Does anyone happen to know if you can hire some equipment to suck the
sludge out of the bottom of a pond?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

Steve J

"Steve J" wrote ...

Does anyone happen to know if you can hire some equipment to suck the
sludge out of the bottom of a pond?

Any help appreciated, thanks.


What you want is a swimming pool hoover but I don't know if they can be
hired. You will also have to be careful it isn't too powerful for your pond.
How many gallons/litres is it?
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On Feb 19, 4:06*pm, Steve J wrote:
Does anyone happen to know if you can hire some equipment to suck the
sludge out of the bottom of a pond?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

Steve J

Pond vacuum.
I have such a device. Best described as f****g useless. The water ends
up like ink in a couple of minutes and you can't see what you are
doing.
Might work if you had a puddle rather than a pond.

On Feb 19, 6:21*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2012-02-19 18:10:16 +0000, "Bob Hobden" said:

"Steve J" *wrote ...

Does anyone happen to know if you can hire some equipment to suck the
sludge out of the bottom of a pond?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

What you want is a swimming pool hoover but I don't know if they can be
hired. You will also have to be careful it isn't too powerful for your
pond. How many gallons/litres is it?

Whoa! *Why take out the sludge? *It's not a swimming pool! *But the
sludge is home to all sorts of pondlife. *Leave it alone unless you're
talking about genuine dredging of a very large pond to increase its
water depth from a natural inflow. *That's another whole issue.
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

The sludge is primarily fish crap (if you have fish) and needs to be
removed preferably before Winter as it evloves methane which gets
trapped udner the ice and can poison the fish.
If you have fish, there is no pond life, they eat everything.

On Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:05:36 -0800 (PST), harry
wrote:

On Feb 19, 6:21*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2012-02-19 18:10:16 +0000, "Bob Hobden" said:

"Steve J" *wrote ...

Does anyone happen to know if you can hire some equipment to suck the
sludge out of the bottom of a pond?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

What you want is a swimming pool hoover but I don't know if they can be
hired. You will also have to be careful it isn't too powerful for your
pond. How many gallons/litres is it?

Whoa! *Why take out the sludge? *It's not a swimming pool! *But the
sludge is home to all sorts of pondlife. *Leave it alone unless you're
talking about genuine dredging of a very large pond to increase its
water depth from a natural inflow. *That's another whole issue.
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

The sludge is primarily fish crap (if you have fish) and needs to be
removed preferably before Winter as it evloves methane which gets
trapped udner the ice and can poison the fish.
If you have fish, there is no pond life, they eat everything.

The sludge will be a mix of stuff depending on what you have/don't
have in and around the pond. I don't have fish but do allow an amount
of leaves to get into the pond each autumn. These rot to create some
sludge which is home to all sorts of critters (dragon fly larvae look
like aliens!) and also accommodates hibernating frogs.

The sludge is kept under control by the introduction of sludge eating
bacteria (you can buy these from pond suppliers). Then about every 6
or 7 years, I drain the pond, bucket up the wildlife and reduce the
sludge level before refilling and reintroducing the wildlife.

It's usually only in the year following such a clearout that I
experience cloudy water. The rest of the time the life balance in the
pond keeps the water perfectly clear.

Pond vacuums will suck either nothing (cheapo domestic ones) or
everything (proper ones) out - including the beneficial creatures
living in the sludge.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

For those that notice such things - I'm changing my
Usenet provider to News.Individual.NET. It's still me!

"Jake" wrote

harry wrote:

Sacha wrote:
"Bob Hobden" said:

"Steve J" wrote ...

Does anyone happen to know if you can hire some equipment to suck the
sludge out of the bottom of a pond?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

What you want is a swimming pool hoover but I don't know if they can
be
hired. You will also have to be careful it isn't too powerful for your
pond. How many gallons/litres is it?

Whoa! Why take out the sludge? It's not a swimming pool! But the
sludge is home to all sorts of pondlife. Leave it alone unless you're
talking about genuine dredging of a very large pond to increase its
water depth from a natural inflow. That's another whole issue.

The sludge is primarily fish crap (if you have fish) and needs to be
removed preferably before Winter as it evloves methane which gets
trapped udner the ice and can poison the fish.
If you have fish, there is no pond life, they eat everything.

The sludge will be a mix of stuff depending on what you have/don't
have in and around the pond. I don't have fish but do allow an amount
of leaves to get into the pond each autumn. These rot to create some
sludge which is home to all sorts of critters (dragon fly larvae look
like aliens!) and also accommodates hibernating frogs.

The sludge is kept under control by the introduction of sludge eating
bacteria (you can buy these from pond suppliers). Then about every 6
or 7 years, I drain the pond, bucket up the wildlife and reduce the
sludge level before refilling and reintroducing the wildlife.

It's usually only in the year following such a clearout that I
experience cloudy water. The rest of the time the life balance in the
pond keeps the water perfectly clear.

Pond vacuums will suck either nothing (cheapo domestic ones) or
everything (proper ones) out - including the beneficial creatures
living in the sludge.

My pond is for a few big fish and waterlilies and for various reasons I
don't want detritus building up in my pond. I also don't want frogs in it
because of the disease they may carry (Red Leg) and because the fish may
bloat themselves on the tadpoles before their digestive system is fully
functional, they being cold blooded.
A description of a pond as "a wet hole that is always trying to fill itself
in" has always struck in my mind.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

Natural ponds usually have some water running into them if only from time to time and it can escape in a variety of ways.
Garden ponds have an impervious liner and the stuff that gets in there decays and goes acidic. The quality of the water suffers.

Koi pools like mine have a bottom drain and the facility to remove all the crap.
(we are most insistent in that).

There you go. None of the course stuff even gets near my filters. The explanation is in the write-ups

Filter Pump Sump - YouTube

Koi Pool Sump Purging - YouTube
I've a facility to trickle water in (at the rate of a dribbling tap) and out automatically, I do it 24/7

This sort of thing isn't necessary for goldfish or frog ponds.

But it's just as important to remove the detritus from a gold fish pond from time to time. A trickle change will improve the quality of the water and the health of the occupants.

To keep a pond clear of detritus you can hire an aqua-vac, but unless it is done at least yearly, it may be difficult to clear it out without draining it.

On Feb 19, 10:16*pm, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"Jake" *wrote









harry wrote:

Sacha *wrote:
"Bob Hobden" *said:

"Steve J" *wrote ...

Does anyone happen to know if you can hire some equipment to suck the
sludge out of the bottom of a pond?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

What you want is a swimming pool hoover but I don't know if they can
be
hired. You will also have to be careful it isn't too powerful for your
pond. How many gallons/litres is it?

Whoa! *Why take out the sludge? *It's not a swimming pool! *But the
sludge is home to all sorts of pondlife. *Leave it alone unless you're
talking about genuine dredging of a very large pond to increase its
water depth from a natural inflow. *That's another whole issue.

The sludge is primarily fish crap (if you have fish) and needs to be
removed preferably before Winter as it evloves methane which gets
trapped udner the ice and can poison the fish.
If you have fish, there is no pond life, they eat everything.

The sludge will be a mix of stuff depending on what you have/don't
have in and around the pond. I don't have fish but do allow an amount
of leaves to get into the pond each autumn. These rot to create some
sludge which is home to all sorts of critters (dragon fly larvae look
like aliens!) and also accommodates hibernating frogs.

The sludge is kept under control by the introduction of sludge eating
bacteria (you can buy these from pond suppliers). Then about every 6
or 7 years, I drain the pond, bucket up the wildlife and reduce the
sludge level before refilling and reintroducing the wildlife.

It's usually only in the year following such a clearout that I
experience cloudy water. The rest of the time the life balance in the
pond keeps the water perfectly clear.

Pond vacuums will suck either nothing (cheapo domestic ones) or
everything (proper ones) *out - including the beneficial creatures
living in the sludge.

My pond is for a few big fish and waterlilies *and for various reasons I
don't want detritus building up in my pond. I also don't want frogs in it
because of the disease they may carry (Red Leg) and because the fish may
bloat themselves on the tadpoles before their digestive system is fully
functional, they being cold blooded.
A description of a pond as "a wet hole that is always trying to fill itself
in" has always struck in my mind.

Why did I ever decide to have a fish pond? I've had a fishless pond
for years, with frogs, newts and lots of creepies and I rarely gave it
a second thought year after year when it was carpeted with Duckweed.
Now, with the fish there seem to be loads of problems, including foxes
attacking the pond, keeping the water oxygenated and free from weed,
and no longer having welcomed Newts or creepies and no more frogspawn.
It has become an obsession for me, with CCTV and an electric fence
around the pond! Also I have to feed the fish every day which is a
chore. The least of my problems it seems is sludge as I have a pretty
good water filter and lots of pond plants which feed on waste.

The only pleasures is I get is occasionally seeing the fish and the
CCTV has revealed some nightlife, including bats I didn't know I had,
the dog from next door scrambling over the fence, several foxes which
seem to use my garden as a through route and cats of course. Who knows
what the future might also reveal though?

Doug.

In article e6d6342b-0895-46be-8a5f-
, says...


Why did I ever decide to have a fish pond? I've had a fishless pond
for years, with frogs, newts and lots of creepies and I rarely gave it
a second thought year after year when it was carpeted with Duckweed.
Now, with the fish there seem to be loads of problems, including foxes
attacking the pond, keeping the water oxygenated and free from weed,
and no longer having welcomed Newts or creepies and no more frogspawn.

How many fish do you have to have to lose all the spawn (and tadpoles,
as someone else posted)? Mine are certainly big enough to eat tadpoles
but I've never seen them doing so and there was no visible reduction in
the black swarms last year.

Frogs haven't re-appeared yet here, and no spawn yet, but it's still a
bit chilly

I'd love to have newts but I doubt there are any within newt-commute
distance

Janet (Scotland)

On Feb 20, 11:47*am, Janet wrote:
In article e6d6342b-0895-46be-8a5f-
, says...



Why did I ever decide to have a fish pond? I've had a fishless pond
for years, with frogs, newts and lots of creepies and I rarely gave it
a second thought year after year when it was carpeted with Duckweed.
Now, with the fish there seem to be loads of problems, including foxes
attacking the pond, keeping the water oxygenated and free from weed,
and no longer having welcomed Newts or creepies and no more frogspawn.

* How many fish do you have to have to lose all the spawn (and tadpoles,
as someone else posted)? *Mine are certainly big enough to eat tadpoles
but I've never seen them doing so and there was no visible reduction in
the black swarms last year.

* *Frogs haven't re-appeared yet here, and no spawn yet, *but it's still a
bit chilly

* *I'd love to have newts but I doubt there are any within newt-commute
distance

* *Janet (Scotland)

The answer is two ponds, one for fish & the other for wildlife.
I have koi. They eat everything animal or vegetable. They dig up
plants unless there are big stones round them. They will remove small
stones.
Water lilies just about survive their attacks.
The water ends up filthy when they decide to dig.

I have grass snakes too. They will clear a pond out of animal life.

"Janet" wrote ...


says...


Why did I ever decide to have a fish pond? I've had a fishless pond
for years, with frogs, newts and lots of creepies and I rarely gave it
a second thought year after year when it was carpeted with Duckweed.
Now, with the fish there seem to be loads of problems, including foxes
attacking the pond, keeping the water oxygenated and free from weed,
and no longer having welcomed Newts or creepies and no more frogspawn.

How many fish do you have to have to lose all the spawn (and tadpoles,
as someone else posted)? Mine are certainly big enough to eat tadpoles
but I've never seen them doing so and there was no visible reduction in
the black swarms last year.

Frogs haven't re-appeared yet here, and no spawn yet, but it's still a
bit chilly

I'd love to have newts but I doubt there are any within newt-commute
distance


When frogs have spawned in our pond I've seen the fish, especially the
biggest one, just sitting under the spawn waiting for tadpoles to hatch. I
did find a lot in my filter one year so they must have got through the pump
and survived.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

Ah! The joys of fishkeeping, for every problem and expense you have with goldfish, multiply that by ten for koi.

Many years ago a letter from a member, was published in the BKKS magazine.

This guy said he'd been to the doctor feeling unwell.

After an examination and the recounting of his symptoms the doctor concluded that the man was suffering from stress.

The conversation continued as follows.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a solicitor."

"What does that involve?"

"I do a lot of litigation, I've a heavy work-load and I'm often in court."

"Well, that could be the cause."

"I don't think so because I enjoy it."

"What else do you do?"

"I keep Japanese koi."

"Tell me about them."

So the patient related all the problems he'd recently been having with his fish.

"Well that's it! They are the cause of your stress! Get rid of them!"

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"They help me to relax!"

On Feb 20, 6:07*pm, Doghouse Riley Doghouse.Riley.
wrote:
'Doug[_5_ Wrote:











Why did I ever decide to have a fish pond? I've had a fishless pond
for years, with frogs, newts and lots of creepies and I rarely gave it
a second thought year after year when it was carpeted with Duckweed.
Now, with the fish there seem to be loads of problems, including foxes
attacking the pond, keeping the water oxygenated and free from weed,
and no longer having welcomed Newts or creepies and no more frogspawn.
It has become an obsession for me, with CCTV and an electric fence
around the pond! Also I have to feed the fish every day which is a
chore. The least of my problems it seems is sludge as I have a pretty
good water filter and lots of pond plants which feed on waste.

The only pleasures is I get is occasionally seeing the fish and the
CCTV has revealed some nightlife, including bats I didn't know I had,
the dog from next door scrambling over the fence, several foxes which
seem to use my garden as a through route and cats of course. Who knows
what the future might also reveal though?

Doug.

Ah! The joys of fishkeeping, for every problem and expense you have with
goldfish, multiply that by ten for koi.

Many years ago a letter from a member, was published in the BKKS
magazine.

This guy said he'd been to the doctor feeling unwell.

After an examination and the *recounting of his symptoms *the doctor
concluded that the man was suffering from stress.

The conversation continued as follows.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a solicitor."

"What does that involve?"

"I do a lot of litigation, I've a heavy work-load and I'm often in
court."

"Well, that could be the cause."

"I don't think so because I enjoy it."

"What else do you do?"

"I keep Japanese koi."

"Tell me about them."

So the patient related all the problems he'd recently been having with
his fish.

"Well that's it! They are the cause of your stress! Get rid of them!"

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"They help me to relax!"

--
Doghouse Riley

LOL!

Doug.

On Sunday, February 19, 2012 9:36:14 PM UTC+5:30, Steve J wrote:
Does anyone happen to know if you can hire some equipment to suck the

sludge out of the bottom of a pond?



Any help appreciated, thanks.



Steve J



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A pond is an evolving process not an entity. It goes through a natural succession of increasing sludge, plant colonisation in the now shallow water, marsh, and so on. If you want to keep a pond, you have to keep it in a stage of suspended animation, which means reducing the depth of sludge every few years. Same as the rest of gardening!