Cleaning of the pond

[alison]

Last week I finally got someone in to take the pond right back down to clean as the silt was so thick on the bottom of the pond that although the water was quite clean it was filled with particles of silt all the time. The mud was even thick in the shallows so it was desperate for a clean. We haven't ever used anyone before so I wasn't sure what to expect. They did a very good job. They brought a very large container for the fish to go in so it was lovely to actually see all the fish in the pond. I didn't even know we had some of them at all. I knew we had a couple of tench but had not ever seen them since putting them in years ago so it was really nice to see how much they had grown. They were huge. It was also good to see how many little sticklebacks we had. There were hundreds of them. The goldfish were also doing well and the golden orfe.
They took a few hours to do the cleaning but took it right back to the liner and cleaned it off completely. We had kept over half of the water to put back in and did keep a few small places of mud around the plants to keep a lot of the insects alive and had kept lots of snails in a tub to put back when it was filled again. I am really pleased with the results and now can see the fish nicely. I was amazed to see so many frogs still in the pond of all sizes so it was a lovely experience all in all. Now it has been done I will try to keep up to it so it won't need such a big clean again. I bet the mud was 4 inches deep. Even the guy said he hadn't realised how bad it was when he came to give us a price but did say when it was time for payment that because he had quoted us an amount he would keep to that even though he would have quoted higher had he realized how much work was involved. Anyway it is lovely now and I am well pleased. I would definitely recommend him to others.

[Tricia]

I had my pond cleaned a couple of years ago Alison. I, too, was amazed at the number of fish and frogs the guy found. The man who did the job was a professional pond builder and did a fantastic job. He used exactly the same method your man did! The water has been clear ever since. He told me the pond should be cleaned about every five years or so.

Every few months my friend and neighbour Rebecca cleans the filter while I sit on a stool to clean the pump - filthy job and should be done more often I guess - but I am so glad of her help in so many ways since my last knee operation I'm happy to wait till she asks if it is time for the job to be done again!

The water lilies have been fantastic this year and the kafir lily is in full bloom now.

[alison]

Do you remember Tricia when you sent me some kaffir lilys and I placed them at the side of my pond. I thought they hadn't taken as nothing had come up. Then a year later my mum died and I was so upset that I didn't do any work on the garden or pond. One day when I looked out at the garden on a very gloomy day I suddenly saw a few pink flowers dotting about at the side of the pond and it brought me great joy at a very sad time. Just to be able to see a bit of colour really helped. The funny thing is I have never seen them again. I am going to check over the next few days to see if there are any leaves coming up.
It is supposed to be a good week so hopefully I can get a bit of gardening in.

[Tricia]

I can send you some more kafir lilies Alison if yours have disappeared . Mine are in full bloom now. Today I also counted 7 yellow water lilies - never had so many as this year and even though the filter has only been cleaned twice this year the water has stayed clear and the fish seem to be very healthy. Once the water lilies have finished and the leaves died back I shall have to see just how many fish there are now - far too many I'm sure, so I'll put some on Freecycle to give away.

[alison]

That would be great Tricia if you could. Thankyou.
I wonder if yours do so well because of the warmer weather where you live.
Although the guy cleaned all the pond he didn't cut back all the plants so I will still have to do some cutting back on the yellow flag Iris as that was left in a very large clump.

[alison]

The weather was fantastic last week and it was so nice to be able to see all the fish enjoying the space they had. Lots of the plants came up due to the heat so it will be a big shock for them this week as it has been terrible. Today it has rained all day which will be great for the frogs as the snails etc will be out but it was so cold that the heating went on this morning for a fews hours. Brrrr winter will soon be upon us. I need a few more weeks of sunny weather to get the plants cut back before the winter blizzard that is forecast.