"MLF" wrote in message
...
Anon:

Your instincts are correct. Get a small tank for the fishes and connect
the filter to it temporarily. Then drain the pond, clean all the junk,
scum, detritus, and unmentionable crud out of there. If it has a liner,
replace it, since 20 years is about all you can expect from most liners.
Once it's spiffy, refill, let it sit for a few days/weeks to stabilize,
and put the fishies back in.
There's no subsitute for getting it cleaned out. No amount of horsing
around will be as effective.
==================
I use a dechlorinator and put mine back the next morning unless the PH and
hardness are very different. In that case I drain down the "kiddy pool"
they're in for the cleaning (drain about 1/2 to 2/3s the water) and start
adding the new pond water slowly. By evening they go back into the pond with
no shock. There is no need to wait days or weeks. Also make sure the fish
have cover in the holding pool as some will "jump," unknowingly, to their
deaths.
--
RM....
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