I'm finally closing on my new house this Wednesday. My biggest concern is getting the existing goldfish pond back into as decent shape as possible as fast as possible. I'm attaching photos from the beginning of June which look slightly better than it was when I saw it last week. The homeowner who built the pond has passed and sometime from that point (around January, I believe?) until now, apparently the pump broke down. So this pond has gone without any real maintenance for something like 6 months at least.
There are a lot of goldfish, few plants, no filtration, no aeration. I don't know how the fish are still alive, but they looked okay last I saw them. I kept planted tanks with various fish in the past, but I know very little about ponds. I've been researching and was hoping some experienced folks could help steer me in the right direction before I waste a bunch of money buying the wrong things.
So here's what I know:
-Pond is 16' Long, 7.5' at widest point, 3' at deepest point. It's an irregular shape, but using a pond calculator for oval ponds, this was estimated at about 1200 gallons.
-Pond has been established for at least 5 years
-Pond had a pump and waterfall at some point- there is a black bucket with some piping by the ruins of rocks that used to make up the waterfall, so I imagine that was the filter/waterfall setup prior.
I'm currently leaning toward a submersible pump, external pressure filter, and waterfall filter box, though I've been looking into bottom drains as well. Ultimately, I would like to expand the pond so I want to ensure that I invest in a pump and filter that I can continue to use in a larger pond, and also I feel that there are likely too many fish for the size it is currently, so I assume I need a larger pump and filter to keep it clean as is. I would love any advice on filters and pumps (currently looking into the combo kit from ThePondGuy site which is the AllClear G2 pressure filter which does UV/Bio/Mechanical and has backflow for cleaning, and the SolidFlo G2 submersible pump. There are different sizes, but the 2650gph pump and max flow rate on filter being the same are listed for ponds up to 3500 gal).
As far as dealing with the current water condition (I'll test once I get in there)- how should I go about this to best keep the fish safe? Do I drain, clean, refill, and set up the new filter and just hope they survive cycling? Or should I do regular partial water changes, treat for algae (I've been looking into barley straw, not sure if that's going to be enough at this point), set up new filters, etc? I know I need more plants for shade and water quality and I'd like to add whatever I can before it gets too cold, and I'm worried about getting proper parameters before then. I was told the fish have always overwintered in the pond, but I don't know if I should add a deicer or heater this year, especially considering they're likely not going to be in top condition by then. Thanks for reading, please feel free to make suggestions- I really love this little pond and want to do whatever I can to bring it back from it's current state.
There are a lot of goldfish, few plants, no filtration, no aeration. I don't know how the fish are still alive, but they looked okay last I saw them. I kept planted tanks with various fish in the past, but I know very little about ponds. I've been researching and was hoping some experienced folks could help steer me in the right direction before I waste a bunch of money buying the wrong things.
So here's what I know:
-Pond is 16' Long, 7.5' at widest point, 3' at deepest point. It's an irregular shape, but using a pond calculator for oval ponds, this was estimated at about 1200 gallons.
-Pond has been established for at least 5 years
-Pond had a pump and waterfall at some point- there is a black bucket with some piping by the ruins of rocks that used to make up the waterfall, so I imagine that was the filter/waterfall setup prior.
I'm currently leaning toward a submersible pump, external pressure filter, and waterfall filter box, though I've been looking into bottom drains as well. Ultimately, I would like to expand the pond so I want to ensure that I invest in a pump and filter that I can continue to use in a larger pond, and also I feel that there are likely too many fish for the size it is currently, so I assume I need a larger pump and filter to keep it clean as is. I would love any advice on filters and pumps (currently looking into the combo kit from ThePondGuy site which is the AllClear G2 pressure filter which does UV/Bio/Mechanical and has backflow for cleaning, and the SolidFlo G2 submersible pump. There are different sizes, but the 2650gph pump and max flow rate on filter being the same are listed for ponds up to 3500 gal).
As far as dealing with the current water condition (I'll test once I get in there)- how should I go about this to best keep the fish safe? Do I drain, clean, refill, and set up the new filter and just hope they survive cycling? Or should I do regular partial water changes, treat for algae (I've been looking into barley straw, not sure if that's going to be enough at this point), set up new filters, etc? I know I need more plants for shade and water quality and I'd like to add whatever I can before it gets too cold, and I'm worried about getting proper parameters before then. I was told the fish have always overwintered in the pond, but I don't know if I should add a deicer or heater this year, especially considering they're likely not going to be in top condition by then. Thanks for reading, please feel free to make suggestions- I really love this little pond and want to do whatever I can to bring it back from it's current state.
