Pond clogging underground before it gets filtered

[jducour]

Hi there! I am new to this sight, and fairly new to caring for a pond. Long story short - my Dad is ill, so we moved in with him a few years ago and gradually took over all of his housework. I take care of the yard, and I've used the knowledge he gave me, but I don't know what to do right now. We have had this pond for about 15 years. It is about 3,000 gallons. It has a UV filter, a large pump in a pump house, and several layers of swamp cooler filters in the waterfall housing to filter smaller particles.

This year I added domestic ducks to our pond, and it has tripled the work hours I've had to put into the pond. The water is very clear and not green at all, that isn't the problem this year. Somehow, the pipe that runs under the pond pumping water to the pump house is getting clogged. It's not a huge deal right now - I have to climb in the pond and use a toilet plunger to try to force the gunk out the other end. I usually have to put the hose down to force the rest out.

Nothing spectacular is coming out when I do this. Just little bits of leaves mostly. This leads me to wonder if there could be something lodged down there that the debris is getting stuck on? It is clogging faster and faster, this time it only took two days before the water flow completely stopped. I check the filter basket and it is empty, so it has to be a problem underground.

It is getting cold, and it will be nearly impossible for me to climb in and do a clean out in the winter. Please help me to figure out where to start - I'm at a loss!

I can upload pictures of my setup if that will help. Thanks!

 

[DrCase]

How long is the line ?
You can get a plumber to come out and snake the line .

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Is there any gravel or small rock around the perimeter of the pond that could have fallen in over the years? Is this a bottom drain or similar to one?

 

[addy1]

Up load some pictures that always helps us.

Welcome to our group!

 

[addy1]

Ducks tend to really stir things up they may have kicked in some rocks, gravel, something that is causing this

 

[Big Lou]

Welcome!

 

[jducour]

How long is the line ?
You can get a plumber to come out and snake the line .

I have thought about that, but my dad said it is a water plastic pipe, and not a sewer pipe that is regularly snaked. He is afraid that is we snaked the plastic pipe it could damage it.

 

[jducour]

Is there any gravel or small rock around the perimeter of the pond that could have fallen in over the years? Is this a bottom drain or similar to one?

There is 2" gravel in the pond area, and it does on occasion get thrown into the pond, however, the bottom drain is about 12" higher than the bottom of the pond, and it has a filter on it that won't let anything bigger than .25" through it

 

[jducour]

Ducks tend to really stir things up they may have kicked in some rocks, gravel, something that is causing this

They really do stir it up! I think that is partly why the water is so clear this year. They stir up the sediment so it filters more out, but gets clogged more often. The main problem is that something is preventing it from filtering properly somewhere along the line.

 

[jducour]

Up load some pictures that always helps us.

Welcome to our group!

I will work on getting some pictures uploaded next.

 

[jducour]

How long is the line ?
You can get a plumber to come out and snake the line .

The line is probably 10' long, straight - then a 45 degree turn to the pump. - it goes from the center of the pond to the side, where the pump is located.

 

[jducour]

 

[jducour]

You can tell the waterfall is barely flowing, it comes off in a full sheet when at full power. In the first image - with the ducks - the pump house is buried in that pile of rocks. So - from the center of the pond to the pump house is my guess where the problem is. It is probably related to the ducks, as this has never happened in the 15 years prior. The main filter that is cleaned daily is in the round part of the pump - with the clear lid. That is what is clean when the water stops pumping - which has never happened before. Before, every time the water slowed, all you had to do was clean that external filter.

I did a partial clean out two days ago - meaning - I removed all of the filters from the waterfall and completely cleaned them. I vacuumed all of the sludge buildup from the waterfall tank. I removed all of the leaves and other debris from the bottom of the pond by hand. I did a partial water exchange - about 50% This takes me about 4 hours to complete.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

So it is the leaf/litter basket pre-filter (with the clear lid) that is clogging, right?

 

[jducour]

So it is the leaf/litter basket pre-filter (with the clear lid) that is clogging, right?

No, when I go to clean it it is completely clean. It is what should be clogged, as it is the main filter, but since it is clean that leads me to think that it is clogged somewhere underground between the filters.