feel I wasted all the money I spent last year plus the time and trouble to get it installed. I have thought about adding other items like a bottom drain, skimmer, or UV light but I’m not sure how much of an impact they will have. I also had a prefilter attached to my pump for a while but it was getting clogged a lot so I took it off. I know there are a lot of other types of filters like trickle down, bog, diy skippy etc. but don’t have a lot of room in my garage and my wife wants me to hide everything so I can’t put more filters outside. Any suggestions?..and Addy please don’t tell me I should have stuck to goldfish! You can see the garage behind it with the black pipes on the right hand side carrying water to the pump and back from the filter.

 

[addy1]

Addy please don’t tell me I should have stuck to goldfish!

ME? Critique you? NEVER!............................But I NEVER need to clean my filter!

 

[Tula]

Keith, have you thought about a sieve ? It would provide more mechanical filtration, removing solids. I think it could be added before your bead filter.

 

[Lisak1]

A bottom drain just means more filtration, so I don't think that would solve the problem. A skimmer would help with capturing debris before it sinks, but a skimmer basket has to be cleaned too, so that won't be any less work for you. In fact, a skimmer could become a daily chore, depending on how much falls into the pond. A UV only kills suspended algae, which I don't think you have a problem with, right? And when you're running a UV filter you are creating more debris that has to be filtered, not less, if you do have suspended algae, which means more filter cleaning until it clears. If that made sense... haha.

I think the best long term fix-it-the-best-way solution is the bigger filter. I know that means eating the cost you've already incurred, but all of the things you mentioned mean more money outlay, too. So why not just bite the bullet and "right the wrong". I bet you could sell he smaller filter and recoup some of your investment. You have the space for the bigger filter - I say go for it.

 

[CometKeith]

ME? Critique you? NEVER!............................But I NEVER need to clean my filter!

Addy that’s a great suggestion... Think bog right? Part of the planted area of my pond is almost like a bog when I start adding floaters... and I have these two big sedges already soaking up excess nutrients. What about putting a y valve on the flow away from the filter and channel half of of the water into a real bog that I build in the heavily planted area? Cost wise it would be great. How large would I need to make it?

Keith, have you thought about a sieve ? It would provide more mechanical filtration, removing solids. I think it could be added before your bead filter.

Thanks Tula. I have seen some sieves on the pond tour and I think they are both pretty expensive especially with the stainless steel drum and also pretty labor intensive because you need to keep your eye on them. Also I don’t think I have the space. I think they are cool though especially with a small micron stainless steel screen so thank you for the suggestion.

A bottom drain just means more filtration, so I don't think that would solve the problem. A skimmer would help with capturing debris before it sinks, but a skimmer basket has to be cleaned too, so that won't be any less work for you. In fact, a skimmer could become a daily chore, depending on how much falls into the pond. A UV only kills suspended algae, which I don't think you have a problem with, right? And when you're running a UV filter you are creating more debris that has to be filtered, not less, if you do have suspended algae, which means more filter cleaning until it clears. If that made sense... haha.

I think the best long term fix-it-the-best-way solution is the bigger filter. I know that means eating the cost you've already incurred, but all of the things you mentioned mean more money outlay, too. So why not just bite the bullet and "right the wrong". I bet you could sell he smaller filter and recoup some of your investment. You have the space for the bigger filter - I say go for it.

Thanks Lisa.i have thought about selling my existing and doing what you suggested as there is plenty of space to put a larger filter in that spot bit then would have to start answering my wife’s questions about costs again. already we had another conversation tonight about my fish! She wanted to know exactly how many Koi I had and if they all cost $200 like the last one... One of my daughters informed her incorrectly the other day when they were discussing the pond on FaceTime that I probably have very expensive Koi which most likely cost in the thousands of dollars for each fish... I had to explain today that all except one were bought for under $100 because I got them when they were very small. This is actually true except for one more fish I recently got. I’m not a very good liar so it would be tough to explain I needed to spend another $3000 on filtration to replace the stuff I just bought last year! So let’s say I actually did get another filter and pump would a system for 8000 gallons be enough or go larger than that?
Thanks all for you input and advice! My pump and filter are now running for a few days with a strong output of water after having had to backwash the filter 2 other times already. Maybe I’m just too impatient for the filter to do it’s job? I think I remember last year a similar situation that I needed to clean the filter a bunch of times in the beginning of the year to get everything on the right footing. Also I know it’s way too early and too cold for biological filtration to start up. Does anyone use the boost products for bacteria they recommend for the spring? I know they are pretty popular. The only chemical I ever add is declor.

 

[addy1]

How large would I need to make it?

As big as you can!

What about putting a y valve on the flow away from the filter and channel half of of the water into a real bog that I build in the heavily planted area?

That sounds great! Anything will help!

 

[Tula]

I think a bog would be a great addition and you already have sedges. We're very pleased with our small bog

 

[CometKeith]

Hi Tula. Do you think I should try to put the bog in my existing pond? I'm not sure how that would work. Maybe put a preform on the planted side of the pond? It would take away from the water volume if I do that. I don't think it would be in the cards for me to expand the pond in anyway right now... Also I'm thinking how I could protect some floating plants (net?) because they always help with filtration. Last year they didn't do much because the fish were always nibbling on their roots. Anyway my water flow coming out of my filter is greatly improved after backwashing it several times. Maybe I was just impatient. It's been 5 days and it is still has a good flow and the pond water is getting more clear. I can actually see the bottom now.

 

[CometKeith]

I think a bog would be a great addition and you already have sedges. We're very pleased with our small bog

Tula how big is your small bog?

 

[Tula]

Tula how big is your small bog?

Just asked hubby. It's hard to describe as it's kind of free form. Hubby says maybe 30- 35 SQ feet surface area......about 10 feet long and width ranges from 2- 4 feet....maybe a tad bigger. Our gravel is 12 inches deep.