put in the pond this weekend -- what to do next?

[iris]

After getting great advice from folks at this forum, my husband and I put in our pond this weekend. It looks great, but I have a few questions.

Is it normal for the water to look less than sparkling-clean at first? The water looks pretty gray. The Tennessee fieldstone we put around the edges was pretty dirty, and I think the sediment washed in when we were filling the pond. Will this clear up on its own? If not, what should we do?

I think I read we should wait a week before putting in plants, then another week before adding fish. Sound right? Do we need to buy a de-clorinator, or does waiting 2 weeks do that naturally?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

We are loving the pond!

[ConanTheLibraia]

Chlorine dies in less than a few days in aged water, but sometimes the water companys use chloramine, which is harder to remove and worse for fish. Either way, 2 weeks is plenty of time for chlorine to die.

Conan is correct about the chlorine/clhloramine. You can put booth plants and fish in this weekend 5/31-6/1 if you like, should be no problem. You should keep some dechlorinator on had for if and when you make water changes over 20%. Once fish are in there, they need the dechlor.

Is it normal for the water to look less than sparkling-clean at first? The water looks pretty gray. The Tennessee fieldstone we put around the edges was pretty dirty, and I think the sediment washed in when we were filling the pond. Will this clear up on its own? If not, what should we do?

Yes, it's normal. Describe your pump/waterfall set up. If your pump is right on the bottom of the pond, it will continue to stir up any sediment (and you will always have some sediment/leaves/stuff on the bottom). My pond is about 26" deep at its deepest, so I made a stack of rocks on the bottom to keep the pump about a foot off the bottom. this lets the sediment and fish waste settle out and the water stays clear. It also prevents total drainage if you spring aleak in the plumbing. when the water falls below the pump, there will still be water left for your fish to live in, as opposed to them being high and dry. This part is from experience, though i caught it before all water was gone, so didnt lose my fishies.

Also, how much sediment are you talking about? If, after it settles, it's a thin layer, dont sweat it. if you have more than 1/2 inch, you ought to scoop or siphon some of it out.

[iris]

Our pond is also about 26" deep. But the pump sits on a shelf about 19" deep. We will stack some rocks under it -- that 's a good idea.

The sediment isn't much more than a thin layer. But the water looked gray at first. Now after a few days, the water looks much clearer.

Not too sure about the pump set up. It's a kit we bought made by Beckett, for a 550 gallon pond. We didn't make ours quite that big, so I think the pump should be adequate for the size. The waterfall is nothing more than a stack of rocks about 8 inches high (hey, you gotta start somewhere!).

I planned to leave the pump running constantly. My husband objects to this, because he feels it's a waste of electricity and not neccessary. What to you do?

Thanks for your wisdom!

I planned to leave the pump running constantly. My husband objects to this, because he feels it's a waste of electricity and not neccessary. What to you do?

Run the pump 24/7. Since it's running the filter, it needs to be on all the time, otherwise your biological filtration won't work right, th bacteria need a constant flow to do their job. I doubt it will have much effect on your electric bill, today's pumps are very efficient.