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How to clean the fish pond.
Mar. 13th, 2018 04:58 pmmusic link
Last Sunday, I did my first-ever deep clean of the fish pond. With the help of my amazing friend M*, I cleaned the entire pond, top to bottom. It was more than five hours of hard work for the two of us, & we learned a lot about what worked & what didn't. I want to remember our lessons for the inevitable next time.
These were our starting conditions.
First -- the algae growing on the pond liner was MUCH easier to scrub off once it dried in the sun for several hours. Therefore, the proper way to schedule this project is to get up early one weekend morning, get the fish out, & drain the pond as much as possible with the submersible pump. Let the liner air-dry & sun-bake for as long as possible - I think a whole day would be smart. The fish did OK in the container - I had four bubblers giving them aeration & I put a heating pad in a plastic trash bag, then slid it under the container to keep the water warm overnight. They could survive two nights that way fairly easily.
Low-budget fish hotel.
Second -- Brillo scrubbers worked well, followed by heavy scrubbing sponges (like a Sponge Daddy). A wet/dry vacuum was very helpful for getting the last couple inches of water out of the bottom. Two five-gallon buckets were helpful for slopping out the sludge at the bottom. M* wore rubber gloves, I didn't. She had a pair of throwaway shoes, which was very smart. Dress for sludge. I think I would've liked a dust mask, because scrubbing the dried algae made a lot of green dust.
It was a itsy-bitsy pond cleaning bee!
Third -- I put about two five-gallon buckets worth of fine gravel on the bottom of the pond (bought it from Santa Fe Sand & Gravel for $3.99). I don't think it will be possible to clean the pond without removing most or all of the gravel. I should buy the gravel before starting the cleaning & rinse it thoroughly to get the fines out of it.
Final results. VERY satisfying.
Last Sunday, I did my first-ever deep clean of the fish pond. With the help of my amazing friend M*, I cleaned the entire pond, top to bottom. It was more than five hours of hard work for the two of us, & we learned a lot about what worked & what didn't. I want to remember our lessons for the inevitable next time.
These were our starting conditions.
First -- the algae growing on the pond liner was MUCH easier to scrub off once it dried in the sun for several hours. Therefore, the proper way to schedule this project is to get up early one weekend morning, get the fish out, & drain the pond as much as possible with the submersible pump. Let the liner air-dry & sun-bake for as long as possible - I think a whole day would be smart. The fish did OK in the container - I had four bubblers giving them aeration & I put a heating pad in a plastic trash bag, then slid it under the container to keep the water warm overnight. They could survive two nights that way fairly easily.
Low-budget fish hotel.
Second -- Brillo scrubbers worked well, followed by heavy scrubbing sponges (like a Sponge Daddy). A wet/dry vacuum was very helpful for getting the last couple inches of water out of the bottom. Two five-gallon buckets were helpful for slopping out the sludge at the bottom. M* wore rubber gloves, I didn't. She had a pair of throwaway shoes, which was very smart. Dress for sludge. I think I would've liked a dust mask, because scrubbing the dried algae made a lot of green dust.
It was a itsy-bitsy pond cleaning bee!
Third -- I put about two five-gallon buckets worth of fine gravel on the bottom of the pond (bought it from Santa Fe Sand & Gravel for $3.99). I don't think it will be possible to clean the pond without removing most or all of the gravel. I should buy the gravel before starting the cleaning & rinse it thoroughly to get the fines out of it.
Final results. VERY satisfying.
