Comments on: Using Pond Vacuums to Clean Your Water Garden – Water Garden & Feature Q & A – Week Ending April 25th

By: thepondguy

thepondguy — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:57:22 +0000

Joey Thompson, Its okay to remove the debris off of filter pads, just be careful not to remove the entire colony of beneficial bacteria. Joey, do you have a waterfall box? or do you have a pressurized filter? One thought of mine if you have a waterfall box, is you could use more of the bio balls instead of the filter pads. Another thought, is have you ever tried the Matala Blue Filter Pads or Matala Green Filter Pads? They work great and last quite a few years.

By: Joey Thompson

Joey Thompson — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:45:13 +0000

I have a question about the “not cleaning the filter pads”. I have a terrible time with mine, they get so mucked up they slow and even almost tope the flow of water. Is there something I should be doing???

By: thepondguy

thepondguy — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:16:43 +0000

Jim Gore,

Have you tried using the silt attachment tool to reduce the vacuum intake size. This should help when vacuuming with rocks on the bottom of your water garden. Let me know, I’d be glad to help. Thanks for your thoughts!

By: thepondguy

thepondguy — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:14:45 +0000

Becky, There are a few attachment tools that come with both the Pond O Matic XL as well as the Pond O Vac III. The crevice attachment tool works great when you have bigger rocks such as what you have to help get the debris out between them. The silt attachment tool will work good when the rocks are a little smaller, this tool will reduce the suction size to less than a half inch to reduce any vacuuming of rocks. Great question!

By: thepondguy

thepondguy — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:00:21 +0000

Ninaida Napredikin, Another way to help remove muck, or at least accelerate its decomposition is by using a product called Muck Defense. Muck Defense are natural bacteria tabs that sink to the bottom of your water garden to begin to break down muck. They are great to use throughout the season to keep muck levels at bay. As for the lilies. As long as the roots are still in tact when you pull them up, you shouldn't have a problem repotting them in another spot in your pond. As for the Bio Balls, I would put them into the waterfall filter box on top or between the filter pads would be fine. What it comes to cleaning the mats, be careful not to clean them to much. They are suppose to get dirty and kinda grimy. A lot of what builds up on the filter pads are vital natural bacteria that help break down ammonia and nitrites. I would only clean the filter pads maybe a couple times a year. When it comes to hosing them off, that's another issue. The water from your hose can contain chlorine or other heavy metals that can kill off the vital natural bacteria on the filter pad. If you need to remove debris from the filter pad, I would suggest using the water garden's water to do so. I am glad to hear your are getting good information from these newsletters. I'll keep writing if you keep reading! Thanks for the great questions!

By: Bob Riddle

Bob Riddle — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:01:27 +0000

We have the pond vac III and I would highly recommend it over the XL. I used/rented an XL and found the fill and drian to big a real pain. With the Pnd Vac III you just keep working until you fill the debris bag or you finish. The clear tube is alos great to see if the muck is all pulled out of the area you are working in.

By: thepondguy

thepondguy — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:57:35 +0000

Nancy Renninger, It sounds like you have more of a pond or lake than a water feature. A 1/4 Acre is a good sized pond. In this case a Pond Vacuum is probably not your best option. I would suggest using a product called PondClear Packets keep help keep your pond clean and clear. If you have muck build up on certain parts of your pond, you could use MuckAway Pellets to help with this as well.

By: zinaida napreikin

zinaida napreikin — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:24:39 +0000

I am on the third day cleaning my smaller pond. I do have a vaccum but the stop and drain one. Wish I had known about the other. Is there a faster way to remove muck. The pond is drained about 2/3 but I have fish and don’t want to remove them. Do you have suggestion on repotting lilies? One of the roots is attached to the bottom of the pond and I am afraid to pull it up. Do I cut up the roots and plant more pots? I have bioballs in my other pond. I just found out they are to be strung together. At present they are in bags floating on top. Should I string them and put them between the filter mats? It seems to take forever to clean the mats. Is there a faster method than just hosing them off? Should I make some kind of a rack to put them on when I hose. I have been putting them on grass but it seems to make even more work. I love your newsletter and website. I have learned more from you an anyone else. Thank you. I am really looking forward to hearing from you.

By: Becky Sliter

Becky Sliter — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:24:45 +0000

If you have small rocks at the bottom of your pond, (2″ or so) can you still use a pond vac?

Becky

By: JIM GORE

JIM GORE — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:22:34 +0000

I DISAGREE.
AFTER HAVING A POND OF 1000GALS FOR 8 YEARS I MUST SAY BUYING A POND VAC WAS THE BIGGEST MASTAKE I EVER MADE IN POND EQUIPMENT. I HAVE THE XL AND IT DOSE NOTHING WITH ALL THE ROCKS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE POND.