I'm pretty new at the whole pond/fish/plant world, and recently purchased a house with an 1800 gallon pond (5ftx18x2.5ft, kidney shaped). The previous owners did very little for the pond- they had a 30-60 gallon aquarium aerator and that's it. Over the winter, I did very little to it- just put in a heater so the pond wouldn't freeze over and left the fish/plants in the pond (per the previous owner's advice). In the spring, I tried to replace the aerator with an actual pump and filter, but the pond was so mucked up that the filter would clog every hour. Finally, I emptied the whole pond, scrubbed it down, divided plants, and replaced the water. I have 30-40 goldfish of varying sizes-which is probably too many, started with water irises (which were divided), and added a variety of other plants in hopes of preventing the pond from mucking up. I also have a waterfall, which you can see in the picture on the right-hand side. At this point, I have no clue what to do. The pond is starting to get cloudy again, which I think is because my pump is not circulating enough water (This was purchased before realizing how large my pond actually was). I'd also like the waterfall to be working, which I think will help...When I tested it out with my pump, it seemed to be working fine.

What do I need to make this work?! Help! Filter? what size pump? anything special for the water fall? What about a UV filter? Overkill?? The pond doesn't have to be sparkling clean, but I would like everything to work.

Ideally, I'd like to use as few chemicals as possible. I do have a barley ball or two in the pond as well. Thank you!!

**For the photo below- The waterfall starts up under the tree in the top of the photo, and curves around to the right side of the pond there. The pond is being filled with water, so the lower area is 2/3rd full, and there is a step/ledge going around the far left side, to the water fall, and then extra steps in the bottom right corner. The pond gets a lot of sun- this photo was taken mid-afternoon.

Unfortunately almost everything people new to pond "know" about pond is wrong. Even more unfortunate is much of what "experts" know about ponds is wrong. Approach info with skepticism. Get several sources. Stay away from "I did this and it worked great".

Koi Beginner is a good starting point. I don't personally think every point is correct, but a lot of good starting info. Only a little is specific to Koi.

A pond can be kept many ways, there is no standard method.

Water movement does increase O2 in the water but is unrelated to clear water.

UV filters properly sized and installed are 100% effective in clearing water. But adding water plants will normally bring in macroalgae, that will initially grow on the falls and produce a chemical to kill green water algae. However the green water algae also produces a chemical to inhibit macroalgae. With a falls or stream it is normal for the macroalgae to win. Can happen in a month, a few months or never. Your choice, wait for green water to clear or install a UV.

Green water isn't the only thing to cloud water. Adding plants can make a bit of a mess.

Keeping a pond clean, many choices. Once a year, or smaller weekly or monthly cleaning. A pond can be kept clean enough so it never has to be emptied and cleaned. Your choice. Here's my page on vacuums and cleaning ideas.

Be careful about filters. There are different filters for different things. A filter that clogs is doing exactly what it's suppose to be doing. Question is do you want to clean it every few days? Many people also suggest filters that don't actually remove stuff from the bottom of the pond so really aren't very good for keeping a pond clean.

The questions you have would take volumes to answer and many answers are going to contradict each other because there are different ways to keep a pond.

Chas- yes, there is a stream bed from the waterfall to the pond- good to know about the plants! And I really like the idea of just the pump and stream...

I'm a newb too, so won't offer and advice, but will certainly offer encouragement!

Cheers
M

Every pond environment is unique, so glean from the offerings & do what works for you. The key is BALANCE (water volume:fish:plants:filtration, etc.) Adequate aeration will maintain the required oxygen level.

If this were my pond, I'd start by adding plants to the stream. Then maybe a water lily & some floating plants for added shade for your fishies. A tall, fast growing native grass at the 'Y' where the streams flows into the pond would help with shade on that end.

One final note: I'm not sure what your definition of 'cloudy' is but as you drained & scrubbed the pond (not usually recommended but quite likely needed in your case) your pond needs time to cycle. Don't be alarmed if you experience a [temporary]green phase. This is NORMAL. Plants & PATIENCE alone might well resolve this issue in due time.

Fwiw, I will add that the only thing we've ever added to our pond is dechlor at start-up. No UV light either. Never had a problem in all these years, thanks to the experience ponders here! (Dh & I can't agree on the exact installation date so I'm going with 2000 because it's easy to remember, lol. In any event our pond is at least 10 yrs old, maybe more).

The important thing to remember is to address/correct the problem itself rather than *treating symptoms* with a knee-jerk reaction. This is [much] less expensive, exponentially safer and requires less maintenace in the long haul. Plus you have more time to just relax and enjoy your pond.

Hope something here is helpful. Good luck & happy ponding!

blessings,
~digger

Since cleaning the pond, I've purchased several floating plants (hyacinth and water lettuce), a lotus plant- which I confess just sounded neat to have, and a number of smaller plants for the ledge around the pond. I also forgot to mention that I do have a small water lily plant. Good to know that the plants will 'green up' the water to start with- maybe I'm just too ansty with it all and need to give it all a few more weeks.

You are all so helpful! Thank you all for your suggestions/thoughts/ideas. Keep them coming! :-) I'll be sure to post an updated picture one of these days, as well.

The turnover rate of your water is what you want to pay attention to here. This is the total volume of water of your pond vs the time required to flow through your filters every hour (in your case your 'planted' streamk, assuming you'added some plants there).

Depending on your specific pond environment, your ideal pump requirement might well be significantly lower than suggested by a pump calculator. Again, weight results as compared to the experienced ponders here. This will save you both $ & labor in the end.

blessings,
~digger

Remember pump gph ratings are at the discharge of the pump, so when you figure pipe runs, fittings, elevation a rule of thumb I use is to double the gph from what you think you need.

IMO you can never have too much aereation or filtration, that's after paitence - NOTHING happens quickly in a pond and as I've stated before the Divine Definition of paitence is ponding.

Shalom,
McKool

Remember pump gph ratings are at the discharge of the pump, so when you figure pipe runs, fittings, elevation a rule of thumb I use is to double the gph from what you think you need.

IMO you can never have too much aereation or filtration, that's after paitence - NOTHING happens quickly in a pond and as I've stated before the Divine Definition of paitence is ponding.

Shalom,
McKool

What size pump would you suggest (which I'm seeing has gotten several suggestions)?

Should I add a prefilter or a filter onto the pump, to prevent it from taking in debris?

Do I need a UV filter? Or is that overkill?

I think those are the main ones. I want to make sure I'm doing things right, and getting the necessary equipment for the pond- without going overboard on money/stuff.

Thank you all again!

I would think that with your larger pond that you probably need a larger flow than mine. In addition, it appears that your fall is higher than mine, again requireing a little more lift. My stream runs 24/7/365. I bought a mag drive pump to save energy costs. My pump is enclosed in a case with holes to keep out fish and big crud. I still have to clear it off a couple times a year and once a year I actually have to remove the impeller to untangle plants that have grown into the pump and slowed it down.

Again, thats all I have or need and my pond/stream is clear to the bottom.