I have about a 300 gallon plastic pond with a submersible pump that
has a built-in "cage" that holds a fist-sized filter. The water is
pumped up to an external biological filter and also to a waterfall.

This spring the pond was so pea soupy that I totally emptied it and
started from scratch and added a net bag of Barley pellets.

In the pond, I now have water hyacinths and lettuce and also an
oxygenator growing well, along with about 6 goldfish. The water is
clear and there isn't much sludge, if any on the bottom of the pond.

My filter is another story. I am finding that I have to hose it down
EVERY day. It is clogging up with sludge and tiny plant bits so much
so that my waterfall completely stops.

If I keep the cage part of the pump attached, do I HAVE to have the
foam filter in there? The cage has 3 to 4" long slots along the side.
A fish could not get in there. Will the pump be able to run without
clogging up, too?

That depends.
If the pump is an impellor, then probably not. If however the pump works any
other way, then it probably will.

I don't feel that emptying the pond was a good plan because even as small as
it is, a pond takes three to five years to mature. Mature means that all the
biological gunk that it needs to support itself is present.

By emptying the pond, you have essentially destroyed all of that and I'm not
sure how effective a bunch of barley pellets will be. I was told that straw
bales (the small variety) would keep the blanket weed down and that turned
out to be a bunch of hooey.

I would suggest a good impellor pump to an external filter system to feed
the waterfall would be the best solution.

We started off with pumps like yours and they really didn't cut the
mustard - or get rid of the muck. There is supposed to be a certain amount
of sludge on the bottom of the pond and the plants after a while will be
able to do their thing with natural filtration and removal of the nitrites.

It all sounds very technical, but ponds are living things and need specific
nutrients and biological ingredients to survive. I would suggest a tetrapond
additive for the refil that counteracts the additives in tap water and will
help keep the algae down. I definitely would not suggest emptying and
restarting.

For more info see www.pennix.co.uk

Nick

"Barkomatic" wrote in message
...
I have about a 300 gallon plastic pond with a submersible pump that
has a built-in "cage" that holds a fist-sized filter. The water is
pumped up to an external biological filter and also to a waterfall.

This spring the pond was so pea soupy that I totally emptied it and
started from scratch and added a net bag of Barley pellets.

In the pond, I now have water hyacinths and lettuce and also an
oxygenator growing well, along with about 6 goldfish. The water is
clear and there isn't much sludge, if any on the bottom of the pond.

My filter is another story. I am finding that I have to hose it down
EVERY day. It is clogging up with sludge and tiny plant bits so much
so that my waterfall completely stops.

If I keep the cage part of the pump attached, do I HAVE to have the
foam filter in there? The cage has 3 to 4" long slots along the side.
A fish could not get in there. Will the pump be able to run without
clogging up, too?

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:27:32 +0100, "Nick Byford"
wrote:

That depends.
If the pump is an impellor, then probably not. If however the pump works any
other way, then it probably will.

I don't feel that emptying the pond was a good plan because even as small as
it is, a pond takes three to five years to mature. Mature means that all the
biological gunk that it needs to support itself is present.

By emptying the pond, you have essentially destroyed all of that and I'm not
sure how effective a bunch of barley pellets will be. I was told that straw
bales (the small variety) would keep the blanket weed down and that turned
out to be a bunch of hooey.

I would suggest a good impellor pump to an external filter system to feed
the waterfall would be the best solution.

We started off with pumps like yours and they really didn't cut the
mustard - or get rid of the muck. There is supposed to be a certain amount
of sludge on the bottom of the pond and the plants after a while will be
able to do their thing with natural filtration and removal of the nitrites.

It all sounds very technical, but ponds are living things and need specific
nutrients and biological ingredients to survive. I would suggest a tetrapond
additive for the refil that counteracts the additives in tap water and will
help keep the algae down. I definitely would not suggest emptying and
restarting.

Thanks Nick. You've explained some things that I had thready
knowledge about, if that.

Barkomatic wrote:

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:27:32 +0100, "Nick Byford"
wrote:

That depends.
If the pump is an impellor, then probably not. If however the pump works any
other way, then it probably will.

I don't feel that emptying the pond was a good plan because even as small as
it is, a pond takes three to five years to mature. Mature means that all the
biological gunk that it needs to support itself is present.

By emptying the pond, you have essentially destroyed all of that and I'm not
sure how effective a bunch of barley pellets will be. I was told that straw
bales (the small variety) would keep the blanket weed down and that turned
out to be a bunch of hooey.

I would suggest a good impellor pump to an external filter system to feed
the waterfall would be the best solution.

We started off with pumps like yours and they really didn't cut the
mustard - or get rid of the muck. There is supposed to be a certain amount
of sludge on the bottom of the pond and the plants after a while will be
able to do their thing with natural filtration and removal of the nitrites.

It all sounds very technical, but ponds are living things and need specific
nutrients and biological ingredients to survive. I would suggest a tetrapond
additive for the refil that counteracts the additives in tap water and will
help keep the algae down. I definitely would not suggest emptying and
restarting.

Thanks Nick. You've explained some things that I had thready
knowledge about, if that.
Instead of completly empting your pond you could once a month empty out
about 10% of the water
i use apressurised filter and my pond is keeping clear