GG (Mon, 15 Dec 2003 06:27:26 -0500):
I use a wet/dry shop vac to clean my ponds.

If you have an outlet area that is below the level of your lowest pond
point, you can temporarily lay some pipe in, start the vacuum at the
other end, remove the vacuum a second or two later, and the water flows
like I.P. Freely after a night on the town. Especially good for two-
level ponds, where the top one is the filter, and is typically higher
than ground level.

Fixed-font required:
________
/ _______ \
|---||-| \ \
/| || | \ \
//| || | \ \________
...___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _//_| || |____ \________ ==
\ /| || | \-----------...
\ / |______|
\--------------------------/

Start the sucking at the arrow end (===) by plugging the vac into the
pipe end. Pull it out a second or two later, and let 'er rip. Keep
the main pond filling in if you want to remove more water than that
which is above the outlet level.

If your pond water level is higher than an outlet area, you can do the
same thing to the main pond. However, if you have a rig setup like this,
ALL the sediment ALWAYS winds up in the upper pond so the only thing you
have to do with the lower is to remove large debris - leaves, twigs,
pecans.
--
'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`' `'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`'
SLOTHEAD