"hotpepper" wrote in message
ups.com...
I inherited a pond about 2 years ago in my new house in the south of
England and although it was a nice feature I ignored it until very
recently. Its about 3000 ltrs (650 gals) 2m X 3m X 0.7m and I think
its many years old, I think its made of concrete and has some very
attractive stonework around and in the pond, the sides look like stone
bricks. Someone obviously spent a lot of time on it so I thought I
should do something with it. It's in a very shady spot but does get
some direct sunshine in the middle of the afternoon.
## Many pond plants grow in partial sun.
It was not filtered and everything was overgrown, it basically looked
like a swap. I started by clearing all the overgrown vegetation and
have left a decent sized patch of Lilly's in the middle with some
oxygenators and reeds.
## Speaking only for myself I would clean out the whole thing. I'd refill
it and add the most attractive plants back to this pond. Discard or give the
rest away.
Then (I didn't now about pond vacs at this point) dredged the bottom
with my bare hands then a coarse net, then a fine net. So now I have a
thin layer of sludge at the bottom. I then added a good quality
filtration system with a small water fall, UV clarifier, an air ball
and some lighting.
## I sounds like it's a pretty pond. ;-)
I already had three largish goldfish, I've added 3 Tench, 3 Commits,
3 Goldfish, 3 blue orfe, 3 Sebunkins, all are quit small 3in.
## I would say that's too many fish for only 650 gallons. With good care
and feeding they will grow rapidly. Goldfish can get almost a foot long and
you now have 12 of them. They also reproduce like crazy. Watch for an
ammonia or Nitrite spike.
Everything seems fine expect I can't see the Tench but I assume they
are ok. The water was very murky but after a few days it has started to
clear (you can see the rocks at the bottom of the pond) and is no
longer green.
My questions a
1 - Have I done the right thing in terms of setup and cleaning?
## I would have cleaned EVERYTHING out including the sludge on the bottom
and started over.
2 - I have had mixed advice on this but should I drain and clean the
pond and does this need to be done every year?
## We do ours every other year but they range from 2000 to 800 gallons and
we don't has as many fish per gallon as you do.
3 - Can I keep Koi in this pond?
## NO!!!! It's much to small for koi. Koi can reach 3 feet long.
4 - Is there anything else I should do?
## Watch for ammonia and nitrite spikes. You have a lot of fish in a small
pond.
5 - How many fish should I keep in the pond?
## That depends on their size and how good your filtration system is.
5 - Where have the Tench gone?
## Hiding perhaps?
Sorry for the long story but I didn't want to leave anything out but
needless to say but I am now totally hooked!!!
## That's how it happens. :-)
Thanks in advance for you help.
--
McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond Page
http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
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