Pond Vac

[ComputerGuy]

She said that it works great for getting the muck out. I would imagine that if you used a smaller barrel (like a 30), the pressure would increase and you could vaccum small gravel that the fish strew out of the plant baskets. That's what I'm thinking about using it for. I don't have much of a "muck" problem in my pond.

 

[ididntdoit99]

I might have to try that, but I usually only hae to do it once in the fall, so its really no that big of a pain to just use the shope vac like I do.

 

[ComputerGuy]

That's my debate also. My fish mess around in my planters and strow pebbles onto the bottom of the pond. This fall I'm going to go much deeper with my pond and it may come in much more handy than it would now.

 

[addy1]

Does it work well in deeper ponds? I have a bunch of pea gravel that has wandered down into the bottom, well not a ton, but some.

thanks for posting, neat idea

 

[CountryEscape]

I've been thinking of getting a wet/dry shop vac, and using it to vacuum my pond. Why do you need the extra stuff? Wouldn't the vac do it all by itself, or does it fill too fast, that's why the extra barrel or pump attachments are better? And, if a vac will do it all alone, then is it just a matter of emptying it often? Seems you could be pretty picky about when it was on and when off, to not drain too much out of your pond. I have plenty of gallons, but some that have smaller ponds would not want too much water drained each time they vacuum.
Also, I'm curious ... how many times do people vacuum their ponds? I'm in IL, this is my first year, pond is only 2 months old. I have algae on the sides, not sure what's on the bottom besides algae, but I'm sure it will build up in time. Is it a spring and fall cleaning thing? I've read where people try to clean their pond before winter, as then in the spring it's not terribly mucky. Wondering if the algae is important to get rid of, or if that is best to leave well enough alone on the sides, just concentrate on the bottom stuff, I assume. Thanks!!!

 

[ididntdoit99]

I will do mine in the fall after all the leaves have fallen with just my wet/dry vac.

Last year, I brought my fish inside (this year I dug it deeper so I dont have to) and didn't get the leaves and muck out of the bottom and when spring came I had a big mess. Stinky brown water from the leaves sitting there decaying all winter, and since there were no fish in there, I wasnt worried about keeping a hole in the ice so there was no way for the gases from the decaying leaves to escape.

 

[addy1]

There are areas where some stuff collects in mine, esp around the lilies, but with the depth of my pond the wet vac will not pull the water. I also worry about sucking up my snail buddies lol. Right now just been doing a net job off and on, and look for snails, toss them back in lol

My little ponds in the stream will need to be cleaned out they are like settlement chambers, with the bio filters i.e. the ton of plants the bottoms of those ponds are full of muck. A fall job once the plants die back.

 

[taherrmann4]

I've been thinking of getting a wet/dry shop vac, and using it to vacuum my pond. Why do you need the extra stuff? Wouldn't the vac do it all by itself, or does it fill too fast, that's why the extra barrel or pump attachments are better? And, if a vac will do it all alone, then is it just a matter of emptying it often? Seems you could be pretty picky about when it was on and when off, to not drain too much out of your pond. I have plenty of gallons, but some that have smaller ponds would not want too much water drained each time they vacuum.
Also, I'm curious ... how many times do people vacuum their ponds? I'm in IL, this is my first year, pond is only 2 months old. I have algae on the sides, not sure what's on the bottom besides algae, but I'm sure it will build up in time. Is it a spring and fall cleaning thing? I've read where people try to clean their pond before winter, as then in the spring it's not terribly mucky. Wondering if the algae is important to get rid of, or if that is best to leave well enough alone on the sides, just concentrate on the bottom stuff, I assume. Thanks!!!

Country I have a pond vac I purchased several years ago to clean out the bottom of my pond. I will clean my pond once in early spring and then again in the fall once all the leaves have fallen. Before I got the vac I had never cleaned the bottom besides trying to get it out with a net which was not too successful for me, I have several trees around my pond and the winds don't help as the pond seems to catch every leaf from down the street. When I finally did clean it out it the most awful smell! I only vacuum out the muck and leaves, I leave the algae on the sides of the pond. When I do vacuum I end up using this as a water change, for my pond it will drain about 3" and my pond is about 12x15. I will only clean my creek in the spring as they seem to collect so much stuff throughout the winter, to clean the creek I have to take out all the rock on the bottom to get all the muck out which is quite a job.

 

[CountryEscape]

Ok, that sure makes sense, Taherrmann. My plan this fall is to see how many leaves make it into the pond. I have few large trees in my yard, but since I'm "on the prairie", they will be blowing around a LOT! I never have to mulch or blow leaves, they blow into the next township. LOL BUT, that may also mean that every leaf in my area may end up in the pond. I will check the skimmer daily to see how many are in there when the leaves begin to fall. The only trees within 100 yards of the pond are just planted there in the last year and small. I know that other muck ends up in the bottom, though, too, like fish poop. So, I'm sure I will need to figure out something to clean it up. My waterfall/stream is pretty short, so not much worry there, will leave that go until spring for sure. Thanks for the pointers.

 

[taherrmann4]

You brought up a good point about the skimmer. Once the leaves do begin to fall I will check it twice a day as it definitely does its job at collecting the leaves to the point that if it gets too full it will bring my water fall to a drip. I don't have a bottom drain so when the skimmer gets too full it severely limits my water flow. With this summer being so hot and dry I have had quite a few leaves already drop from certain trees and have had to check my skimmer every other day. Some people cover their pond with nets to keep the leaves out, I have given this some though but I really enjoy being able to see the pond and hate the idea of covering it up, plus I have about 40 feet of streams that would need to be covered. I guess I just choose to fish out the leaves....

 

[CountryEscape]

My skimmer feeds the bog, and I never notice it having much less flow, even when the skimmer is clogged, just notice the pump sounding like it's working harder. I tend to check my skimmer daily, because of all the algae that floats to the top during the day. By morning algae is pretty much gone, so hoping that when the weather cools down, I won't have to worry at least about the algae clogging the skimmer ... but then I'll be watching for the leaves!

 

[addy1]

You brought up a good point about the skimmer. Once the leaves do begin to fall I will check it twice a day as it definitely does its job at collecting the leaves to the point that if it gets too full it will bring my water fall to a drip. I don't have a bottom drain so when the skimmer gets too full it severely limits my water flow. With this summer being so hot and dry I have had quite a few leaves already drop from certain trees and have had to check my skimmer every other day. Some people cover their pond with nets to keep the leaves out, I have given this some though but I really enjoy being able to see the pond and hate the idea of covering it up, plus I have about 40 feet of streams that would need to be covered. I guess I just choose to fish out the leaves....

I don't cover mine tmann, for one it would be hard to do and have 85 feet of stream. Hoping to have the skimmer running before the leaves begin to fall, if not, hand net time lol and netting the bottom lol

We need to drop the water level, clean the liner and install the weir cover ow it is ready to go.

 

[j.w]

I may cover mine right before fall as I have my Japanese Maple that has grown more now and is putting leaves in the pond each year. That's the only tree that really loses it's leaves close by. Just gonna throw some of that bird netting over int and when leaves have stopped I'll yank it off.

 

[Waterbug]

tejash5, it is a bit more than just drilling a hole in the tank. The vac would just pull air in through the hole instead of the nozzle. The trick is to install a check valve. When the vac is on the check valve closes on its own (if installed in the right direction). When the vac is turned off the check valve opens on its own and empties the vac. Sound pretty good? Well it would for water. But what you're pumping in addition to water is muck, leaves, sticks, string algae. That stuff does exactly "flow" out of a check valve. So you really still need to dump out the vac. Depending on the size of the vac, kind of heavy. If the pond has a sidewalk around it you can roll the vac to the edge and tip it over. Lifting a full vac and carrying over plants and rock is an impressive feat and entertaining for friends and family to watch.

I'm not a big fan of shop vacs. In a small pond with good access you can use a small nozzle and they're OK. A large tank is a help.

However it doesn't take long for some water to get into the motor, or the float valve protecting the motor to get block by some muck, and that's that. I used a shop vac I think 3 times before it was trashed.

In a small pond small enough for a shop vac to be viable I think its easier to just use a net to scoop out stuff.

Years ago, in another forum, there was a guy who made that drum deal with the wood supports. His collapsed like a pop can. But he may have been using a water pump and not a shop vac. The drum scheme would help in protecting the vac motor.

Here's a link to a Muck Mop vac I made a few years back along with build instructions. It uses a water pump and doesn't remove any water. Worked every well for me. Easy to set up and use. No hurry since you're not losing any water.

Then I made the Silt Vac for pumping the muck out along with some water which was good for water changes. The Silt Vac was a bit more tricky. The leaf filter protecting the pump could clog and burn out the pump. Never happened to me, but could. The nozzle would also clog with string algae and golf ball size rocks. You really had to use the Muck Mop first to get all the big stuff out first. Then come back in a few hours with the Silt Vac. But using the Silt Vac was only really needed once a year so it was doable. Certainly many times easier than emptying the pond and using a shop vac to clean out the remaining muck which is the way Aquascape Ponds are cleaned.

 

[addy1]

How does it keep snails, tads, fry out? or when you empty do you look for the little guys? I did some bottom cleaning of my pond today, and spent time saving the snails, tads etc..............