Hi there my name is Taffy,

I have a garden pond of approx sizes of 8' x 10' which is full of
green slime. I need to drain the pond to refill it with clean water.
Has anyone got any suggestions and tips on how this can be achieved.
Please bear in mind that I am of a senior age and I don't want
anything too strenuous if possible.

Can anyone help!!
p.s. How can I prevent this from happening in the future.

Brenda wrote:

I have a garden pond of approx sizes of 8' x 10' which is full of
green slime. I need to drain the pond to refill it with clean water.
Has anyone got any suggestions and tips on how this can be achieved.
Please bear in mind that I am of a senior age and I don't want
anything too strenuous if possible.

Can anyone help!!
p.s. How can I prevent this from happening in the future.


If it's just a pond of standing water, you have more of a mosquito
breading pit than a water feature, and you're going to have more
problems keeping it clean than if you have moving water, like a fountain
or a waterfall. You'll still have to occasionally clean it out -- once a
year is good -- but it'll generally be in better shape.

The pump that you use for the fountain or to pump water to the top of
the waterfall can be used to empty most of it, too. Either redirect the
hose (or attach a different hose) to dump the water where you want.
(Don't just send it down the storm sewer. Unless it's loaded with
chemicals, it'll do wonders for your lawn or garden.)

Once the pump drains out as much water as it can (you may have to stop
it a few times to unclog the strainer that's usually part of the outside
of the pump body), then you'll have to scoop stuff out by hand. If
you've got a lot of sludge, like decomposing leaves and such, a wet-dry
vac is good at this point. Again, if the pond hasn't been loaded with
chemicals, the sludge would be good for your garden.

After that I'd rinse down the sides using a garden hose set to a sharp
stream, depending upon your liner. You don't want to damage the liner,
so a power washer is probably going to be too much. Rinse down as much
as you can, pump or wet vac it out, and then let the pond sit dry for a
day or two before filling it with fresh water.

If you want to raise fish or grow water plants in the pond, you'll need
to regularly test the water, and then adjust the pH as needed. If you're
just going to use it as a water feature it's less critical what you do
to it, but keep in mind that wildlife and pets may drink from the pond,
so be careful about what you put in it. The goal is to set up a
self-sustaining ecosystem so the water essentially cleans itself (more
or less) naturally, and doesn't become a mosquito breeding pit. You're
not going to be able to make the water potable for humans. I'd also
avoid turning it into a chemical filled swimming pool that's too small
to swim in anyway. Overall, that's not going to be any easier to
maintain than a more natural water environment. (And the smell of
chlorine doesn't exactly refresh the soul when contemplating life next
to your water feature.)

You shouldn't need to do any scrubbing, and depending on the length of
the wand on your wet-dry vac, you may not need to get on your knees for
anything other than pump placement and such. Maintaining the water
feature doesn't take a lot of back breaking work, but if there is a lot
of evaporation, it can be expensive to keep refilling it. If there is a
hole in your liner, replacing the liner may require a bit of physical
work, but generally it's mostly a pond is just a lot of custodial work.

If there are trees nearby, you may want to invest in a skimmer net to
scoop-out leaves while they're still floating on the surface, otherwise
they'll end up part of the sludge on the bottom of the pond.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

On 28 Mar 2003 07:28:01 -0800, (Brenda)
wrote:

Hi there my name is Taffy,

I have a garden pond of approx sizes of 8' x 10' which is full of
green slime. I need to drain the pond to refill it with clean water.
Has anyone got any suggestions and tips on how this can be achieved.
Please bear in mind that I am of a senior age and I don't want
anything too strenuous if possible.

Can anyone help!!
p.s. How can I prevent this from happening in the future.

There are many kinds of fish that will eat the algae, including
goldfish. If you clean it, the algae will just return. There are
algae removers you can get at an aquarium store too. Elodea
(anacharis) will compete with the algae. Algae is actually a good
sign of a healthy pond--just add the fish!

On 28 Mar 2003 07:28:01 -0800, (Brenda)
wrote:

I need to drain the pond to refill it with clean water.

Where will the old water go?

Siphon? Is your pond higher than any place else on your property?
Or
Could you just run more water into the pond until it has displaced the
old?
Portable sump pump
Cheap electric models at the big home centers $50 or so, maybe rent for
a couple of days.
Gas - more expensive - if no electricity

In article , wrote:

On 28 Mar 2003 07:28:01 -0800, (Brenda)
wrote:

Hi there my name is Taffy,

I have a garden pond of approx sizes of 8' x 10' which is full of
green slime. I need to drain the pond to refill it with clean water.
Has anyone got any suggestions and tips on how this can be achieved.
Please bear in mind that I am of a senior age and I don't want
anything too strenuous if possible.

Can anyone help!!
p.s. How can I prevent this from happening in the future.

There are many kinds of fish that will eat the algae, including
goldfish. If you clean it, the algae will just return. There are
algae removers you can get at an aquarium store too. Elodea
(anacharis) will compete with the algae. Algae is actually a good
sign of a healthy pond--just add the fish

Actually goldfish FEED the algae with their nitrogeny poops, though they
do also eat some of the hairy kinds of algae & keep them cropped down.
Algae has trouble going crazy in nitrogen-poor environment kept fairly
sterile (hence boring), but that's no fun because it is so nice to have
fish or frogs or something besides just water. A shading tree that cuts
down somewhat on the amount of sunlight on the pond can also retard algae
growth. I think one has to accomodate a certain amount of algae & just
think of it as green & nice. If it is "floater" algae that darkens the
water, that's the intolerable part. If you can have a raised planter in
the pond with lots of bog plants in it, & have a little pump continuously
cycling water through the planter, you can create a biological filter. The
planter should be deep enough to have the lower half pea-gravel & the
upper half the bogplant growing medium, & still enough of a lip for the
water to soak downward & out holes in the bottom of the planter rather
than over the rim. The roots of the bog plants use up the nigrogen that
flows through. In the peagravel there'll be healthful bacteria that breaks
down anything unwholesome in the water. It essentially works similar to a
"reverse undergravel filter" in an indoor aquarium, & is by far the best
filtering system a pond can have, besides being an attractive component
instead of a big dumbass filter box of some kind. The result of the
biological filter/planter is crystal-clear water even if some algae
continues to grow on walls & floor of the pool, but the algae oughtn't get
out of hand with bog plants using up the free nitrogen. The pool will also
practically never need any other cleaning, except for loose material that
accumulates on the bottom, the water will even then remain clear. No
drawbacks to this biological filter system EXCEPT the water must ALWAYS
circulate through the planter; if the pump comes unplugged or dies & is
not restored within a few days, the healthful backteria in the pot begins
to die, & the wholesomeness of the system sours nastily (repairs itself
when the flow is regained, but takes a few days for the bacteria to bounce
back, & the water may be toxic or smelly in the meantime).

The algae retardant chemicals sometimes retard growth of some types of
plants & especially seedlings if it splashes from the pool. Some of the
retardants use among other stuff copper which with repeat use can
eventually become toxic to birds & pets & other animals that drink from or
live in the water. And they don't work all that well if there's still
excess nitrogen in the water either from bug or fish poo or other
processes that occur outdoors. I'd go the planter/biological filter route
even if all that was in the planter was water sedge.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

Ok Taffy I have been reading answers to your post and all sounds like good advice.I f you will allow me I will add mine also. Algae is a persistent problem live with it. to some degree.All the advice you were given was good. However if you wish to enjoy it the pond .Clean it once a year add gold fish or whatever you like and live with it. Remember this the more moving water you have, the more oxygen you have ,the more algae you have! I have about the same size pond as yourself for many years now and I have two water falls and a fish that squirts water.I quit feeding the fish let them eat the algae and made me a good filter system. Of which you could buy if you wish not nessary .Now I enjoy my pond and clean once a year every two years I drain it.This seems to work well for me.I am in a shady are for the most part.I have very little problem with the algae.I have seen beautiful ponds with know problems with algae ,but most are expensive to build and operate . Mine is built by my self and maintained on a low scale with as little as trouble as possible. I bought a 25 gal plastic drum for 10.00 dollars .line the bottom with several bricks,to make a platform.Cut you a piece of heavy screen , cut a notch in the side of the screen so a 1 1/2 inch diameter PVC pipe can get by it.Buy you 6 feet of 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe and a 90 degree PVC fitting plastic. put the fitting on the end of the pipe,not neassary to glue it.slip it down inside the barrel underneath the screen ..Your going to run water through it.Pour 1 10 LB bag of lava rock over the screen then 10 lbs. of pea gravel another screen and then buy some filter material its kinda like soft porous foam we used to use in swamp coolers for the water to run through. Put that on top of the screen and one more piece of screen, cut your screen to fit the inside of barrel.Put you a couple rocks on top of the filter so it don't float up.Put you lid on barrel it should have a cap on the lid take it off and put the lid on over the pipe. Cut your pipe off to about 6 inches above the lid. Buy you a good pump at lowes if you got a lowes there. run you hose off the pump up to the barrel put the end of hose in barrel it will fill the barrel and run out hole in the side of barrel that you will determine were this hole needs to be after you decide at what height you want you water to run out. To do this use the same 1 1/2 PVC pipe you bought a piece about 6 inches or whatever and cut a hole in the side of barrel. You will need to buy a rubber grommet to go in the hole you cut it is like a flange that you will stick this pipe through and tighten it up that will seal water from running out around the pipe. There you have it water runs in the top by the pump out the side to the pond filters continuously keeps it clean no maintenance and cheap. run it year round and enjoy.Now I know what your thinking if you have problem with this set up get you a good man to help you with a little thought he will be able to help you make this work . Best regards Tom in Oklahoma










"Garrapata" wrote in message ...
On 28 Mar 2003 07:28:01 -0800, (Brenda)
wrote:

I need to drain the pond to refill it with clean water.

Where will the old water go?

Siphon? Is your pond higher than any place else on your property?
Or
Could you just run more water into the pond until it has displaced the
old?
Portable sump pump
Cheap electric models at the big home centers $50 or so, maybe rent for
a couple of days.
Gas - more expensive - if no electricity

Go to Kmart and get a wave castle double outlet air pump. go to the pet store and
get LARGE airstones and air line. put the air pump into a zip lock bag under an
overturned flower pot. run the air lines to the ends of the pond and let the air
pump in there. sitting water goes bad. water with air injected into it will
normally clear up after a little while. if you got fish, they will eat the mosquito
larvae. if you dont and dont want a few fish, get mosquito "dunks". if you want
trouble free fish, get rosy reds, white clouds or guppies for the summer. they will
die in winter and you dont have to worry about over wintering them.
if there are leaves in the bottom of the pond, use a fish net on a pole to drag em
out if there are no fish in the pond. you could probably get a neighborhood kid to
do this for you for a few bucks. I cover my pond with netting to keep leaves out and
my koi in my pond.
If you are going to want real fish like GF or koi in there, you will need a pump and
filter. this is work. in a pond without fish you can still have water lilies and
other nice water plants. Ingrid

(Brenda) wrote:

Hi there my name is Taffy,

I have a garden pond of approx sizes of 8' x 10' which is full of
green slime. I need to drain the pond to refill it with clean water.
Has anyone got any suggestions and tips on how this can be achieved.
Please bear in mind that I am of a senior age and I don't want
anything too strenuous if possible.

Can anyone help!!
p.s. How can I prevent this from happening in the future.



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http://puregold.aquaria.net/
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Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
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endorsements or recommendations I make.