pond/gravel vac questions

[Jennie Beth]

Hi all,
I have been looking at pond/gravel vacs online and seeing anything from an $80 -$400 pricetag, some with varying size openings, some with a canister, some with just an outlet hose...

So, will they work on a gravel-bottomed pond, say a mixture of pea gravel and drainage rock (3/4" or so)? Will they suck up fishies and good bugs or do they not have that much suction? Will I end up with a vac full of rocks, or just suck up the muck and fir needles? I live in an area where no matter where I put my pond, it will get at least a light rain of fir needles. I'd like to clean the bottom occasionally so it doesn't get nasty, but am not sure if this will work for me or not.

I also read in another post something about stirring up gases(?) when using a gravel vac...is that something to worry about in an outdoor pond, or more of a tank thing?

Very quiet in the pond department lately. I am feeling a little piggish asking so many questions :lipssealedsmilie:

Thanks,
Jen

[Jennie Beth]

Was it THAT dumb a question?

[hankn]

I rent for the day ($25) a Oase Pondvac 3 once a year to clean out the pond after the winter:
http://www.pondusa.com/pondovac.htm
It picks up everything - all your pea gravel and muck as well. If the attachment you use has a small enough hole, it won't pick up larger rocks. I have many 2-3" rosy barbs in my pond and they run away and don't get sucked in. If I had a large pond and the money I would buy it.

For other times of the year I use the Python Ultivac:
http://www.pythonproducts.com/p-uvac.html
which is good for small cleaning jobs (I use it every 2 weeks in the summer to suck out muck). It cannot handle large cleanup jobs.

[Jennie Beth]

It'd work for getting the layer of fir needles off the bottom, though, right? If I did it regularly so there wasn't six inches to remove at a time...

Thanks for the link!
Jen

[hankn]

It'd work for getting the layer of fir needles off the bottom, though, right? If I did it regularly so there wasn't six inches to remove at a time...

Thanks for the link!
Jen

The Ultivac is not able to pull things that are heavish from the bottom of the pond. It does fine for decaying leaves that when stirred start floating around and can be sucked up. But I found that heavier items are just not sucked up because the venturi effect is not strong enough.

[Jennie Beth]

Good to know...Thanks.
I think I will go with a net over top for the big stuff and be vigilant with netting things out of the pond. If I do it regularly, I should be able to stir them up and suck them out with the vac before they get glued into a mat.

Thanks again,
Jen