Pump-pressure filter match

[Spartamets]

I don't know for sure. My guess is only a thin coating, but I can't see. I'll know more tomorrow after I go in to put the new plants in. But the pond is still less than a year old, so I can't imagine too much has accumulated yet. I wonder about my lilies, too. One of the plants has been quite prolific, and if I had to guess, at least 10 flowers have already come and gone since it started blooming in late April. The other one has produced maybe 5 more. I think I need to take those flowers off and out; they're down at the bottom. The nooks and crannies behind the rocks around the perimeter concern me, too; I've seen sludge there, and under the rocks in the stream. One of the first things I want to do when I can see clearly is vacuum the pond. I'm thinking I might out my air stones in, too.

 

[Spartamets]

As always, I appreciate everyone's help, but yours especially, Meyer. You are very generous with your expertise. You've really helped me figure a lot of things out. Ponds involve quite the learning curve.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

As always, I appreciate everyone's help, but yours especially, Meyer. You are very generous with your expertise. You've really helped me figure a lot of things out. Ponds involve quite the learning curve.

You are most welcome.
I would not be concerned about any sediment that accumulates between the rocks in the pond or the stream. A certain amount is actually beneficial to the overall ecology of the pond though it may not be too pleasing to look at. Certain micro- and meio-organisms live only in this sediment and their presence only adds to the overall biological diversity of the pond not to mention augment the natural food chain.

 

[Spartamets]

You just saved the lives of those little microorganisms. I thought that if sediment under/behind the rocks accumulates too much, there could be a release of toxic gasses at some point in the future. Is there a way to tell when the muck needs to be addressed for that reason?

 

[sissy]

You are a lucky one as others have posted on here that algaefix has killed or caused problems with the fish they have .I call it suicide in a bottle .

 

[Spartamets]

Thank you for the info, Sissy. I wish I had known that before I started using it--to no effect, might I add. I hope the fish are OK. It's marketed as safe for fish, so I didn't even think about that.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Is there a way to tell when the muck needs to be addressed for that reason?

Excellent question!
As with many questions asked concerning aquatic environments, the answer is: 'It depend'.
The most affecting factor is the composition of the sediment. If loose, a thicker layer can be tolerated. If compacted, a much thinner layer might be problematic.
Knowing the typical organic composition of most Garden Ponds, I would place the absolute safe limit of sediment depth at 2 to 3 inches which is considerable more than is usually allowed by pondkeepers. I have personally observed ponds that had a sediment layer of about 12 inches with absolutely no detectable levels of H2S even when disturbed. These were, of course, severely neglected ponds.
Usually, if Koi (Carp) are present in a pond, this will not be an issue because, as bottom feeders, carp will continually keep this sediment stirred up and oxygenated. Goldfish, much less.

 

[Spartamets]

Excellent question!
As with many questions asked concerning aquatic environments, the answer is: 'It depend'.
The most affecting factor is the composition of the sediment. If loose, a thicker layer can be tolerated. If compacted, a much thinner layer might be problematic.
Knowing the typical organic composition of most Garden Ponds, I would place the absolute safe limit of sediment depth at 2 to 3 inches which is considerable more than is usually allowed by pondkeepers. I have personally observed ponds that had a sediment layer of about 12 inches with absolutely no detectable levels of H2S even when disturbed. These were, of course, severely neglected ponds.
Usually, if Koi (Carp) are present in a pond, this will not be an issue because, as bottom feeders, carp will continually keep this sediment stirred up and oxygenated. Goldfish, much less.

That is very much a relief. I can't imagine sediment ever approaching dangerous levels, if that's what it takes. I don't plan on letting things accumulate much, and there are koi in the pond.

 

[sissy]

I use a pool net to net the bottom of the pond .I really hate that they say fish safe because I have seen fish death from people adding it to a pond

 

[Spartamets]

My local pond (landscaping) store had a 1/2 off sale on pond plants last weekend. I got a ton of new plants to populate the waterfall, stream and pond--including a pitcher plant, which I think are cool (it's in the mosquito zone). On Tuesday, I added a couple of new water lilies to help with coverage from the sun. So far, I am noticing a definite improvement in water clarity. I'm hoping that in a week or two, unaided, the water would be acceptable again. The fish haven't minded any of the algae, of course, so in that respect I suppose the water's always been acceptable. I also stopped using the Algaefix; my existing plants seem healthier now, and I can't help but think there's a connection.

When the pond store had their sale, they also had a shelf in their pond shed of other things that were 1/2 off. On that shelf were Laguna pumps. I sent back the Tetra pump; some of you kindly pointed out that it was too strong (4280 gph) so I had to do so anyway. The Laguna pressure filter I got claims to be for 3000 gallon ponds, and it says it should be paired with one of their 2000gph pumps. There weren't any of those on sale, so I got the closest one they did have--a 2,400gph pump. I am assuming/hoping that this pump will be fine even though it is 400gph stronger than recommended. I'd like to make effective use of the UV filter that's built into the filter. I have no experience with UV lights, or pressure filters for that matter, so I hope that the pump is OK. Either way, I see the additional set-up I'm putting in as finishing the job being done by the plants, which lowers the stakes somewhat.

Ponds really are unforgiving, I'm learning. You really have no choice but to do things the right way, or at least right-ish, or things *will* go wrong. There is no margin for error, at least for me. My neighbor said the heron is lurking again, too, so we'll see if my new water sprayer works. If it doesn't, I'm really screwed because none of the new plants will fit under my net. And so it goes.

 

[sissy]

I put ball valve on my hose with clamps to hold it on and diverted some of the water to a home made spitter in m waterfall pond and a home made bottom pond water outlet .I have 2 laguna pumps and found the bigger the hose the less electricity they use .My 2400 gph one I think right now is using 40 or 45 watts because I just cleaned the cage off and the other one is 2900 gph .

 

[Spartamets]

I put ball valve on my hose with clamps to hold it on and diverted some of the water to a home made spitter in m waterfall pond and a home made bottom pond water outlet .I have 2 laguna pumps and found the bigger the hose the less electricity they use .My 2400 gph one I think right now is using 40 or 45 watts because I just cleaned the cage off and the other one is 2900 gph .

What size hose do you use? I was thing of using a 1 1/4 to connect it to the filter, but I also have a 1 1/2 I could use instead. (Screwing up consistently does have its benefits--lots of spare parts!)

 

[sissy]

Right now I have 1 /14 on the 2400gph and the 2900 gph has 1 1/2 inch sump pump hose .That is why I use sump pump hose for years and great part is you run it inside the pond it leaks it stays in the pond and my spitters are made of pvc clamped to the sump pump hose .

 

[Spartamets]

Thank you, Sissy. It sounds like I can use the 1 1/4 to connect the pump to filter with out damaging the filter. I'll use the 1 1/2 to connect the filter to a waterfall, because that's usually what the fittings are for waterfalls. The waterfall project will have to wait until I have time for it, though, since it will likely entail messing around with a lot of things I don't want to deal with just yet. Among other things, I'm going to have to overlay a new liner from the waterfall into the pond, which kind of makes me nervous.

 

[sissy]

I did it as long as the liner goes up and overlaps by at least 2 feet no big deal ,but if you are nervous about it use pl roofing goop to seal them together .Addy uses it and I used it the last 2 times and it hold great .