cleaned out pond, need advice-pics.

[jacblades]

ok i just cleaned out the cement pond today. hadnt had fish in it for about six months-snake got in and ate them all:sad (i found many many bones while cleaning)
it took about 5 hours to rid it of all the gunk and grime and im still not done washing off all of the stones from the bottom. it needs to be filled by tomorrow (moms having a party) i eventually plan to put my goldfish fry in it.
1. anyone got any tips for removing pinestraw from the stones?i sprayed and sprayed but it looks like i will have to just pick it out straw by straw... i am considering not even putting the stones back in because they trap so much dirt and debris. any opinions on this?
2. how does this kind of filter work? i know nothing about pond filters. i just plug it in and it sucks water in and spits it out of the fountain. im guessing its just mechanical and biological (although i dont think it holds a large enough amount of bacteria)
3. the shell and dolphin have always been part of the pond but i noticed how badly rusted they are. is this ok for fish?
4. should i fishlessly cycle the pond?
i dont really know too much about our ponds. (i just throw the fish food in, hose the algae off of the filter pads and thats about it)here are some pics i took a few minutes ago.

i took the filter apart for the pic.

 

[jacblades]

bump. anybody?

 

[Auren]

To have a succesfull pond filter, the most important thing to consider is the biological media. There are many types of media like bio balls, brushes etc, but I think the best media you can get is floor scrubbs because they are effective mechanically and Biologically. And always have an oversized filter. There is a great Internet site that explains you how to build a Bio-filter step by step with pics, its a great explanation http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm

I also recommend a great book on ponds which i ordered from the Internet.

"Ponder´s Bible, All you need to know to Build and Mantain Your own Pond. The Author is Gösta Lovgren, from Carolelle Publishing. This book tells you of using lava rock as a filter.

Here you get two perspectives.