*The Pond Discussion Thread**

NickK · 9 Dec 2017 at 13:22

With it being cold it will take a while for the filter to mature.

You could use a flocculant that would initially cause the small particles to stick and sink. However that's a short term solution in my view.

My fish are snoozing now and the water is clearer than it's ever been, however with a veggie filter the danger is when winter comes that the pond has too much nitrate etc that it will linger without the pants actively growing to extract. Same comes in spring too.

easyrider · 9 Dec 2017 at 18:52

Pho said:
I don't know about your particular filter but it takes a month or so I believe before all your biological filters mature so it's a fairly slow process. It's the bacteria that eat all the rubbish in the water to clean it up. That's why you should never wash biological filters out with tap water because it'll kill them and set you back to square one, hence why they recommend using a bucket of pond water .

It looks like it's getting cleaner from your photos though.

I've a pond with lots of fish in and upgraded to a proper filter a few months back. With my old filter the water was murky and horrid but now I can see right to the bottom of the pond.. and I've been lazy and not cleaned the filters for a few weeks either! KC Fibreglass Combo 12000 multi-bay filter (very nice owner - he personally dropped it of after a delay, and it's cheaper than the Kockney Koi alternative too). I then filled the first chamber with Black Knight Pond Filter Brushes to remove solids, the second with Jap Mating as a high-surface area biological filter and Alphagrog (inside onion sacks so it's easy to remove) as a final high-surface area / polishing filter.

I also ran a cheap Jebao uv filter for a few months to clear up any green algae which seemed to help. I've a Jebao pump and they seem to great quality for the price to be fair.

I have a dual valve...so I can control the water level .....I'll be pumping some pond water out into a water butt for cleaning the filter...cheers.

I guess I've done all the hard work....just need to let nature takes its course and I'm looking forward to March when I can put some fish in and the plants all start grow etc...

I'm going to whack a few pounds of carbon into the top reservoir just for shizzles to see if the brown tint subsides...

I'm hoping my moss establishes under the trees along with the fern I planted...

NickK · 9 Dec 2017 at 23:54

I would say just bung a Pond Bomb in there.. it should solve the problem but I can't remember if the temp has to be over 10degC or not.

Sasahara · 10 Dec 2017 at 13:06

NickK said:
I would say just bung a Pond Bomb in there.. it should solve the problem but I can't remember if the temp has to be over 10degC or not.

Not sure the exact temp, but yes it's a bit too cold for bio work. For very clear water you would want some sort of settlement tank before the main filer tank, but for this type of pond it's not really required. Being brown, it's dead matter and it will settle in the pond it's self over time. But unless you have a bottom drain you always going to have some dirt. I guess you could try a pond vacuum, I've not used one myself, so dont know how good they are in removing dirt from the floor of a pond.

easyrider · 10 Dec 2017 at 13:11

Sasahara said:
Not sure the exact temp, but yes it's a bit too cold for bio work. For very clear water you would want some sort of settlement tank before the main filer tank, but for this type of pond it's not really required. Being brown, it's dead matter and it will settle in the pond it's self over time. But unless you have a bottom drain you always going to have some dirt. I guess you could try a pond vacuum, I've not used one myself, so dont know how good they are in removing dirt from the floor of a pond.

The pond is clear....it's just brown....having said that...it's only 3 months old...my carbon arrived so I'm going to put 2kg of it in the top reservoir....see what happens over the next 8 weeks...

I've done a water test....and my water quality is top notch

NickK · 10 Dec 2017 at 14:02

easyrider said:
The pond is clear....it's just brown....having said that...it's only 3 months old...my carbon arrived so I'm going to put 2kg of it in the top reservoir....see what happens over the next 8 weeks...

I've done a water test....and my water quality is top notch

In a bag! Get the flow to filter through it or a bed of carbon. Having carbon in the water flow is good until you need to treat any fish or use any chemical. At that point you want to remove it temporarily.

easyrider · 10 Dec 2017 at 16:28

NickK said:
In a bag! Get the flow to filter through it or a bed of carbon. Having carbon in the water flow is good until you need to treat any fish or use any chemical. At that point you want to remove it temporarily.

They come in mesh bags ready. I'll be putting the mesh bags underneath the outflow filter pipe in the top reservoir.

easyrider · 21 Dec 2017 at 09:28

More big rocks delivered to finish off the rockery on the mound..

easyrider · 6 Jan 2018 at 16:08

Lowered the left hand bank and added the turf to make a grassy pool. Also finished of the reservoir at the top and added some moss and shrubs etc to finish it off. Just need nature to run its course now and for the plants to grow in the pond and in the rocks and waterfall to break the stones and rocks up a bit.

Roll on March when I can add some fish

Early shot of the pond build for reference

novaenough · 6 Jan 2018 at 21:23

Looking good, never thought I'd want a big garden but this thread has me thinking.....

NickK · 7 Jan 2018 at 11:17

Sasahara said:
Not sure the exact temp, but yes it's a bit too cold for bio work. For very clear water you would want some sort of settlement tank before the main filer tank, but for this type of pond it's not really required. Being brown, it's dead matter and it will settle in the pond it's self over time. But unless you have a bottom drain you always going to have some dirt. I guess you could try a pond vacuum, I've not used one myself, so dont know how good they are in removing dirt from the floor of a pond.

What I do is use an old 4500 sized canister filter and it's old 2500 pump with a hose pipe, mount the pump to suck the water through the canister and then output back to the pond. Then use the inlet pipe of the canister filter as a vacuum. Works very well and picked up a load of sand I had at the bottom without blocking the pump.

easyrider · 7 Jan 2018 at 12:50

novaenough said:
Looking good, never thought I'd want a big garden but this thread has me thinking.....

Cheers

Thinking...?

novaenough · 7 Jan 2018 at 23:57

easyrider said:
Cheers
Thinking...?

Thinking that a big garden would've been good so I could've built a pond

easyrider · 8 Jan 2018 at 20:41

novaenough said:
Thinking that a big garden would've been good so I could've built a pond

easyrider · 26 Jan 2018 at 12:59

bought a bag of watercress from Tesco £1

Rooting well

Will transfer to my reservoir to act as a secondary filter

Junglist · 26 Jan 2018 at 13:23

Never knew I was interested in ponds until I read this entire thread. Awesome work!

easyrider · 26 Jan 2018 at 13:49

JunglistE said:
Never knew I was interested in ponds until I read this entire thread. Awesome work!

Cheers

easyrider · 27 Feb 2018 at 01:01

My Wildlife camera triggered. No Idea why...

Goes off to read manual.

easyrider · 27 Feb 2018 at 19:47

Veggie Filter start.

Iris planted in Alfagrog

rebel rebel · 27 Feb 2018 at 22:14

easyrider said:
[ Wildlife camera triggered. No Idea why...

Goes off to read manual.

Is there a delay setting on the camera? Could have been a squirrel running through.

***The Pond Discussion Thread****

*The Pond Discussion Thread**