Just inherited a Pond

[Delco]

I just bought a house and they have a pond in the yard. The pond has not been taken care of and is full of algae on top, what do I need to do to get the pond in shape? I have a 90 gallon Cichlid tank in my house, is the care for the pond more or less the same?

Oh, the pond has a fish pro or Marine pro UV filter on it also which is bringing water through but I think the UV light is shot. Where can I get a new UV bulb for it & how can I determine which one I need?

[Delco]

Can anyone give a suggestion. (relative to this post that is....)

[JH]

Hello Delco,

On the UV it should say what model and size it is. (ex.. UV 8, UV 15, UV 25) That will help you determine what size bulb to purchase. When you do purchase your bulb it should say for what size UV it goes to. As far as where to get it, I'm not really sure. Have you checked Mail Order Catalog's. I have used Drs. Foster & Smith, That Pet Place, and Pet Solutions all with great success. If you don't want to order you could also ask at your pet store and see if they can get it for you.

Since this is a pond you are not familar with I would probably drain it and start all over. This will alow you to check the liner for damage, clean out decaying fish and plant material and you would also be able to enlarge it (if you wish). This would be a easier way (I think) to sterlize the pond, expecially since it hasn't been taken care of for awhile and you don't really know what is down there.

You could just filter it really, really well. But I would think that would take twice as long. I use quilt batting with great success when filtering green water.

Do you have any pictures of the pond? What size is it? Depth? Are there any plants, fish? Is it in full sun, shade? You mentioned a UV. Does it have any other filtration?

I am by no means an expert. I am new to this ponding thing myself. If you need anymore help just ask. I will try my best to help you. To make you feel better... Since you have previous experience with fishkeeping it should be easier for you, since you already know about water peremiters, cycling, etc..

Good Luck with your new pond.

[brianfl]

I would start by buying a bulb for the uv. Find the size and your lfs may have one. It should clear the algae out fairly quickly and then you can see what you have.

[Erika]

Definitely replace the UV bulb. Also, the algae problem may be related to sunlight. How many hours of sulight do you get each day? We have full sun on our pond and are running a total of 5 filters to keep it clear. One of those is a UV filter. Our lfs suggested either shading the pond with trees or covreing the surface with water plants, real of fake. We wanted to see our fish so we increased our filtration. We can't plant shade trees for it because it's right under the house windows!

BTW, we have 21 goldfish in the pond. They may freeze in the winter, but they thaw out just fine!!:D

[brianfl]

Erika,

How warm does your pond get? Mine is in direct sunlight now and gets into the high 80's during the day.

[Erika]

I'm not sure how warm the water gets, but I'm in the Cincinnati, OH area and our air temps have been in the upper 80's to low 90's. In the winter, it freezes from the top almost to the bottom. It's about 18" deep. We do not use a heater during the summer, but we do run a heater and air stones during the winter.

[Delco]

Well thanks for the suggestions, I did find out that I have a fish Mate 8 watt UV filter and have replaced the bulb and filter sponge. However I threw out the media that was in it b/c it looked really bad. What can I use a filtering media? It has only been 1 day since I changed the bulb so the water is still green.

The setup is 2 plastic ponds, 1 in the ground 1 above which spills into the lower tub. The pump pumps water up to the filter on the above ground plastic tub. I have a bout 6 fish in the lower pond and 2 or 3 in the other and they do get some shade thanks to some decorative grass and some small trees. The plastic tubs have algae adhering to the sides and I guess bottom but I can't see it yet. Do I need to put rocks or something in the bottom like a fish tank has?

[brianfl]

You don't need to put anything in the bottom. Without knowing what the filter looks like, I couldn't give you advice on filter media. If there is some space at the bottom, you may want to put in some lava rocks. Otherwise seach the net for that filter and you should be able to get an idea what kind of media. With a uv, the tanks should clear up in a couple of days, at least the water should be getting clearer.

[woodyblueeyes]

Originally posted by brianfl
You don't need to put anything in the bottom. Without knowing what the filter looks like, I couldn't give you advice on filter media. If there is some space at the bottom, you may want to put in some lava rocks....

Question:

What do the lava rocks do for ponds? I am considering putting a pond together in either my front yard (3-5 hours of afternoon sun) or my back yard (mixture of sun and shade, but two hound dogs that stay outside all day until I get home)

I would like to prepare an area for at least a 100 gallon pond, but I'm thinking more upwards to 250-400 gallons.

I would love nothing more than to have a pond going under and around my deck in the back yard, but I'm at odds as to how I could keep my hounds out of the water, as I'm sure they would LOVE to get in and cool down when it's warm outside.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Woody

[brianfl]

Lava rocks are a medium used for bio filtration. Many people use them as an alternative to higher priced solutions. Myself included.

[Erika]

For our 400 gallon pond, we built a form above ground from cured pavestones and then put a black liner from Wal-Mart's garden section in the form. Then we added the filters and a couple months later some fish. It took us 2 summers to finally get rid of the algae. We currently have five filters (1 is a UV) to help keep our 21 goldfish happy.

I don't know how cold your winters get, but this is how we winter our fish: We add a floating heater in the center of the pond and airstones on the ends (our pond is oval). Most of the pond freezes but we have been able to keep just enough water moving so we don't lose the fish.

HTH, woodyblueeyes.

[Delco]

I've got this green algae coating on the plastic liner of the entire pond. My pump has a filter pad on it to keep anything from getting in and it clogs up every 2 days from the algae. The pump then doesn't have enough power to get the water to the filter so I need to remove the pad and hose it off. This is getting pretty old now and I need a cure. The water though is clear enough for me to see all my fish now thanks to the UV lamp, but I still have a nice coat of algae on the bottom and sides. So how do I get rid of this film?

[125gJoe]

There is a dye made for pond use to help prevent algae. It makes the water darker. Also, barley straw works good - so I hear. Throw a few Plecos in...

Is there any shade on the pond?

[Delco]

There's a little shade but mostly the pond gets mostly sun all day. What temps can plecos live in? It gets pretty cold here in the winters.

[DrDeath]

I recommend Willow Pond Aquafarms. Their quality is outstanding. They have a catatlog and you can check out their website at willowpondaquafarms.com

Awesome selection and service! Staff is extremely knowledgeable and helpful.

DrD