Buying a home with a pond already built, but...

[happyoutsidegirl]

  Well that will either lock him in or scare him off! It was good tho

[perplexed ponder]

Oh SHe's NOT KIDDING!!
I was up at 4 am, 5am, 6am, 7am today looking for that blue B@STA%D!

[barb]

 

[JLaudioF150]

 

Okay, so its almost 4 months later and I'm finally going to get this thing fixed. The koi fish are doing well on their own - they are fighters. So far I've gotten the landscaping around the pond cleared, trimmed, and looking better. I do wish to get the lily plants (seems cleaner to me).

Since the pond has been 'down' for almost 2 years I thought it would be wise to get a professional to set it up first. I'm waiting on 3 bids from different landscapers. My question to you guys is the following: Have you guys heard of making a 'custom' filter using foam pads from floor polish machines?

The guy that does my landscaping is charging me about $400 to reattach the lines to a pump (~$125) and then have the water go into this 'bucket' with the foam 'filter' pads. This includes the labor too. He said it works like a charm for another client that has a pond and koi. He told me that it's much cheaper to just clean the pads than to keep buying filters.

What do you guys think? Everyone else is charging about $1000 to put the pumps, filter, and labor.

Thanks,

Dave

[Ky Kim]

How about some current pics, would love to see what's going on with it now.  How big are the Koi?

Kim

[-Greg-]

Dave, my suggestion would be also to post the same question at koiphen.com under the construction/filtration sub-chapter. I have have seen similar posts over there, and some really good advice given. The more information you can gather before you start throwing money at it the better!

Greg

[barb]

I don't have the answers, but I'd love to see some pics.  Good luck!!!

[Julles]

I would suggest you hold your horses a little bit, and take some time to research the various filtration options.  Most systems are going to be expensive, and you want to be sure you consider EVERYTHING there is out there, and then choose the BEST for your situation.

I would recommend you consider a bog filter.  A bog is essentially a gravel pit filled with plants; pond water is pumped through, and the gravel filters out the 'solid" stuff, while the plants' roots absorb the amonia and other toxins from the fish waste.  This will take up some more land space, but it's beautiful and natural, and virtually mainenance-free.... no hosing off filter pads, no emptying buckets of gunk, etc. 

And they're easy to build, and fairly cheap.  2"x12" lumber or concrete blocks, gravel, and PVC pipe, plus a saw and drill, are about all that's needed.

There is a bog filter forum here on American Ponders, and you can get info at www.nelsonwatergardens.com or via Google.

[happyoutsidegirl]

Hi Dave, so good to hear that things are comming together well for you. It, sounds like this guy is charging a lot for just hooking up the lines. Now as for the foam pads? I know for a fact that there are corse floor machine pads that come in different thicknesses and sizes and they are basicly what we use in our filters and would work fine.  If it actually foam only put one on the top layer as it cloggs easy. I know this too cuz I use the polly foam pad infrount of my filter pad. When I had my small pond I made a filter by taking a huge flower pot with no hole in it. I drilled a hole at the very edge big enough for my small pump hose to go into and for water to run back out. I filled the bottom with 2 big rocks for stability, then a bag of old plastic rollers (but any filter media will work) Then I just bought filter matts (witch most all storse that sell pond stuff carry by the foot or yard)I put a hole in the center of 3 layers I had cut to fit into the big pot, ran the hose from the pump up to the top put a big old flower pot base on top up side down so the water hit it and disbursed evenly around the filter. I put it at ponds edge and let the water run back in the pond. It worked great. And you could even get a small or med. sized lided container and make a simpel skippy for the pump to sit in at the bottom of the pond. Please be sure and keep us up dated and please do ask lots of questions. To us and to the people who are comming to give you bids. Oh ya one more thing! Where Are Our New Pix???????????

[thedahlialama]

dave, which do you have more of - time or money?

if it's money, then the $400 is not too bad if he's going to build the filter with parts included & replace/repair any bad hoses you might have for that price. sounds like a skippy type filter which many people here use with great success. i wouldn't ever again talk to the ones that wanted $1000!! $400 is a bit steep still, but not if you don't have the time to invest. 

if it's time, then you really should do a bit more research, post pics and ask lots of specific questions here and probably at koiphen. if you do post at koiphen, be sure to keep in mind that some of the people over there are a bit fanatical about their elaborate filter systems and you probably don't need anything that fancy. but setting this stuff up is relatively easy. and trying to maintain one that someone else has set up will be more confusing than if you know the whole thing from the 'pond bottom up' so to speak. get some pics of your hoses and pumps, existing filters if any, and the general layout of things and you'll probably get enough good answers to have it up in a relatively short period of time.