Need Help

[standaman]

 I asked this question late last night, but apparently it got lost in cyberspace....Is there any tool or method I can use to remove debris and mud from my pond without roiling the waters and harming my goldfish?
  Thanks in advance,
  Stan

[reptilegrrl]

There is nothing you can use to get rid of debris without somewhat roiling the water, but I don't understand your issue about the goldfish.  Roiling the water does not equal hurting the goldfish.  They will be fine if the water gets messy. 

The waste that you would be stirring up is ALREADY IN THE WATER with them- stirring itup does not make it more toxic.  The only thing that could possibly be chancy is if you have really, really deeply piled debris and it has created pockets of toxic gases.  If that is the case, I would add some estra aeration to the pond as you are working. 

But really, goldfish are pretty hardy.

[Johns]

Stan the Man,

Try one of these:

http://www.pondvac.com/pages/4/index.htm

or

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14808&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Portal-_-NexTag-_-Ponds-_-External%20Pond%20Vacuum&ref=3665&subref=AA&GCID=C12188x007

[tucker]

I have goldfish in my pond, and use a wet/dry shop vac to clean the bottom.
My pond is 5000 gals, and use a black pvc pipe to put on the end of the shop vac wand which enables me to reach the middle.   
I shop vac once every 2 weeks,  which gives it a small water change when I refill.
Been using the same shop vac for 4 years - works great for me.

Tucker

[barb]

A pond vac is a good idea.  Pretty pricey, though.  I've been wondering how to clean out the bottom of my new pond, too.

When I used to have aquariums, I used a long rubber hose thingy where if you put it in the water just right, the water would flow on it's own from one end out the other.  So you could empty the tank that way, no electricity required.  I wonder if they make large versions of those?  Does anyone know what I'm even talking about?   

[Jerry]

Roiling the water dloes get some gunk to go into the filters, not a bad thing!
I would not mind paying for a pro to come in and do a spring clean up.
So far no one has shown up.
So Cal here, if you know anyone do advise.

[Ky Kim]

I know what your talking about Barb.  But, I don't think you could get the same effect.  Maybe on an above ground.  But I would say the ones that are not above ground, you wouldn't ever get the gravity going. 

Kim

[Mikey]

Roiling, Roiling, Roing

Keep movin', movin', movin',
Though they're disapprovin',
Keep them fishies movin' Rawhide!
Don't try to understand 'em,
Just rope and throw and grab 'em,
Soon we'll be living high and wide.
Boy my heart's calculatin'
My true love will be waitin', be waiting at the end of my ride.

Move 'em on, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em out,
Move 'em on, head 'em out Rawhide!
Set 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, let 'em out,
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in Rawhide.


Sorry, but I couldn't resist....

[Charla]

Okay, now I've got a tune going in my head and a mental image of Rowdy Yates ( Clint Eastwood ? ) wrangling gold fish! 

Charla

[emm]

Not sure how much debris you need to remove Stan but I just run a fine mesh aquarium net around the bottom of my pond if there it too much gunk on the bottom, generally later in the spring and again later in the fall.  The aquarium net has a short handle so I duct-taped it to an old broom handle.  I can run it along the bottom and it picks up a lot of stuff but not the finest sediment.  I don't mind that though because I prefer not to see the pond liner.  The goldfish really like to hoover in behind the net when I use it so they must be collecting some treats.  The same net works great for scooping out the fall leaves. 

Barb - the hose "thingy" is called a siphon.  It can work on an in-ground pond as long as the discharge end is lower than the water level of the pond.  For most of us that probably means you could only lower the pond by an inch or two. 

emm

[Rocmon]

I've been slowly removing all the rock I put in my pond. When I stir things up I usually do it to get crud water borne to be collected by the filter. My goldies love me when I get in the water and stir things up. They come up to my toes looking for the tasty bits—worms, insect larva, and the other tasty morsels that live in the bottom debri. I used to be concerned about their health and try not to do it when the water is really cold, but otherwise I stir things up on a regular basis to help move stuff to the filtration.

[andrew davis]

A siphon would certainly work on a pond, where you have a drainage point a foot or two deeper outside of the pond, you could pick up some 1" pipe and that would have plenty of suction to do detail work, though you may want to rig up a simple filter to stop sizeable stones or pebbles from blocking the pipe

Most of the time a large sturdy net is quite adequate for gently removing leaves and larger debris, the fish are likely to poke around where you sweep, to pick up tasty munchies that you are likely to uncover. Doing a little often keeps the debris down to quite manageable levels without bothering the fish

Regards, andy
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