Yet Another Noob w/a Pond Filtration Question

[TeeBee]

Good afternoon and a happy Labor Day for those of us 'mericans here!

Would like to introduce myself and my pond and then ask for some feedback. I figure this might become a longish post so I'll warn y'all 'bout that up-front.

The Intro:
Hi! I'm TeeBee, live in SoCal (zone 10?) and have become interesting in ponding (first watergardening, now fish, how quickly we fall). Did it all the wrong way round - started out looking for a garden tub, bought a horse trough, brought it home, and thought... "hey, we probably won't use it as much as we thought, how about a water garden in that area that doesn't have anything yet?" That was about 6 weeks ago; 4 weeks ago I thought "Wow, some fish would be nice here" and now I own goldfish, water plants, and need to re-evaluate my setup.

So my "pond" is an approximately 6x2x3 horse trough that is about 150 gallons of water as per pond calculators online. It's stainless steel, caulked with aquarium-grade silicon, plumbed on the bottom (from back when we thought we were doing a tub, HAH), and lined on the sides with redwood slats to make it prettier cosmetically and help provide some insulation. Inside it's a long oval, sheer sides and rolled top, no sharp corners. It's above-ground. Temperature in the water ranges from 65F - 80F. It's covered with an umbrella and I have water lettuce, pygmy papyrus, and hardy water lillies in it, covering approximately 60 - 70  percent of the surface area. BTW, the lillies are blooming like crazy!

I have a TotalPond mech/bio filter (rated up to 500 gallons) and a TotalPond 210 gph submersible pump running approximately 5 - 8 hrs a day (depending on the day). I have a bubbler fountain which is important - a waterfall is beyond me at the moment but I want the sound of water for m'self. Barebottom (boy that sounds wrong). I did have some mosquito fish running around from the first. My pond was clear up until I added 5 goldfish (all fairly small - 1 comet, 2 shubs, 2 fantails). Now I have algae bloom (which honestly I was expecting before this as it's still cycling, but I'm still tetched that I can't see my fish anymore). It's the suspended algae, pea-soup water, not string.

I should probably note here that I'm not mechanically inclined, nor do I know most of the pond terms (although a few hours spent reading past posts has been extremely educational, but it does take some time to sink in...gah, information overload!)

My Questions/Feedback:
I am assuming that I'll likely need to change my setup since I have the gf and I've read that they're a pretty heavy load, but how much change? Also, should I get a UV filter? If so, is there something out there that will fit in with my existing setup (the Google hasn't found me anything except dire warnings that I could end up purchasing something that's not compatible). I'd rather not try and deal with algae chemically; would prefer "naturally" but I know most ponds I see in the wild are "naturally murky" so I understand the desire for clear water is purely human and needs help.

Being that I'm not mechanically or pond-ically inclined AT ALL, these are the items I've looked at (using Amazon links just to highlight, I know lots of other places sell many of them). My assumptions in looking at them were:

-I would need to get a UV light in my system
-Due to fish load, I'm looking at a system rated between 500 - 1000 gallons
-Needs to be fairly easy/obvious to maintain
-Cost is an issue; need to keep this on a budget if not actually ghetto

Option 1: http://www.amazon.com/Laguna-Clearflo-1-PT1500-Pressure-1-PT340/dp/B000UJZ3UI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IED5U0RHU2AS6&colid=1NOVYKJVULL05  Pros - all in one system so no compatibility issues, tells me when to maintain it, backwash system, KISS for noobs like me! Cons - no idea if I can hook up a fountain to this, and no reviews.

Option 2: http://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Filters-Pondmaster-SUP05425-500-light/dp/B003RYRMPM/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283808264&sr=1-17  Pros - has UV filter, 1000 gph capacity, backwash capability for my low-maintenance KISS approach. Cons - no pump, no reviews, and I'm not sure my current pump could do anything with this.

Option 3: http://www.amazon.com/LIFEGARD-AQUATICS-All-In-One-Filter/dp/B000MFGOPS/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IGXKGRV3LNMY0&colid=1NOVYKJVULL05  Pros - all in one system so no compatibility issues, submersible seems smaller, integrated fountain kit, good (although minimal) reviews. Cons - in all my reading of these and other forums, I've never run across this company name.

Wrapping Up a Really Long First Post:
So if any of you have heard good/bad things about the above, have suggestions otherwise, can correct any of my assumptions, have insights or warnings, they'd be appreciated. And anyone telling me to get out of the hobby now before I spend too much money - where were you six weeks ago???

Thanks for reading!

TeeBee, pretty sure I've been bit by the pond bug

[miguynmkoi]

Hey Welcome fellow SoCal Ponder!  Where about are you?
Your trough pond is small so I'm thinking that placing all that equipment may take up valuable room.  Is your pond out in full sun?  The algae sounds like you either have it in too much sun/heat or there is not enough filtering.  Morning sun is fine but afternoon sun will cause havoc with the water - note, your fluctuating water temps are not good for anyone/thing.

You need to keep the filtering on 24/7.  It's the beneficial bacteria built up in the bio-filter that helps eliminate all the garbage from fish activities.  I think if you work on these simple tips your pond will correct itself in due time.  Nothing fixes itself right away!

[Kittyzee]

  Tee Bee!  I have to admit I skimmed thru your post, I'll look at it closer tomorrow-- when I'm not so sleepy.  I agree with what Annette said, since the fish don't mind the green water just have patience it will correct itself in time. 

Just make sure if you live in a city to add dechlor to your water, your fishes will thank you for it.  Many come here after losing fish and this one simple thing can prevent fish death.  I've not had to add that since I live in the country, but many here swear by it.  It's gonna take a while for your pond to cycle and since we are coming up on the end of a season I don't know how long that will take.  Of course, I live in Ohio, I guess pond plants kind of need to take a break for a while even in California.   

Good luck with your new pond-congratulations on your new addiction! 

[miguynmkoi]

You're right LuAnn that is a lot to read through.    I should mention also that you shouldn't feed your fish when the water gets yucky like yours sounds.  They could be part of the problem and not feeding them will not hurt them.  It's difficult not to feed the fish, so put the food away to prevent temptation.  I should know....been there, done that   

[TeeBee]

Hah, Migu, thank you for the tip on not feeding the fish! The Man swears that they're STARVING and won't skip a day. Oh, we're down in Sandy Eggo. Luckily my shade umbrella covers the trough for the afternoon sun - not for the morning, but if that's okay light then I won't stress it and it just gets the morning light. The shade umbrella is set up over it so it covers it from late morning onward. (That wasn't foresight, btw...  just pure dumb luck.)

Kitty, regarding the dechlor - yep, got that, and add that every time we add any city water. I haven't actually tested the city water but I have done test strips on the pond and it's within normal values - amazingly enough. I am glad I haven't killed anything yet, it's almost a surprise to me.... 

SoooOooooOoooo...  You're both saying I don't have to purchase anything else in terms of setup? I'm good to go? No UV filter, just patience and time? Could I be so lucky?   

TeeBee

[miguynmkoi]

It's been so long since I've heard Sandy Eggo!  I'm not from San Diego but that is what I use to call it when I first moved back to Cali as an adult.  Too funny!

Yep, you shouldn't need anything else beside what you have: a pump and bio-filter to keep the water moving and clean.  It may be a couple of weeks depending on the weather for your water to clear up.  Your fishies have become pros at begging for food.  Don't let them fool you, they can eat all of the algae.  Fish food just tastes better to them.  Do not feed the fish, I repeat, do not feed the fish, no matter how hard they beg and bat those fins! 

[SueSTx]

I started out with a 35 gallon preform and then a 150 gallon stocktank and away I went

[Zoe]

We have two Laguna filters 3200 and 2100 on two different ponds. We love them. Easy to clean and easy to connect. We are getting another this spring to hook up to our upper pond since we got rid of our bog filter. But the main filter the 3200 is doing just fine all by itself for now. We have crystal clear water. One suggestion is to get the filter to be a little bigger than you think you need. 


Zoe

[TeeBee]

Migu,

I can resist, but The Man can't. Maybe I taught him too well NOT to resist batting and fluttering, hah!    Okay, my next question will be...how do I clean this filter? I should not be rinsing the buckeyballs, right? Just the sponge thing?

Sue,

You are not making me feel better... AT ALL! Dare I ask where you are now How many gallons?

TeeBee, wondering if she really, really needs a lawn...

[SueSTx]

I have 5 8' tanks and 2 smaller ones...probably about 3500 gallons all total.

[TeeBee]

Wow, Sue! I'm impressed! And scared! I looked at your pictures and one of my first thoughts was: hmmm, that smaller one could go into the centre of the grass area! Eeeek....

And to all the knowledgeable folks here... given what I have currently, should I be cleaning out the Pondmaster mech/bio filter? I feel like I'm asking a dumb question but my search of these forums doesn't tell me if I should or not. Do I pull out the coarse materials and hose those off? If I do it to the buckeyballs, doesn't that get rid of the good bacteria? Meeep! I can't figure this out!

TeeBee, whose water is still cloudy green.... harumph! But the hardy lillies are BLOOMING!

[miguynmkoi]

If your filter needs a cleaning make sure you rinse the filter pad/sponge and the gunk at the bottom of the filter box with "POND WATER" or dechlorinated water.  This way you will save the good bacteria that lives in the filter box and eats most of the fish poo.  You don't need to wash all the gunk out - the gunk holds a lot of good bacteria!  Tap water will kill all the good stuff.

I'm not sure what kind of filter box you have but there should be a valve or plug near the bottom where you can have all the gunk pour out (into a bucket you can save the stuff for fertilizing your garden plants). 

HIDE THE FISH FOOD!