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cliff_and_joann

Pond Maintenance Trick --For BD Ponds.

cliff_and_joann
13 years ago

We have had a pond since 1997, and Cliff only discovered this trick about 3 years ago -- by accident.

We have a bottom drain with a 90 degree angle and a two 45 degree angle's. The bottom drain

gets clogged several times during the season with leaves, rocks, and pebbles (especially pebbles from

the koi foraging in the lily pots) Cliff would put two hoses together on the shop vac and force

it down past the two 45 degree angle's and the 90 degree angle..(not an easy task, to push, turn, and twist a hose

past these angles.) Then he would both vacuum and blow out the line.

One day he forced in the wrong end of the hose down the line by mistake. Once the house got

past the 45 degree angle's the fitting at the end of the house got stuck, and would not budge.

Well, we were in big trouble, with a stuck hose that wouldn't budge...

After several house of trying to get the house out, a light bulb went on in his head. He tied a rag (boy scout knot) in the center of a very long strong nylon line. He dropped the line down from inside the first filter tub

all the way through, once it got all the way through, he tied the one end of the line to the dock.

Then he began pulling the rag through the line from inside the tub, then he tied the end of the line

to a crate just outside the first tub. Then pulled the line attached to the dock, again pulling the rag through all the way.

He alternated pulling both ends of the nylon line until the vacuum hose loosened and he was able to be pulled out the stuck

hose

The nylon line in now part of his regular maintenance...It is now so easy to keep

the drain line free from any debris.

The long nylon line (with the rag in the center) is now permanently attached in our pond --- the nylon line is attached on one end to the dock and on the other

end to a crate (just outside the filter tub)

He pulls on it to loosen and remove leaves, pebbles, etc...as part of his normal maintenance. There is no longer a need

to drag out the shop vac and vacuum out the drain line,

when it gets clogged... Also, the clean drain line helps keep the pond running more effectively,

thus, there is less filter maintenance as the clogged lines always slow down the flow of water in the filter tubs.

He cleans the tubs a lot less since discovering this trick.

BTW...he initially used a snake to get the line all the way through the drain line...

Here's a drawing of the pond set up.

{{gwi:184486}}

The nylon cord is attached to the dock cleat.

{{gwi:198750}}

Comments (8)

  • ccoombs1
    13 years ago

    Oh, I like that idea. Except for the part about the string going through the water and up to the dock. Knowing my fish, one of them would swim into it and knock off a scale, ending a show career. I think I'd rather tie the end of the string to something that can sit in the bottom of the pond next to the drain cover. Like a piece of PCV pipe or a large stainless steel nut. Anything that won't slip under the bottom drain dome. A large nut might be ideal, because I could hook it with something and pull the string up without even getting in the pond.

    I had to go swimming yesterday to unclog drains. I knew they were starting to run slow and needed cleaning, but of course while I was away for the weekend my poor DH had to try to keep the filters going with the suddenly even more reduced flow. I wish I had thought to run a string through the actual drain lines and clean them while I was already wet. I am sure the drain lines have a lot of icky stuff on the walls after 5 years in service.

  • nkm56
    13 years ago

    Excellent idea. This is why newbies turn to the more experienced for advice.

    I installed a retro BD this spring on my existing pond, through the side, but if I ever do another rebuild I will be installing a through-the-bottom BD, so I'll be tucking this away for future reference.

  • cliff_and_joann
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    ccombes, I can't see that the nylon cord would hurt the fish? You show your fish?
    My fish get some bumps and bruses
    from the rocks on the edge, and you can see from my videos, they
    shimmer up the rocks on the edges scurrying for food :)

    One more thing, Cliff took the dome off the BD and just has a black milk crate over the BD. This way he can tug on his nylon cords frequently without having to uncover the BD. It's all about -- making the maintenance easier.

    Check out these stones surrounding the BD (under the milk crate) Where do they come from? (This is suppose to be a bare bottom pond) I swear these koi pick up rocks in their mouths, roll them around and spit them out around the BD to clog it up!
    Well, we're smarter then our fish, cause we outsmarted them :)
    anything that gets past the milk crate, get's taken care of with the " rag on the rope"...ha!

    {{gwi:198751}}

  • pondbucket
    13 years ago

    Yeah, it's the one thing that I could have easily done (add a bottom drain) and didn't really think about it because I didn't know any better. (Amazing really given all the softcover books I read on the subject beforehand).

    That's a great trick.

  • ccoombs1
    13 years ago

    Yep...I do show them. Obstructions in the pond are a big no-no for me. I have rocks around the top that I am planning on removing this winter and I'll have flat stones that overhang the pond instead. A couple inches of liner will show, but it's worth it to me. I can't have them getting bumped or bruised up because it will damage them for show. I also keep males in a different pond so there is no spawning activity to hurt them. I had a fake alligator once that I kept in place with a nylon string and dang it if one of the koi didn't tear off a couple scales on that string.

  • Eleanor B
    13 years ago

    Great tip, Joann. Thanks!!! We deal with this several times a year and have been using a snake.... what a hassle! I also like the crate idea for a BD covering instead of the dome.

    >>>Check out these stones surrounding the BD (under the milk crate) Where do they come from? (This is suppose to be a bare bottom pond)

  • cliff_and_joann
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    ronnie, One thing we have figured out is -- That koi are very clever, charming, friendly, and hungry all the time, and when they want to get to a nice yummy lily root, their
    like a dog on a bone...woof woof!

    Hey, Ma's not looking, lets start digging the rocks
    outa that lily pot over there...

    {{gwi:198752}}

  • goodkarma_
    13 years ago

    Hi Joan,

    The water and Koi look lovely as always. Just a pleasure to see your pics.