Spring overhaul

[idris]

Our pond needs a massive overhaul and I assume spring is the right time to do it. 

Due to an electrical fault over the winter there's been no filtration for a few months and the water is hideous and I'm confident there's a mass of sludge at the bottom. The plants (mostly Irises, Lillies and Elodea) are a weed ridden mess and there's loads of duck weed and blanket weed. 

Draining the pond is one one consideration, but the problem will be catching 30 fish in water too black to see them in and about as many frogs which will probably start spawning pretty soon. 

Plan 1 - Fix the filter electrics and get it back running. 
Plan 2 - Get rid of as much blanket weed and duck weed as possible. 
Plan 3 - Remove the sludge. 
Plan 4 - Weeding and replanting the baskets. 

Any comments and/or suggestions on how to do this without a pond vac, without draing the pond (due to the livestock) and without risking puncturing the butyl liner. And then any suggestions on how to deal with the plants. 

 

[G H Nelson]

Hi
Get down to Wilkinsons and purchase 3 or 4 large plastic tubs...that would be a start.
If you've got a mate thats a angler he may have a net that you can use.
1 tub for plants.
1 for the fish immediately after you have caught them.
2 with clean water for transfer from the above.
I'm not sure of the procedure when dealing with pond fish transfer it maybe similar to acclimatising tropicals.
hoggie

 

[Ed Seeley]

Get a kids paddling pool and a solids handling pump or another way to get dirty water and waste out of the pond.

Put the pump high in the water and pump out as much clean water as possible into the paddling pool first, before you disturb anything.

Then carefully take out the plants you want to save. If it isn't too hot a day then you can leave potted plants out of the water - just put them somewhere shady and wet them regulary. Loose plants should float in the paddling pool as they'll give the fish some shelter. If they're muddy or covered in silt wash them with a hose before they go in the paddling pool.

With the lower water level, catch all the fish, frogs etc. in the pond and place them in the paddling pool. Cover the paddling pool with a net if it will be out of sight.

Then stir up the waste and haul out any remaining items out of the pond. Use a cheap, coarse net to help remove any leaves and other large waste. Use the pump to pump the pond empty. Send the waste to a large flowerbed or down the drain.

Then clean the pond with a hose and use the pump to empty the pond again.

Once clean then partly refill the pond from the tap, add dechlorinator, then the plants, the saved water from the paddling pool and finally add the fish. Acclimatise them just as you would tropical fish, mixing water into the bags or containers and waiting until the temperatures are equalised.

After you've done this don't feed for a week or so as you will have got rid of most of the bacteria in the pond. Slowly increase feeding to normal summer levels over the rest of the spring.

If you have a filter do not clean this at the same time but do it a couple of weeks before or after doing the pond. This will help reduce any effect on beneficial bacteria.